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Pontiac Bonneville General Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • jeromy1jeromy1 Member Posts: 5
    I just bought my 95 Bonneville. It runs super-smooth with 96K miles. Starts up as soon as I turn the key. However, yesterday I turned the key and nothing happened. The lights all came on, but nothing happened at all when I turned the key all the way. We tried jumping it, but still nothing happened.

    I'm having my mechanic look at it tomorrow AM. I'm wondering if it could be a problem with the key itself, or if some security sensor in the ignition went haywire. Hopefully a computer diagnostic will uncover the problem.

    Any input? I'll try to post the mechanic's results when I get them, and hopefully the solution to the problem.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Sounds like a problem in the starter motor circuit to the ignition key...so could be from the key on down to the starter solenoid or transmission neutral safety switch. Last of all, it could be a bad starter. Your battery and ignition system have nothing to do with it I don't think.
  • ymandjymandj Member Posts: 10
    i had the same problem with my '96 SE. In my case jumpstart helped, though. Mechanic said there was a short in the starter and replaced it as well as battery. In 3 month I could not start the car again. Lights went on, I heard a clicking sound of relay - and that's it. After 2 tries Voltmeter went to zero. Here went another battery. After one more month it happened again but mechanic was able to recharge the battery. I posted my saga here and I read posts by other guys having the same problem. You can go back to post 108 and look through the posts and get some helpful info.
  • twobrownstwobrowns Member Posts: 52
    I recently bought a 2001 SSEI. Great car, love the power and the features. It appears to be screwed together well, However I noticed a groan from the power steering when turning the wheel when the car is not moving. Does not do it all the time and it usually occurs when it is cold. Rather loud at times. Any one have similar problems?
  • dbacadbaca Member Posts: 20
    For these who have similar problems. The failure was brought about by the bad contacts of the mass air flow sensor. Cleaning the contacts helped.
  • alan77alan77 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 98 Bonneville with 56k miles that has
    had no obvious problems--- been changing oil every
    3k miles and just changed it 2weeks ago and at the
    same time fluids were checked etc.My problem is
    a couple of days ago it started running real rough
    killed then wouldn't start --- after changing plugs and getting it started ran for about 20 mins. then stopped ; tryed to restart and wouldn't start --- found out today that I have a cracked intake manifold -- no warning warning lights had come on ; did not appear to overheat prior to it stopping.... has anyone else had
    similar problems with the intake manifolds on the 3800 v6 with this low milage?
  • mrobinson3mrobinson3 Member Posts: 13
    6 months with a demo SSEi that had 5000 miles on it, and no problems - just an ever open ashtray lid we should have noticed on the showroom floor.

    All and all it has proved to be a reliable, fun and powerful car. A bit pricey, perhaps, but the fat insurance check for a wreck helped w/ the down payment.

