91 rs 3.1v6 basically stock

last weekend I changed out my plugs and wires for new ones. This is the first time changing the wires since Ive only had the car for 3 years and use it to drive to/from the airport. Once these were changed, and after a day or so, the SES light came on and the code being displayed is a 51 (PROM). The car actually bogs down severly and stalls if I slow or stop at a light and let the car idle. If it does stall then after 5min of not running, it will start up again, however its prone to stall again at each intersection.

My question is this:

Does this sound like the ECM or the PROM?

If it is the prom, am I better off going with an aftermarket such as hypertech or Jet (an others would be appreciated), or GM?

how can I test the Prom?

I just dont want to spend $200 on the Prom and find out its something else. I went to the local junkyard today, however all the camaros of 1991 had there computers ripped out already.

On a side note, if I do replace the Prom with an aftermarket, should I do a stage 1 (normal) or 2? Currently Im running a 160 thermostat and have the fan on a switch in the dash, so overheating isnt an issue. Car runs 160 on the highway with no fan on, and I can keep the car around 200 in traffic. Ant experiences on any of the brands?

This is the only code that the car is displaying. Ive done the 'tap' test on the ecm to no avail.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Find someone who can burn you a custom chip. A blank one is like $10 or less. If it is the PROM just pick up a blank one on ebay or something and take it to your local PROM guy.

 

I replaced the chip and ECM one at a time, and now have run into a different problem. The car is hard to start and when revving, black smoke fires out the exhaust (not much but enough to notice). The car sounds like it may be missing when at idle, however revs up smoothly.

Ive checked the connetions on the replacement plug wires and they seem ok. The passenger side wires are hot to the touch. The driver side are hot but nowhere near the other side.

Any suggestions?

BTW...the car has 175k on it. Is it time to junk it?

 

Welcome to the forum! Why not fix it instead of junk it? Hell you probably need to re-set the computer, drive for an hour at highway speeds so it relearns itself, and then do a major tuneup.

But if you want to junk it, drive it over to my house, and I'll give you $35 for it. Four accidents (one in which I totalled my car), three transmissions, 1 paint job, two axles, and 258,000 miles later, and I'm still not ready to junk mine.

I just put the major tuneup link up in your General Tech Forum message for you. You can also find it by doing a <a href="search.php?s="><img src="images/top_search.gif" alt="Search" border="0"></a>, choosing the V6 forum, and searching for "major tuneup" (or any other problem you want info on.)

 

thanks for all the help guys...Out of frustration I just started replacing the sensors which figure the mixture of fuel and gas. After replacing the coolant temp sensor, the car runs like a dream. Looks like when I replaced it a couple weeks ago, I cracked the plastic housing on it. Go figure.

But now the question is, why wasnt a code being sent to the computer? And the bigger question is, why the code 51?

Anyone know where I can get software and a laptop cable to help in future ventures with this car? And no, Im not gonna junk it prior to 200k (that should take 2-3 more years).