1997 buick lesabre stalling

Briankesk

This has been an ongoing problem and has me stumped.
My lesbre stalls occasionally when it does it will turn over but not start but the power windows will not work when it will not start??????? Has happened when cold and when warm.
Have had it in the shop 3 times replaced battery and cables one time. Did it again replaced cam shaft positioning sensor. Did it again. Have had the fuel pump replaced recently also.

imidazol97

Oh so many possibilities.

The battery positive cables have a double cable with a lead spacer between them that is squeezed for current flow. That can be corroded. You can buy new ones or freshen that one up with cleaning.

The cable ends inside the plastic covering can be eaten away by battery acid/fumes wicking into them.

The negative cables have connections to a fender IIRC with a small lead and that connection needs to be taken loose, sanded lightly and reinstalled. The are other battery cables.

Turning over and not starting sounds like the CPS (crankshaft position sensor) which is right under the edge of the harmonic balancer. Those weaken with age and heat. Often garages want to replace the camshaft sensor, but that doesn't keep a car from starting IIRC.

To check CPS take an old spark plug from anything and pull a spark plug wire off one of the front plugs and lay the extra spark plug on the metal of the engine after plugging it into the spark plug wire. Have someone crank the car when in a no start condition. See if you have spark. If you have spark, listen at the fuel tank opening when the key it turned to ON. The fuel pump should run for about a second each time then turn off. That primes the circuit. Your description sounds like the car shuts off quickly with no stuttering like a fuel pump turning off would give as the fuel pressure drops and the engine sometimes fires and misses as the pressure fails. But check to be sure. The ground buss inside the car serves the fuel pump posters say in some of the links I give at the bottom of this post.

No spark? First culprit is the CPS to check for output. But that takes some voltmeter and ability to troubleshoot.

A distant unlikely problem is the ISC I think it's called that's under the coils. They can be test at some box stores, but the test is not reliable. They work but don't work when back on the engine under certain conditions. I'd take the connector off--it's held on by a screw--clean the contacts and put it back on. I recall one person found the ground wire in that was not making contact. That would be the black wire.

Another item that gave trouble but I don't know that it caused stalling is the buss that's under the carpet on driver side that is under the front door edge. You can pull back the carpet on the vertical part about even with the front edge of the seat. The buss is ;wrapped in tape but if moisture from open window, snow, water on feet has gotten that area damp, the contacts corrode. Sometimes just hitting that area with you shoe, fist, etc., can move the various wires and cause the connection to to work again. I'll see if I can find a picture.

On my 98, the inside grounding there would cause my power door locks to quit working, and the air conditioning would go onto defrost and high blower speed because the electronic HVAC lost good ground. The air conditioning compressor would come on along with both engine coolant fans. I'd be driving along and the headlights would dim as everything, compressor, and both the low and high speed radiator fans drew current all at once and the alternator caught up to bring the voltage back up.

Remember the Bonneville and leSabre are the same H-body (along with the Park AVenue)

https://www.gmforum.com/electrical-133/ground-buss-corrosion-1992-1999-a-303224/

https://www.gmforum.com/buick-172/96-buick-lesabre-died-wont-start-307623

https://www.gmforum.com/electrical-133/ground-buss-corrosion-1992-1999-a-303224/

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/topic41213.html

https://buickforums.com/forums/threads/power-windows-locks-mirrors-and-radio-problem.36704/



https://buickforums.com/forums/threads/power-windows-locks-mirrors-and-radio-problem.36704/44



https://www.gmforum.com/pontiac-168/99-bonneville-dies-while-drive-wont-start-310753/

Briankesk

Thank you so much
I tapped the buss under the carpet by the driver door and it started
I removed the tape and cleaned with electrical cleaner and hopefully it goes away.
There was moisture under the carpet. Should i put some die electric grease on it?

imidazol97

Briankesk said:

Thank you so much
I tapped the buss under the carpet by the driver door and it started
I removed the tape and cleaned with electrical cleaner and hopefully it goes away.
There was moisture under the carpet. Should i put some die electric grease on it?

Yes on dielectric grease.

You made my day coming back to post to let me know that seems to be your problem.

I don't know the climate the car is in but I'd get rid of that moisture.


Can you leave the carpet up and that area open to dry the carpet for a few days?
If the car is garaged, leave the windows down some for air to move through too.
Or if outdoors can you leave windows down an inch to encourage
air to move through the car to dry that carpet.

Do you have a sunroof that might be wetting the carpet from the drain that goes down the
A-pillar and through the floor that sometimes comes undone?

Or has anyone ever worked inside the driver door panel where they might now have
sealed the inner plastic layer that directs the water back outside via the drain holes
at the bottom? The plastic has a tarry black sticky stuff in a pattern that keeps water
getting past the window seals from getting to the inside.

If you think you might have a leak with water coming through the door, spray the
bottom of the door that's metal with a powdery deoderant or athletes foot powder, etc.
Then watch for water drops or tracks through the powder.

I can probably find a link to the whole door resealing steps if you think
you need that.

thecardoc3

Found that failure a number of times. I would eliminate the comb and hardwire the grounds when repairing this issue.