    If you are just lurking, give it a test drive. Its a sweet ride.
  • augyaugy Member Posts: 3
    Alan, is the manifold cracked just before the oxygen sensor, if so, make sure you check the transmission mount. I had to replace three manifolds because the mount was gone. It takes about a month for the new manifold to go with a bad mount.
  • ayratayrat Member Posts: 26
    Would somebody, please, tell Me if that is alright to drive with power-steering reservoir filled (for whatever reason, I do not know) with transmission fluid instead of pwr-steering fluid Should I drain it away and fill up with a standard PS fluid, or there is no harm in using and mixing this two types of fluids?
  • mfahey1mfahey1 Member Posts: 419
    I thought I would give a heads up to people who have older 3.8L engines. My daughter's 92 Bonneville has aver 120,000 miles and when it developed a slow coolant leak that I could see on the ground underneath the water pump, I figured that with that many miles, it must be the water pump. After replacing the pump(no big deal), it still leaked. What I finally found was that tucked up underneath everything, is a small bypass hose. The hose was fine but the plastic nipple that was screwed into the block was cracked. GM must have had a lot of problems with the plastic because when I went to the dealer to get another one, the replacement was metal. I also replaced the serpentine belt while I was at it and fortunately, it wasn't routed through the motor mount as it was on my 96 Bonneville.
    Hopefully, this may save someone some work or prevent them from being stranded if the nipple breaks off.
  • uhlhockeyuhlhockey Member Posts: 7
    Have a 93 SE, the service engine light will come on at various times while driving, differant speeds at a stop etc. When it ding dings and comes on, the speedometer will go to zero and the engine idle will rev up and down and it will seem to have no power when trying to accelerate.if stopped when this does it, you press the gas pedal and barely move, after usually 10 seconds or so the dind ding will sound and the service engine light goes out and speedometer works. Took it in and was told computer code egr problem, had it reset and next day gain same problem for a week, took it back and was told it needed timing chain, (105k on car not replaced before). Well, after complete tune up and timing chain replaced and water pump, 10 minutes after pulling away...ding ding service engine light and same problem...any ideas? Thanks!
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Need to know what trouble codes were set. Find the ALCL connector under the dash. It's a 12 socket connector usually near the steering column. Jumper terminal A (right upper) to B (next to it) with a paper clip. They should be labelled. Turn the key to run and count the check engine light flashes. Eg flash..pause..flash, flash.. is code 12.
  • fatherstormfatherstorm Member Posts: 1
    just bought a '90. price was good. problem is, I have a intermittent "Battery" light, have had alternator and battery tested. Alternator looks like less than year old, everything checks out on them. Made the mistake of working on it with the power on but the car not running. 20 minutes competely killed the battery. meter hovers anywhere between 10 and 14. Any ideas?
  • hutbethutbet Member Posts: 7
    2000 bonneville SE started making this grunt bump sound from steering column at about 12000 miles when you turn the wheel. dealer only has questions and maybes for solutions, which i am not fond of. I have also noticed brake failure momentarily driving in heavy rain and leaving an automatic touchless car wash.
  • jj9952jj9952 Member Posts: 1
    After having the alternator replaced, the tranny started acting up. When the car is cold it will shift thou all the gears. After a few miles it would shift down to Torque lock and then to 3rd and stay there until the car was shut off and it cooled some. Here are the steps taking so far
    Step 1 - Replaced solenoids in tranny
    Step 2 - Trouble shoot (so called) electrical problem
    Step 3 - Replaced Computer
    Step 4 - Replaced Alternator (This time I was smart and bought an alternator with life-time warranty.)
    Step 5 - Replaced Tranny (this is where we are now.)
    Step 6 - Ordered new tranny
    Step 7 - Go visit bankrupt court if the tranny will make it there.

    Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on with the tranny?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    brake failure.........it's normal if the rotors get very wet that the first brake afterwards won't be very good.....
  • jrg4300jrg4300 Member Posts: 1
    I have a '92 SE with 125000 miles that I bought in '98 with 80000. The car has served me well, no breakdowns besides an alternator failure. It looks beautiful inside and out, better than some 2 year old ones, and I'd like to keep it for a long time. However there are some "problems" I've noticed over time that I'm wondering about.

    1. When driving slowly (<10mph) over broken/uneven pavement, the front suspension is very noisy/clunky sounding when hitting the bumps. Is there a simple fix or is it a major deal? The struts have been replaced recently if it means anything.

    2. Last summer, I encountered a situation on the highway. When cruising along, I came to a hill, doing around 70, and I stepped on the gas to gain speed. The engine started to "miss", I put my foot to the floor and the car was losing speed, with RPM's jumping between 1000 and 2000rpm. I could maintain speed by not forcing the trans. to downshift. After exiting the highway and coming to a stop the car just died. Fortunately it started again after 10 seconds. This never happened again but it worries me. I had some kind of electronic control thing located near the battery replaced later, but for a different problem-the car would just shut off calmly after 10 minutes of driving, which was confusing this device into thinking the car was overheating.

