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Pontiac Bonneville Starting/Stallling/Ignition Problems

233 messages,  Last post on Mar 10, 2013 at 5:56 PM

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Bonneville, Auto Repair, Sedan

Messages Page 19 of 24

#181 of 233 Poor Fuel Mileage/Car dies while driving by llmmoore

Jun 24, 2010 (2:56 pm)

I have a 97 Bonneville that I bought used. I am only getting about 17 or 18 miles per gal. There is a slight shutter in transmission and the engine seems to run good with a very slight miss and idling at about 1000 RPM's. Also today my wife was driving to town and the car died while she was driving down the road. The car had now power no lights no crank. After a little bit car started like nothing happened. Drove a little further and died again same thing no lights no crank. Waited a little bit and it started and has been fine so far. ANY IDEAS would be greatly appreciated

#182 of 233 97 bonneville se not starting by krause269

Jul 18, 2010 (12:28 pm)

Car ran great until one day it started overheating so I brought the vehicle into a local repair shop that does free estimates they said it was lower intake gasket and water pump gasket so I went a purchased a complete intake gasket set as well as water pump gasket. After replacing all the gaskets blowing the coolant out of the cylinders and multiple oil changes the car finally started up with a small plume of white smoke eventually dissipating. On the road the car ran rough misfiring in 2 cylinders so I proceeded to check spark replacing spark plugs with some slightly used ones I had. Then noticed corrosion on the spark plug wires so I decided to replace those as well. Problem continued so I headed to the junk yard and picked up 2 ignition coils to replace the two that had been misfiring. Now when I turn the key over it just cranks, There is fuel in the fuel rails and all plugs get white hot spark. To me it seems very strange that I change old parts to new parts and now it wont even start. I have checked the firing order and made sure all wires are firmly snapped in place on the coils. Please anyone who may know what I did wrong help me out.

#183 of 233 93 pontiac bonneville by cbleavins

Jul 23, 2010 (2:07 pm)

In the heat of the day my car will runs for about 10 miles and than it will start to sputter and act like it is running out of gas than it will eventually die. I can be driving down the street at a steady speed and than all of a sudden my RPM's will drop all the way down and than it will start slowing down and if I push on the gas it will sputter but it doesn't help anything it just dies. If I let it set for about 5-10 minutes it will run fine for about 5 minutes and than it will start acting up again. Again this only happens in the heat of the day!!! I have replaced the MAF senor, O2 sensor, catilac converter, spark plugs and wire, fuel filter and tested the ignition module all is good. I'm at a lose and honestly don't know what to do. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

#184 of 233 Engine will not even crank by kyearber

Jul 30, 2010 (4:23 pm)

Hello, I've got a "97 Bonneville SE with a little over 200K miles on it. It ran fine up to this afternoon. I got home shut it off then came out about an hour later and now it will not even crank. I replaced the Bat about 1 and a half months ago (dead cell), and I gave the VATS system a lobotomy last year when I found the ignition was causing an issue with the VATS system. My security light goes out about 10 seconds after turning on the ignition but nothing happens. All the power accessories work and none of the lights get dime when the ignition is engaged. Anyone have a clue what could be happening?
 

#185 of 233 Re: Engine will not even crank [kyearber] by imidazol97

Jul 30, 2010 (5:25 pm)

Replying to: kyearber (Jul 30, 2010 4:23 pm)
If you can look down under the front of the motor and hit the solenoid on the starter with something of mass like a plastic hammer it might cause the starter to engage. Have someone hold the key to crank while you do that. A neighbor knows where to hit and uses a metal hammer.
 
You might have a battery that has given up the ghost.
You mmight have a battery cable not making connection, usually at the battery and you'll have to disconnect cables to check for corrosion.

#186 of 233 Security Light by sca81483

Aug 09, 2010 (7:27 pm)

I have a 99 Bonneville, runs great, except on the rare occasion that the security light comes on and decides to stay on. It's done it going down the road, pulling into parking spots and when getting in to try go somewhere, and you're just stuck until it goes off...You can reset it by disconnecting the battery, most of the time, not always...any suggestions please let me know!!

