1995 Pontiac Grand Am

Tiny
TINKERBELL1455
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
We have a 1995 grandam have had very few problems with it until now we replaced the radiator because it was leaking car ran fine for a while but now when it gets around 25 mph the engine revs up very loudly and struggles to get to speed we changed the spark plugs and wires and a few hoses were disconnected fix those things then went to test drive up the road and no such luck as we pulled in the driveway the lights went dim and the car died! We dont have a lot of money to be dishing out to repairmen all we need to know is what could it be
Sunday, February 1st, 2009 AT 8:18 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
IMPALASS
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,112 POSTS
Hello -

To better assist you when you do get back with me please let me know if it is a GT or SE. Also the engine size in liter.

At this point it sounds like your battery died? You might try jump starting it. Then please go to Auto Zone (AZ) or O'Reilly's (OR) and for FREE they can pull the codes to the car. Most important: Once they check your codes, if they find something and you don't get it fixed and need to get back with us, please make sure you tell us exactly what the code was, number and all. Example, if the code was E0568 O2 Sensor bad. Then make sure you give us all of that. While there and this is most important for what your problem may be, for FREE also they can bring their tester out and check your battery and alternator.
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Monday, February 2nd, 2009 AT 12:25 AM
Tiny
TINKERBELL1455
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
It is a gt not sure what liter size howevere I cant get it on the road long enough to get to autozone! Pulled out the battery and altenator to have tested but not sure if that will fix the original problem wll it? I hate to buy an altenator or battery only to find out the transmission is gone!
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Monday, February 2nd, 2009 AT 4:41 PM
Tiny
IMPALASS
  • MECHANIC
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Hello -

Glad to hear back from you. There should be a decal under the hood that says the engine size in liter. If you cannot find it then please give me your entire VIN and maybe I can locate it.

Next - you are doing the right thing... Removing the battery and alternator is the right move. I hope I catch you in time. Use the tool check out program and check out the code tester and they can explain how to use it and then you can install the battery and alternator and check your own code. Although it may have dumped once the battery was removed... But we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Let me know what you find on those.....

Hang in there!
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Monday, February 2nd, 2009 AT 4:50 PM
Tiny
TINKERBELL1455
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I wish I had recieved your response earlier I did not think about a code tester however the battery and altenator are fine. I am stumped! The next move I think are the relays! Any advice on the engine problem? I will explain again when you get in to 2 gear (automatic) it struggles to get the power to do more than 30 mph and doesnt want to get up hills could all these problems be related? Or could it be more than one thing? Would your engine still rev up if the fuel system was having problems somewhere?
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 AT 12:43 AM
Tiny
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Hello -

If you can get the codes... That would be great. As it stands... Hesitation, stumbling, poor engine performance, problem acceleration can be caused by a MAP Sensor, Throttle Position Sensor, Mass Air Flow sensor, coolant sensor. A collapsed catalytic converter can also cause a problem accelerating.

With 150K on it, it could be the fuel pump too.

We need to figure out if it is electrical or fuel related. Pull a plug wire off of the spark plug and insert something into the end of it and have someone try to start the car and have the metal object really close to a piece of metal on the engine and see if you are getting a good strong popping blue spark. Don't have your hands on any part of the metal! If there is no spark, then it is electrical.

If you are getting good spark then spray some starting fluid in the throttle body and try to start it and see if it tries to start then.

You may need to get a fuel pressure check on the fuel pump to ensure it is putting out okay. We will see.

My suggestion try to pull codes and do the checks above for spark and fuel... Let me know.
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 AT 9:22 PM
Tiny
IMPALASS
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Hello -

Also, I am showing your car may have the DLC that you use the code tester from AZ on. If it isn't then we need to ground the A and B pins and read the flashes on the dash. Do you know which one you have?
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 AT 9:29 PM

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