    3. My car has the common problem of the trans. dropping out of OD around 45mph-what's the fix for this?

    4. Illuminated entry stopped working last week-I pull the handle and no lights go on. How
    can this be fixed?

    5. On hot days while coming to a stop from a high speed the brakes clatter and the pedal vibrates in the 30-60mph range. Does this mean warped rotors or something else?

    Thanks in advance for any help. I'm not a mechanic so please excuse the descriptions if they aren't technically accurate.
    -JG
  • mfahey1mfahey1 Member Posts: 419
    I just sold my daughter's 92 SE with 128,000 miles on it over the weekend. It too had the same clunk going over a bump. I replaced the sway bar bushings and pins and while it helped somewhat, it wasn't the total answer. I talked to our mechanic and he said it could either be the strut (which you have replaced) or it could be the support mechanism for the strut. I know that many of these cars that use McPherson struts have a thrust bearing assembly at the top of the strut and I assume that was what he was referring to. He also said that it can be difficult to determine which of the two is causing the problem.
  • uhlhockeyuhlhockey Member Posts: 7
    From post 213, I had car back in shop for 3 days as they tried to figure out what it was. I am to pick it up today...no charge he said wants to make sure he got it right. They said it was code 14 CTS (coolent temp sensor) and MAT mainifold air temp sensor. We'll see if it solves the problem. Thanks for your advice. Do you think I paid unnecisarilly for a new timing belt? It does have 108k on it and hadn't replace before. Timing belt and water pump ran 500 bucks. Thanks again.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    If they pulled a CTS code 14 it would definitely cause a driveability problem. The ecm uses that information to provide a richer fuel mixture for cold starts (like the choke on old carburetted engines), and if it thinks you're in Antarctica it's going to respond accordingly by providing way too much fuel. It's not an uncommon failure.

    As for the timing CHAIN, my '96 3800 has 60K on it now and will get a new chain and sprockets at 100K. It'll probably hang in a lot longer without a failure, but they stretch over time causing retarded valve timing, reducing power and fuel economy.
  • lewis21lewis21 Member Posts: 5
    My 96 Bonneville is a great car, but the other day the am/fm cassette radio dial & clock window went dark. Everything works, but neither the time nor radio stations are displayed. Went to the dealer and was advised.....for $500 they can fix...by replacing the entire radio. Sounds ridiculous but? Anyone have a similar experience?
  • chevydude2chevydude2 Member Posts: 36
    JRG4300....Don't know about all the other problems, but I had a similar experience with my old '88 Buick... I would be driving along and all of a sudden it would just die -- nothing -- and after letting it set for a few minutes it would start right up and run great for a long time. Finally got the best of me and I took it back to the dealer and they replaced the crankshaft sensor (under warranty) and it ran fine after that. The tech told me the adjustment on it is very critical as if its too far away it will run and then cut out.... Hope this helps. Brad
  • bonnevillesseibonnevillessei Member Posts: 11
    What is most likely to be the result of using 89 octane fuel in my 2k model? It costs $.20/gal less than 92 here. I now average 22.6 mpg using premium.
  • markk11markk11 Member Posts: 2
    Lewis21... I had the same problem with my car radio(non gm vehicle).I found that the miniature lamp that backlites the display was burned out.Replacing the 2 dollar light bulb fixed the problem and has worked fine for the last 3+ years. Markk
  • mfahey1mfahey1 Member Posts: 419
    I generally don't let the tank get below half full and probably 1/3 to 1/2 the time, I'll put in 89. I know the car has a knock sensor that will retard timing under heavy load but I sure can't tell any difference in the performance. Probably a stopwatch would catch the difference but to me there is no perceptable difference.
    In the site for Caravans, there is a nasty debate going on over which is the better van, Grand Caravan or Honda Odyssey. One of the points was that according to a magazine article, using regular 87 octane in the Honda, which normally requires premium, adds a full second to the 1-60 time.
  • jashoujashou Member Posts: 18
    I have a 2000 SSEi and I too have experienced the crunch noise when turning at low speeds. I took it into the dealer and they Re torqued the body bolts and re torqued the shart bolt (don't know what that is but that was the explanation on the service ticket)and it fixed the problem. It also seems to have fixed the slight vibration I had in the steering wheel at higher speeds. I enjoy driving my Bone even more now! I hope this helps you out.
  • intense01intense01 Member Posts: 107
    I have a 2000 SSEi with LOTS of performance modifications.

