Ok heres the deal i have an 88 RS. Yes its a 6cyl. For now its auto and it stalled on me when i was at the end of my street waiting to take a right. It just plain stopped. Can someone gimme a reason why it stopped?????

 

Did the SES light come on?? What code?? It could be the MAF.

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Looking For:

87 IROC-Z 350 TPI
84 TRANS AM 305 H.O.

 

hmmm....maybe EGR

 

whats an egr and an maf??

 

wow...u got lots to learn...the MAF is the black thing with a wire going to it in ur intake ducting... if u look and see a black thing with a wire coming out of it after the air cleaner...thats the MAF..is monitors how much air is coming into the car so the computer can put enough gas into the cylinders...

EGR is Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve(i think im right?) it does exactly that...

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88 Firebird 2.8
MODS (either coming or on):
Flowmaster Cat Back, Random Technologies Cat, 3" intermediate pipe, 10.4 Taylor Race Wires, MSD Coil, MSD Ignition Module, B&M Shifter, Transgo Shift Kit, Cold Air Induction, 1.6 rockers ..Then peeling and cracking paint..
2"cowl hood
3.4 engine -new-
s/c'r then im done, maybe some no2...

 

Did the SES light come on??

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Looking For:

87 IROC-Z 350 TPI
84 TRANS AM 305 H.O.

 

o.k., when was the last time a good tune up was performed on your car? when my dad still owned my firebird it would stall out on ocassion when it was out of tune. Also, i'd advise you to get a haynes or Chiltons manual on your car, you're learn a lot from it, and the message boards will make a lot more sense. The haynes manual should also go through details about a tune up, and routine maitnence.

 

Yes the SES light came on and..no i haven't gotten a tun up lately.. i though of the tune up but would it realy make it stall???

 

What code is the SES light giving u??

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Looking For:

87 IROC-Z 350 TPI
84 TRANS AM 305 H.O.

 

how do i tell the code!!

 

ok, underneath your dash near the fuse box, there is going to be a connector that has 12 pins. it's a rectangle shape. now, with the key turned to on(CAR OFF!!) you have to jump terminal's A and B. they are at the TOP row, the 2 from the RIGHT side. jumping these only consists of taking a wire and sticking one end in "A" and the other end in "B". (pep boys sells a tool specifically for this if you don't have a wire). with the wire in, the SES light will begin to flash. for example : FLASH (pause) FLASH FLASH. this would equal CODE 12. you should get code 12 followed by another code and then code 12 again. write down whatever codes you get and post it here. i know somebody has a site that lists trouble codes. good luck

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Dan
100% stock 1990 RS 3.1L
and VERY slow

 

will any wire do it?

 

Yes!! Tell us the code and we can tell u what it is.

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Looking For:

87 IROC-Z 350 TPI
84 TRANS AM 305 H.O.

 

yes, any wire. and i just remembered....it will flash code 12 THREE times, then another code THREE times, and then code 12 THREE times again( instead of ONE time each)

 

DO YOURSELF A BIG FAVOR AND GO GET A HAYNES, CHILTONS, REPAIR MANUAL ETC. THIS WILL TELL YOU HOW TO DIAGNOSE SES LIGHT. IT WILL ALSO HELP YOU IN REPAIR PROCESS. GGOD LUCK

 

ok i looked and i'm not seein the box.. can someone describe it a little better if possible!!! thanx guys

 

You mean the ALDL connector to shove the wire into?

Look below the steering column, to the right. It should have a little rectangular plastic cap over it, just pull it off with your fingers.

The trouble code listing is at: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/f...gen.shtml#misc Remember some of these codes changed meanings over the years, such as 32 and 33, we can help you with that, though.

Follow CaliCamaroRS's (Dan's) directions for putting the jumper wire into the connector. That webpage talks of two different ways to put the wire in, Dan's got the right one.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

i see a cap that says diagnostic connecter and i pulled it off is that it???

 

ok i used a paper clip cuz i had no wire at the time and all i got was code 12..over and over and over nothing else and i know code 12 is Diagnostic Mode/ECM functioning No distributor pulses.. is that bad and expensive to fix??

 

code 12 means all is good. my car used to stall every once in a while when i'd get off the freeway or if i stopped suddenly. but one day it stopped and it never did it again so i never found out what it was.