#187 of 233 Re: Security Light [sca81483] by imidazol97

Aug 09, 2010 (7:39 pm)

Replying to: sca81483 (Aug 09, 2010 7:27 pm)
Is this the VATS light or is it the security system for the body of the car? I believe there's a trunk connection that people disconnect to get the light to go off. And I just read today about a plunger in the hood lock mentioned.
 
If it's the VATS system, it should come on when the key is turned to ON and then go off within a few seconds. If it reads the wrong key chip resistance, the security light flashes for 3 minutes. After that it goes off and the TDM is ready to read a new resistance reading from the key. Vehicle Anti Theft System. Theft deterrent module.
 
The reasons for wrong chip readings are dirty chip. Clean with pencil eraser.
Worn contacts inside the key lock cylinder that contact the chip on both sides of the key.
Breaking wires where the leads from the cylinder go through the steeering column where it flexes and the thin wires eventually start breaking, changing the resistance of the wires and the key.
 
The two thin wires are inside an orange outer cover where the leads go along to the bottom of the steering column.
 
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f53/vats-q-14866/
 
Search for VATS on google.com
 
Theft alarm installers put in a bypass resistor. I read they buy packs of the 15 resistances and have them. Might be worth paying someone just to bypass it even if you don't install an alarm if you don't want to try doing it yourself
IF that turns out to be what's happening.
 
Addon. My security light on my 98 has been going on and off for years. One of the failure modes of the TDM is to decide it has lost its mind and just quit without blocking starting. I think that's what has happened with mine.

#188 of 233 Re: 93 pontiac bonneville [cbleavins] by george3386

Sep 18, 2010 (8:42 pm)

Replying to: cbleavins (Jul 23, 2010 2:07 pm)
Your Ignition module that you had checked is probably bad but it does not break down untill it get hot. I had a similar problem with a oldsmobile ignition module. It checked good also but the car would not run with it in. When I replaced it the car ran fine. Make sure you put the silicone goo under the module because it helps to tranfer the heat

#189 of 233 99 bonneville stalling by jperza

Sep 25, 2010 (9:19 am)

My 99 bonneville has a stalling problem. I will be driving down the road and it just cuts out. The weather conditions dont matter. It doesn't matter the amount of fuel. The common denominator when it does this is no power to the seats and windows. everything else works. It might take 5 min up to a couple hours to restart. I pulled all relays under hood by fuses and it still staarts I ran a ground from engine to fender and still didn't help Anyone have any suggestions.

#190 of 233 Re: 99 bonneville stalling [jperza] by imidazol97

Sep 25, 2010 (5:42 pm)

Replying to: jperza (Sep 25, 2010 9:19 am)
I'd have to look at a factory service manual and figure out some circuits, but I'd sure be checking the battery for a defective internal contact at the time it happens. A few broken posts have made and broken contact while driving for people.
 
Then I'd check the positive battery cables, cutting into the plastic near the ends looking at the integrity of the copper. Some people have reported deterioration due to acid from the battery terminal seeping and running down the cables.
 
AND pull the parts of the positive cables apart. Inspect the lead piece between them. Clean them up.
 
Does the car crank but now start or is there no crank? Power to the starter?
 
I'd have to look at power to the seats and windows. I would think those go to the relay panel on the firewall. Check the positive line feeding there for good connection.
 
Depending on those symptoms about whether the car will crank and not start or won't even crank.... try to use logic from there.
 
A good set of Helm factory service manuals from Ebay for 1999 probably a 3 volume set would help you a lot right now. If you shop, just be sure to get all the volumes and don't buy a substitute.
 
you also might use alldata at your local library to search out the wiring diagrams.
 
I do know also that some people have had trouble with the ground busses under the door sill plastic right where it meets the A pillar. They corrode due to moisture. They are wrapped in tape and bundled with the wires going along the sill to the rear. There is one on the passenger side also.
 
The power seats and window dropping out made me think of that. On my 93 the AC would default to basic with defrost and AC compressor engaged and the pwoer door locks would not work. I figured out it was the buss on the driver side. It rarely happened and I never got to fix it before we traded the car.
 
I do not know if there is any ground there for a car that's running that would cause it to turn off. A check would be to hit that area with your foot to vibrate the wires and cause the corrosion to make contact again.--worth a try.
 
But I'm betting on cable trouble at the battery. A few Bonneville people have put on new cables to replace some bad positive cables.

Messages Page 19 of 24

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