    In a nutshell, I am running about three times the factory boost, my induction is completely opened up (cold air induction, Stage 2 MAF, S-ported supercharger, ported lower intake, ported and polished heads with oversized exhaust valves), and my exhaust is completely free-flowing as well (headers, 3.0"/2.5" mandrel-bent custom setup).

    After my last round of mods, I began having two problems, which I believe may be related, and I am in need of some expert advice.

    The first problem is that I literally have no ignition timing advance at WOT. With 93 octane, I will typically see about 7 degrees of advance, with 5 degrees of Knock Retard. This equates to only 2 degrees of total advance, which is robbing me of around 50 to 80 horsepower if my math is good. By the way, my air/fuel ratio is pretty close according to the front oxygen sensor. I start to go a little lean near the end of second gear, and I plan to resolve that issue with a Fuel Management Unit.

    The second problem is that near the end of second gear, and all throughout third gear - only under WOT, the PCM is shutting my boost off (instantly switches from 13psi to 5psi) and cutting my injector pulsewidths (from 20 milliseconds to around 14). When this happens, I can continue accelerating at a slower rate, or I can let off the gas, and floor it again, and it's OK for a few more seconds. It will run right up to the speed limiter at 126 mph at half throttle. At full throttle, I have this 'bog' problem.

    I have read that the Boost Bypass Valve redirects boost under four conditions - Park, Reverse, idle, and extreme engine load. Do you know the PCM's definition of 'extreme engine load'?

    My best guess right now is that I have increased my combustion chamber pressure too much for the octane I am running. I found some 108 octane unleaded (VP Racing Fuel - red), and plan to see if that resolves my issues.

    If the higher octane solves the problems, I guess I'll have to reduce my boost, add an intercooler, or consider water or alcohol injection.

    Are there any other major factors I should be considering as I work through my issues?

    Thanks in advance for your help!

    Scott

    p.s. - and just how can I get rid of that speed limiter????
  • uhlhockeyuhlhockey Member Posts: 7
    well the car is doing the same thing...service engine light comes on engine revs up and speedometer goes flat to zero, after 10 to 15 seconds the light dings again engine revs, lurches, and speedometer goes back to current speed....any ideas..please!..Thanks!
  • hutbethutbet Member Posts: 7
    got your message about re-torque body bolts and shart bolt. is this spelled right ? also would like to know who and where your dealer is located. this crunching in the steering mechanism is annoying. THANKS AGAIN.
  • jashoujashou Member Posts: 18
    Yes, that is the way it is spelled on the work order. I had the work done at Wiesner Pontiac-GMC in Houston., actually Conroe (which is just North of Houston). If you need any help let me know and I will get a better explanation from the dealer. You can reach me via mail at smithosi@swbell.net. Good luck!
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    uhlhockey:
    Sorry to hear you're still having problems. The symptoms you're describing now sound like an intermittent signal problem with the vehicle speed sensor in the transaxle. It'll kill the speedo and shut off the cruise control, and because the pcm doesn't know the vehicle's speed it'll default the transaxle to 2nd gear (the engine rev). Check for a stored code 24. Also, if code 24 is stored it doesn't necessarily mean the sensor's pooched. Could be an intermittent open circuit in a wiring harness, connector, etc. If I were diagnosing it I'd start by hooking up a scan tool and monitor the vss input to the ecm, looking for a signal dropout when the symptoms occur.