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Dan
100% stock 1990 RS 3.1L
and VERY slow

 

No sir code 12 is Diagnostic Mode/Electronic Engine Coolant functioning no distributor pulses.. thats the reason y my car heats up quickly.. if it had no problems then the SES light wouldn't come on...

 

ok, on my car, if i check for codes i will get code 12. my SES light has never come on in almost 2 years. also, there is no code for a car heating up quickly. is your car heating up quickly according to the gauge or the "actual" temp. if it's the gauge, i'd suggest replacing the coolant temperature sensor( DO NOT buy this from anyone except the dealer unless you enjoy splicing wires). when the CTS begins to go bad your gauge will do some wierd things.

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Dan
100% stock 1990 RS 3.1L
and VERY slow

 

it's really only around town that it hears up quickly it goes to half way then back down then up again and at that point its HOTT... which is the reason for the stalling how can i cool it down..also my car literally drinks antifreeze. Look half of the container in 1day!!!! That's nuts

 

ok, many people believe that the coolant resevoir is for "extra" coolant but it is not. when your car heats up, pressure in the cooling system begins to build. once it reaches approx. 16 lb of pressure, the radiator cap "opens" and releases some coolant into the bottle. when your car cools down, that coolant will be sucked back into the radiator. when your car is cold, the coolant level in the bottle should be at the bottom where it says "COLD". if you fill this bottle all the way up, when the engine heats up the pressurized coolant has nowhere to go and it gets burned off. so i suggest that you leave the bottle level at "COLD" and instead check your radiator level (engine cold obviously). if your radiator level goes down then you might have a problem.

as for the engine heating up around town, my car did the SAME EXACT thing. i had no problem on the freeway but around town my gauge was always buried around 250 degrees. well i checked the "actual" temperature by putting a thermometer in the radiator and found out i didn't have any cooling system problems but my gauge was just screwy. so i replaced the coolant temperature sensor and that put an end to "screwy gauge syndrome"

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Dan
100% stock 1990 RS 3.1L
and VERY slow

 

You obviously have no electrical problems.If you keep getting 12 flashed in your face.
Do yourself a favor....when you do a tune up,(just as a precaution)change the thermostat.A new radiator cap wouldn't hurt either.
Do you have any idea where the coolent is going?If you can't find any leaks, have your cooling system pressure checked.

The heat will build up faster in town due to stop and go traffic(DUH ).Also from a low coolent level(anotherDUH )

What code 12 means by..."12. No reference pulses to Electronic Control Module (ECM)"....is no codes have been detected.

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http://v6fbody.com/
http://nethirdgen.org/
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/tristatecamaro



[This message has been edited by Kevin S (edited October 26, 2000).]

 

...basically code 12 means that your car isn't running. (No pulses from distributor.)

If it helps any, I was losing coolant once, and couldn't figure out why. One day I popped the hood after pulling the car into my driveway, and noticed a wisp of steam. Turns out one of my heater hoses had a pinhole in it- when the system got hot (pressurized), coolant sprayed right onto my passenger side exhaust manifold- it evaporated it right away, and nothing was left to drip on the floor.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

wow this is one confusing threed.. first, correct me if im wrong, but your ses light will come on anytime the engine stalls, anytime the ignition is in run with the engine off.. also, calicamaro, actually what you are describing is a "surge" tank, that newer vehicles use, basically it is a pressurized overflow jug.. the overflow jug on are cars, is basically for that, overflow.. with a properly running engine you shouldnt notice any change in fluid level in the jug, it basically acts as an expansion tank should the engine overheat, it will spew the overflow into the jug, where it can reclaim it once the system cools.. also unlike a lot of older cars without the jug, they just had a tube that would spew the overflow onto the ground, and you would have to refill the rad after a overheat.. anyway..

when your car stalled, were you turning the wheel? ive seen this happen, the PS pump puts too much of a load on a slow idling engine and causes it to stall.. gm had a cure for this, a pressure switch in the PS line that would bump the idle speed up a bit when the pressure built up, although in almost every car ive seen, this switch is bad.. what did the engine do? did it stumble or anything?

 

ok, so you never got a code while driving (engine on)??? right??? but the light comes on when you stall right???? in that case you shouldn't have thrown a code.....just code 12 which is what you got.

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Dan
100% stock 1990 RS 3.1L
and VERY slow

 

No, the coolant level will change in the bottle as you drive. That's why there's a "cold" & "hot" line. The level will bounce between the two depending on car temp, like CaliCamaro says.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards