1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Engine cranks but no start

Tiny
MARKBR57
  • MEMBER
  • 1991 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 171,000 MILES
Car died while driving this morning. Engine cranks but will not start. When key is turned to on position you can hear fuel pump relay click. Can hear pump run for about 2 seconds, pressure at fuel rail is 42 psi. Can hear injectors clicking while engine cranks. There is 12v present at the injectors and at the ignition control module, coil packs check ok with ohm meter for primary and secondary resistance, plugs and wires are less than 8 months old, but spark appears to be weak when tested with a spark tester. Crankshaft sensor ohms out in spec range from the fitting that connects to ignition control module. ECM is new (was replaced last week. After car died the first time). Checked ignition system out last week and could not find a bad component, reassembled it all and engine cranked and ran fine. For 5 days. This sounds like a short somewhere to me. What do you think? Is a bad ignition switch possible?
Friday, April 9th, 2010 AT 7:14 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,533 POSTS
Sounds like you have pretty much checked it all over. Those early V-6's had problems with the ignition modules causing no-start and intermittent starting like you describe. If you are sure the crank sensor is good (those were a problem yoo) then it could be the ign module itself.
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Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 AT 7:06 AM
Tiny
MARKBR57
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I'm not positive that the crank sensor is good, just that it ohmed out within specs. And that was with the sensor still attached to the engine (not sure what difference that would make). Ignition control module checks out good also. I think I may have a short. I did a test someone told me about where the negative battery cable was removed and DC volts measured between the negative terminal and ground. My meter indicated there was 12.4 volts present. I tried removing a fuse at a time, looking for the voltage to disappear once the shorted circuit was located. All fuses were removed, and the voltage still remains. Not sure what else to do now but searching through individual wires.
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Monday, April 19th, 2010 AT 9:28 PM
Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,533 POSTS
Sounds liek the meter is acting as thengative cable, that is why youa re geting full system voltage. If you are looking for a draw, it would be very small and may not have anything to do with it not running. Are the spark plugs coming out wet from fuel? I take it the engine has good compression?
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 AT 7:46 AM

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