    intense01:
    haven't forgotten you, I'm working on it. I've e-mailled one of my GM engineering buddies. Waiting for his reply.
  • bonneloverbonnelover Member Posts: 1
    Hi, I am NEW coming to you from Packer country if you are a football fan. I have READ ALL 232 messages so as not to repeat questions. I started to learn, but alas so much info has me confused since I am not a mechanic, plus I read them in 2 evenings. ( Can't learn calculus in 2 nites either) you get my point.

    I love the bonnevilles and am currently test driving a 96 sse with 47000 miles on it. The pontiac dealer had replaced the serpentine belt when the previous owner traded it in, the salesperson swears he has been driving it and it is great. .

    I now drive a 93 jeep grand cherokee, have no car payments and would like to update to a comfortable car of which I am sure is the Bonne, I love them, hence my name: bonnelover!!! I am set on getting one of these so to my questions:

    Question 1: . I did notice black spots on my clean driveway that came from the right exhaust (not the left) after I had put it in park and reved the engine to see if it had a rev limiter on it. There also was a bit of hardly noticeable fog type air that came out only on the right side. Is this carbon deposits or something to do with the egr valve that I read about in an other message that I should be expecting repairs on?

    Question 2: I don't have a large hill around here to drive up, how can I check for these problems that were noted in earlier postings when going up hills with these cars, I could have this car for a year and then not encounter a hill till I drive way up north skiing or something. The dealer gives a 3000 mile warranty. Thank's in advance and not to be partial but ALCON I hope you are out there and can clue me in cause I need answers quick before someone snatches up this car.

    Question 3 : Dealer wants 12,940.00. Is this a good price? I checked edmunds used price guide and for a private party got 11,284 for a "clean" vehicle. " Average" vehicle comes out to $10,859 which sounds great to me. Dealer is not budging much on the $12,940. And because I LOVE these cars it shows when I am talking price with the salesperson!
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    The black spots out of one exhaust tip are typical of the catalytic converter doing it's job of converting hydrocarbons (fuel from revving the engine) and oxygen into H2O and CO2. And since there's a single pipe back from the converter the stuff's going to take the easiest way out. Not to worry.

    The shudder on grades usually starts in the 60-80K mile range, and is usually your engine's way of telling you it'd like new DELCO plug wires. :-) Don't use aftermarket wires, they won't last.

    As for the price, you're asking the wrong guy since I'm Canadian. Dollar exchanges and car prices here make the Canadian numbers way higher. If you really like the car though, consider that the dealer has put money into reconditioning it and is offering a 3,000 mile warranty. Most private sellers do their reconditioning on their way through the local car wash. Try a search through www.autotrader.com and see what comparable cars are going for on lots in your area. That'll help you make a more informed decision. Good luck with it.
  • girlwithtoolsgirlwithtools Member Posts: 26
    The price your dealership quoted you seems high for a '96. We purchased a '97 from a very reputable dealership in Iowa for $12,000 (it had moderate miles and our mechanic came back thumbs up). I ran a carfax report to get history information before we purchased the car - maybe something you would want to check out as well (www.carfax.com). Good luck - ours has been good to us and I love the lux ride!
  • ayratayrat Member Posts: 26
    This morning I noticed pinging sound when accelerating, coming from under the hood in AT area. When I switched to first gear the sound become grinding. I already drove for about 5 miles of local traffic with a lot of lights, when I realized that, and when I parked the vehicle i found that ATfluid is leaking in big amounts. I found it was leaking from corroded metal line connecting AT and radiator.
    Obviously I have to replace the line a.s.a.p.
    But the thing is, that in December 2000 i went to our local Duane-Salerno GM dealership and have been offered to perform a recall on my car. Some time later after I pick up the car I found that of two cooler lines only one had been replaced, and the other was left untouched. I'm not sure though if this was right. The recall description says: "dealers will replace the transmission oil cooler lineS". Does it mean both or one?
    Another thing - could it destroy the transmission? I still saw some fluid in there, but the sound when I shifted to gear "1" was bad even though not too loud. I called GM customer service, but they pointed back to dealer and could not provide the information on what exactly should be performed within recall...

