1995 Pontiac Grand Am 1995 Grand Am V6 power loss and stall

Tiny
FERROM
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 134,000 MILES
Hi,

Have a 1995 Pontiac Grand am 3.1 V6 automatic. When I go in the morning the car has power loss off and on and when you come to a stop it will sometimes stall or try to jerk forward when holding the brakes. This only happens for the first mile of driving then it runs fine. I have changed the fuel pressure reg, throttle position sensor, and idle air control with no luck to the cause of the problem.

Please help
MIKE
Friday, August 8th, 2008 AT 1:08 PM

9 Replies

Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Do you have a check engine light and when was the last tune-up?

Get the exhaust system checked for restriction-if okay-Recheck the throttle position sensor/MAF/MAP and EGR valve also the actual fuel pressure then report back your findings -this one can be a bear to fix
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Friday, August 8th, 2008 AT 1:54 PM
Tiny
FERROM
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
No check engine light comes on. The car is all tuned up, it runs perfect after driving about a mile, it only does this once a day in the morning.
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+1
Friday, August 8th, 2008 AT 4:13 PM
Tiny
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Get the coolant temperature sensor and idle air control valve, MAF/MAP sensor
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Friday, August 8th, 2008 AT 5:20 PM
Tiny
FERROM
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Ok,
I changed the EGR, and Coolant Temp Sensor, and thermostat, It still does the same thing, I returned the Egr. And put the old one back in.

I notice that when this happes the RPM's will not drop, but the engine acts like there is no gas, jolts and stutters, will sometimes stall when breaking, and will sometimes jolt foreward when holding the brakes. Problem goes away after driving about a mile.

Could there be air in the fuel line?

Thanks for any help.

I have not changed the map sensor but I unplug it and drive and can not get the problem to repeat.

It has a new idle air control valve, throttle position sensor, fule pressure regulator, fuel filter
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Saturday, August 16th, 2008 AT 5:24 PM
Tiny
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Check the fuel pressure and comeback with the readings
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Sunday, August 17th, 2008 AT 12:36 AM
Tiny
FERROM
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Update:

Here is a list of items I have replaced with no luck on fixing the problem.

Fuel pressure regulator
Idle air control
Engine coolant temp sensor
Thermostat
Throtle position sensor
Egr
Map
air intake temp sensor
Fuel filter
air filter
belt and tensioner
water pump
alternator

I cleaned the port from the egr to the intake, it was real nasty. Car is tuned up it just stutters, jerks and sometimes stalls at start up, after driving a few hundred feet it goes away,

How can I check the fuel pressure? And what if it is not where it should be, then what would be the cause?
I have dumped hundreds into this with no results.

HELP.
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Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 AT 5:37 PM
Tiny
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Check the actual fuel pressure with a fuel pressure gauge it should read 41-47 psi-if okay

Start checking the ignition system-to include the cam and crank sensors.
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Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 AT 5:55 PM
Tiny
FERROM
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Ok,
Fuel pressure is good.

I am starting to think it is the Charcoal evaporative canister.

How can I check to see if the can is good? There are 3 tubes on the top (Air, Tank, and Purge). If I blow air into any one of these tubes on the top of the can, the air will just come out of one of the other tubes. How can I tell if the can is good or not?

There is supposed to be a Tank Pressure Control Valve, but I do not see it anywhere so I guess it is inside the Charcoal can.

I checked the Canister purge control solenoid valve and it works, it is closed with no power to it and then it opens when power is applied
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Monday, October 13th, 2008 AT 3:25 PM
Tiny
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There is supposed to be a Tank Pressure Control Valve, but I do not see it anywhere so I guess it is inside the Charcoal can.

I'm looking for this TPCV couldn't find it in my software-if you do apply 15vac to it-it should hold that vacuum in 20secs if not replace it-Also you can smoke test it -to find out if its leaking fuel vapors. The purge solenoid sounds good-The charcoal canister is good to go-

BTW are you getting an Evap code that your troubleshooting it?
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Monday, October 13th, 2008 AT 6:04 PM

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