Misfire...stall?

[LanceL1980]

Hello, Got this 1999 Pontiac Bonneville a few weeks ago. Test drive was good. Friend bought it for me. Then I noticed something that made my blood pressure go up...

The check engine light came on the next day and has been on for about a week or so. I am pretty much broke, so I let it go, but I know that I should have taken it to get a computer code reading.

I felt nothing wrong with how the engine was running in all this time, less than a month. Last night I drove it about 10 miles, got some groceries. I turned the key and normally I can't really hear the engine because it's nowhere near as noisy as my last car. But I could tell that it didn't start; the lights on the dash stayed on. Tried the key again thinking I am not used to the ignition, hoping that I just didn't turn it all the way, and it refused to start. Waited a couple minutes, then tried again. It started for a few seconds. Then it felt like no gas was getting to the engine, and the engine stopped. Tried again, and I got it going a little bit, and stalled. Tried again. revved the engine a little, but it just stalled again.

Called my friend who bought it for me - kind of a loan, I guess. While I waited for her I saw that the system monitor read to check the gauges. The last few weeks, each time I started the car it ran just fine, that check engine light was on. I've been learning about the car and with the check engine light on, I was surprised the system monitor was blank. Just shows an outline of the car. It was blank when I drove into town. Now, it isn't blank. It told me to check the gauges. The battery gauge was in the middle postion before. As I waited for my friend, the gauge had dropped down to a quarter of what it read. I was thinking that maybe the gas gauge wasn't working, so we put a couple gallons in.

Nothing. My friend put jumper cables on it. First few tries did nothing. Cranking, but it wouldn't turn over. It sounded like it wanted to start on a couple more tries, it would crank, but the engine wouldn't fire up. I waited a few seconds, tried again and the engine fired right up. The battery gauge climbed back to the middle. I was relieved.

I stood outside talking with my friend about all my tools being back at home, and my battery charger being in the garage. It was running pretty good for a couple minutes, then there was a strange sound coming from the engine, or perhaps the air flow contraption. Yes, I don't know anything about this car, nor what everything is called. But sounded a lot like something wasn't flowing correctly. I tried to rev it a bit, and it wanted to keep going, but the idle slowly shut off.

Tried cranking it again. If I remember correctly, it decided to start when I pushed the accelerator down, but it just wouldn't keep going and stalled. Left it off for a few minutes because I thought maybe the battery was needing a longer jump. After all of this, it just refuses to turn over. I think that's what the term is. It'll make sounds like it wants to start, but it won't turn over. It felt as though the brake pedal went all the way down, too, and it wasn't doing that before. At least, I don't recall feeling it depress so far so quickly.

My friend was thinking about spark plugs. She drove me home. I started looking through YouTube and found someone mention this site, so here I am. Anyone have any idea what's wrong with this car? It's still at the store parking lot and I have no money to get much of anything done with it. I am hoping my friend will help me out because she purchased it for me and it's in her name. She's been helping me get my other car sold. I am living on disability and I can't own two cars, so I have to wait to get the Bonneville title into my name once I sell the other one. She gave me an insurance card, license plates and registration, so I think she will likely help with figuring out how to get it going again. But I was wanting to try trouble shooting with ideas here if I can.

[DR.Camaro]

I would scan your vehicle first and check for any DTS'c like P0300s codes, crankshaft positioning codes and live date.
Thanks

Hello, Got this 1999 Pontiac Bonneville a few weeks ago. Test drive was good. Friend bought it for me. Then I noticed something that made my blood pressure go up...

The check engine light came on the next day and has been on for about a week or so. I am pretty much broke, so I let it go, but I know that I should have taken it to get a computer code reading.

I felt nothing wrong with how the engine was running in all this time, less than a month. Last night I drove it about 10 miles, got some groceries. I turned the key and normally I can't really hear the engine because it's nowhere near as noisy as my last car. But I could tell that it didn't start; the lights on the dash stayed on. Tried the key again thinking I am not used to the ignition, hoping that I just didn't turn it all the way, and it refused to start. Waited a couple minutes, then tried again. It started for a few seconds. Then it felt like no gas was getting to the engine, and the engine stopped. Tried again, and I got it going a little bit, and stalled. Tried again. revved the engine a little, but it just stalled again.

Called my friend who bought it for me - kind of a loan, I guess. While I waited for her I saw that the system monitor read to check the gauges. The last few weeks, each time I started the car it ran just fine, that check engine light was on. I've been learning about the car and with the check engine light on, I was surprised the system monitor was blank. Just shows an outline of the car. It was blank when I drove into town. Now, it isn't blank. It told me to check the gauges. The battery gauge was in the middle postion before. As I waited for my friend, the gauge had dropped down to a quarter of what it read. I was thinking that maybe the gas gauge wasn't working, so we put a couple gallons in.

Nothing. My friend put jumper cables on it. First few tries did nothing. Cranking, but it wouldn't turn over. It sounded like it wanted to start on a couple more tries, it would crank, but the engine wouldn't fire up. I waited a few seconds, tried again and the engine fired right up. The battery gauge climbed back to the middle. I was relieved.

I stood outside talking with my friend about all my tools being back at home, and my battery charger being in the garage. It was running pretty good for a couple minutes, then there was a strange sound coming from the engine, or perhaps the air flow contraption. Yes, I don't know anything about this car, nor what everything is called. But sounded a lot like something wasn't flowing correctly. I tried to rev it a bit, and it wanted to keep going, but the idle slowly shut off.

Tried cranking it again. If I remember correctly, it decided to start when I pushed the accelerator down, but it just wouldn't keep going and stalled. Left it off for a few minutes because I thought maybe the battery was needing a longer jump. After all of this, it just refuses to turn over. I think that's what the term is. It'll make sounds like it wants to start, but it won't turn over. It felt as though the brake pedal went all the way down, too, and it wasn't doing that before. At least, I don't recall feeling it depress so far so quickly.

My friend was thinking about spark plugs. She drove me home. I started looking through YouTube and found someone mention this site, so here I am. Anyone have any idea what's wrong with this car? It's still at the store parking lot and I have no money to get much of anything done with it. I am hoping my friend will help me out because she purchased it for me and it's in her name. She's been helping me get my other car sold. I am living on disability and I can't own two cars, so I have to wait to get the Bonneville title into my name once I sell the other one. She gave me an insurance card, license plates and registration, so I think she will likely help with figuring out how to get it going again. But I was wanting to try trouble shooting with ideas here if I can.

[95naSTA]

It's really hard to say without knowing the codes.

What is the date stamp on the battery? If it's more than a few years old, that could either be the cause of or contributing to the no-start issue. A lot of batteries nowadays are junk and only last 3-4 years.

If the security light is flashing when you try to start it's a VATS issue. The chip in the key can wear out over time and not provide the right resistance.

There is a possibility there's a fueling issue. When you put the key in the run position, just before the final rotation to actually make it start, you should hear the fuel pump come on. If that's not happening, your fuel pump could be bad. With the key in the run position and the fuel system primed, there should be pressure in the rail. You can pull the engine cover off, find the black cap on the fuel rail and depress the pintle on the schrader valve to see if fuel squirts out. Have gloves/rag handy. If nothing comes out the system either isnt holding pressure during prime or the pump is bad.

The loud engine flow noise could be a Idle Air Control Valve (IAC) opening way up trying to try and keep the engine running.