    the following is extracts from NHTSA recall description:

    ************************************
    NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 96V015000
    Component: POWER TRAIN:TRANSMISSION:AUTOMATIC:COOLING UNIT AND LINES
    Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
    Potential Number of Units Affected: 585182


    Year: 1992
    Make: PONTIAC
    Model: BONNEVILLE
    Manufactured From: To:
    Year of Recall: '96
    Type of Report: Vehicle
    Summary:

    VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM AUGUST 1991 THROUGH JULY 1995. THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINE CAN SEPARATE WHEN THE VEHICLE IS OPERATED IN LOW TEMPERATURES IN COMBINATION WITH HIGH TRANSMISSION LOADS.

    VEHICLE FIRES CAN OCCUR DUE TO THE SPILLAGE OF TRANSMISSION FLUID.

    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINES.
  • onthebirdonthebird Member Posts: 1
    Ocassionally, whenever I shutdown my 2000 SE (new last May) the ghost inside the radio changes stations, volume level or powers itself off with no particular pattern and for no apparent reason. The dealer has replaced the radio, checked the electrical system and computer, all to no avail. We've tried to eliminate outside influences such other radios, cell phones, garage door openers but nothing leads to the real offender. Could it be the radio controls on the steering wheel? No other operational problems with the car.
  • hankjkhankjk Member Posts: 4
    I have a 96 sle that burns about 1 quart of oil every 3k miles. This car always consumed oil from day 1. I was told this is normal. Any 1 else have the same problem?
  • twobrownstwobrowns Member Posts: 52
    I had a 95 bonneville that used about that amount in 3000 miles. Never complained since I changed the oil every 3000 miles. I once had a pontiac that used 1 qt in 400 miles from day 1 and was told that was normal. I guess as long as it runs IT'S NORMAL!
  • skyhawk3skyhawk3 Member Posts: 42
    I have a 2001 with the one CD radio. When we start the car sometimes it picks up with the tract that was playing when we shut the car off, sometimes it starts the CD from the first tract, and other times either the radio comes on FM or AM. I have decided to ignore the issue. The thought of the dealer inside my dash bothers me more that the radio ghost. This has been almost from day 1.
  • montanafanmontanafan Member Posts: 945
    The radio has a personalization feature that recognizes the driver by which remote was used. You will note that the emotes are numbered 1 & 2 on the back. Could you be using different emotes occasional or could the car pick up a signal from the other remote on the other key ring if you have a second driver in the house? I would think the problems is there and note in the radio itself.
  • montanafanmontanafan Member Posts: 945
    Pontiac recall campaign #95-C-68 was for "Upper Transaxle Oil Cooler Line Seperation" and dealers were to install a new upper transaxle oil cooler line on involved vehicles. Just one line is all that is to be replaced under the recall.
  • ghchfghchf Member Posts: 5
    Hi folks, new user here. I have a 95 Bonneville, 141,940 kms....just blew head gasket...now repaired. New problems, oil pressure gauge reads normal after cold start then degrades throughout day of driving to point of low pressure warning chime. Any ideas? Item 2. shimmy from front end, felt mainly through steering wheel, lessens as speed increases to highway speed. Like everyone here, I love the Bonneville and intend keeping it for a long time yet. Any thoughts on above items would be welcomed. Thanks.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Re the oil pressure problem, have the sending unit removed and a mechanical pressure gauge installed to verify that oil pressure actually is low. Sending units can become defective. If pressure is dropping it could indicate engine bearing damage (main, rod, and/or camshaft bearings) as a result of glycol coolant in the oil.

    Re the steering wheel shimmy at lower speeds, that's usually caused by a bent rim or a tire belt shifted. Try rotating the tires front/rear one at a time and see if the symptoms go away or change to a "waddle" in the rear of the car.
  • ghchfghchf Member Posts: 5
    95 Bonneville ..low oil pressure warning...checked sending unit...was ok. Flushed all oil out of system..refilled....looking good so far. Rotated tires front to rear as Alcan suggested. No more shimmy! Thanks for advise.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Thank you, but it was just a couple of lucky guesses. And 32 years as a licensed tech. ;-) If the oil pressure seems ok now, I'd recommend another oil/filter change to get rid of any residual glycol. It can be nasty stuff on bearings, but 3.8's are pretty tough engines. And don't forget that there's still an issue of a bent rim or shifted tire belt on the rear now. A shifted belt could eventually lead to a blowout and loss of control. Switching them back to the front one at a time will quickly identify the culprit. Good luck with it.
  • mfahey1mfahey1 Member Posts: 419
    Here I've owned my Bonneville for just over a year and didn't know the remotes were numbered. Because my car has the memory seats, it used to drive me nuts if I grabbed my wife's set of keys because I couldn't get in with the seat so far forward for her. I solved it by (1. programming both remotes for my position as #1 and (2. programming her to not want to drive the car since I've managed to make her so paranoid about getting the first door ding.
    When we first got the car, I was ready to take it back to the dealer because when you would press one of the memory switches for the seats, the CD would change and I thought there was a ghost inhabiting the electrical system. Only after several months of procrastination on taking it back and experimenting did I realize that everything is keyed off of the driver ID.
  • onulawbagonulawbag Member Posts: 2
    Driving home from out of town, and about an hour and a half away, the "check gauges" light comes on, as the temperature gauge starts fluctuating. Because we replaced the water pump 30 days ago, and the gauge has acted odd in the past (and was told that the gauge was just screwy), I kept driving. Then the gauge red-lined (bottomed out)--car still running just as pretty as you please. BTW it's a '95 Bonnie SSE with 95K miles. At some point the "check engine" light comes on too.

    Many prayers later, I make it to 5 miles south of my exit, and the car starts shaking/shuddering and then 15 seconds later just dies as I'm doing 73 on the interstate. Coasted to a stop. The lights and radio and all power stuff works, but the engine won't start. After about 45 minutes sitting on the side of the road *praying* for a highway patrol officer to mosey on by (and me without a cell phone for once) the car finally starts with a shudder and shake. This lasted about 5 seconds, then it ran smoother and I nursed it home the last 10 miles. I have no idea how.

    Now it absolutely will not start. It tries to turn over, it just can't fire, and therefore just isn't successful. All of the power stuff still works. I don't think that I cracked the engine block and mixed the coolant in the oil because the dipstick isn't milky colored. However, there is coolant in all of the vacuum lines.

    Any ideas or suggestions? I'm already entertaining the idea of a new car, and I've already kicked myself for continuing to drive after the warning lights came on.

    Thanks!
  • mfahey1mfahey1 Member Posts: 419
    You might try pulling several of the plugs to see if they are wet. Head gasket or possibly the intake plenum gasket?
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    ....but I'm here to announce the new Bonneville Owners Club is now available on Edmunds.com Owner's Club board. Please stop by and introduce yourself in Meet the Members and let me know how I can help build your club.


    I have linked this discussion into that folder, but it will always reside here in .


    Looking forward to meeting everyone!


    KarenS
    Host
    Owner's Clubs
  • onulawbagonulawbag Member Posts: 2
    Just heard back from the radiator company--said the intake plenum gasket was totally shot, and was the worst he'd ever seen. Lucky me, eh? :) Good news is, only $500 to diagnose and fix, and I'm getting a new car. Thanks for the help!!
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