Discuss your 2000-2005 Bonneville SE, SLE, SSEi, Buick Le Sabre 00-05 and Buick Park Avenue 97-05. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
Today, from out of no warnings, my car started idling really bad and now it doesn't have much power it also smells like rotten eggs. From what I have read, it almost sounds like the catallactic converter is bad. If so, what is the factory warrany on them and what causes them to go bad?
I just called OnStar and they ran a diagnostic test and it is coding p0300
Unplug the MAF sensor and see if it runs any different. The rotten egg smell and loss of power is likely caused by the misfiring, unburnt fuel is going through the catylitic convertor and trying to burn off giving a sulfur smell. If the MAF makes no difference, pull the plugs and see how they look, could be time for some new plugs and wires.
Seems like I remember the warranty on the cat being around 80,000 miles or so.
Ryan 2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD! 2002 Bonneville SE - The MuttComplete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD 2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH 1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one
MattStrike wrote:It was the worst week of my life! *pause, drinks beer... smiles* But I'm better now!
Coils could also be the cause, if you have extras, swap them out as well just to see.
If it runs better with the MAF unplugged then it is bad. If it runs worse or the same then it is likely not the issue.
Ryan 2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD! 2002 Bonneville SE - The MuttComplete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD 2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH 1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one
MattStrike wrote:It was the worst week of my life! *pause, drinks beer... smiles* But I'm better now!
i did the unplugging and it ran the same :( i read on here where someone tested their coils by spraying a mist of water on them, i wonder will that work.
I usually pull one plug wire off the coil and start the engine, you should be able to hear / see the spark jumping from the top of the tower to the base of the coil, you can do this at night to make sure you see it if you want. Do one at a time, all six should spark good enough to hear pretty easily.
Ryan 2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD! 2002 Bonneville SE - The MuttComplete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD 2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH 1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one
MattStrike wrote:It was the worst week of my life! *pause, drinks beer... smiles* But I'm better now!
nos4blood70 wrote:Also, the spark from the coil will arc a good distance and loves your fingers. Ask me how I know. XD
Still the best way to ask a girl to prom.
Will
91 Riviera | S2 L67 Swap/4T60E | 127K mi | Antelope Met. w/ Tan Int. | Saved From Death By Crusher
92 Bonneville SSE | L67/4T60E | 77K mi | Med Slate Grey w/ Two-Tone Grey Int. | Low Miles Time Capsule
92 Lumina Z34 | LQ1/4T60E | 177k mi | Torch Red w/Grey Int. | Rusty In Odd Spots
99 Tahoe LT | L31/4L65E | 276k mi | Spiral Grey Metallic w/Grey Int. | Truck for Truck Things and Portable Concert Hall
02 Bonneville SSEi | 171k mi | Black w/Neutral Int. | Backup and road trip car
03 Park Avenue Ultra | 212K mi | White Diamond Met. w/ Shale Int. | Southern Time Capsule
05 Acura RL | 165K mi | Carbon Grey Pearl w/Ebony Int. | The Super-Hooptie Daily
Cats have a 8yr 80K mile warranty. if your getting a stong smell, low power and missfire it is very likely its getting plugged. any mods to the car? cats usually fail from excess fuel.. might have something going on that caused a cat failure. if you have a lazer temp thingy then you might want to start the car and warm it up and read the temps on the inlet of the cat and outlet and see what they read. should be 150*+ higher at the outlet of the cat.
Also if its stock cat then you can unbolt the flange and look to see if the cat is melted.
Good cat: has nice even honeycombs inside
I tested the coil packs tonight. One pack has no fire at all. One pack has a lot of fire, and one pack has a lot of fire on one wire and not as much on the other. Hopefully, replacing them will correct the problem?
Just to make sure, swap one of your known good ones to that spot. If still no fire, likely the ICM is the problem.
Ryan 2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD! 2002 Bonneville SE - The MuttComplete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD 2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH 1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one
MattStrike wrote:It was the worst week of my life! *pause, drinks beer... smiles* But I'm better now!
i just put the good coil in the bad spot and no fire, and now the no fire coil is firing in the good spot, i guess i will try the icm and hopefully that is it
1 thing you could have tried before buying a new coil was to swap it with one of the other ones. If it moves with the coil, then the coil is bad. If it doesn't then the ICM is bad. Just my 2 cents.
'01 Bonneville SLE
'93 Grand Prix SE Coupe 3.4L Twin dual overhead cam
Ryan 2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD! 2002 Bonneville SE - The MuttComplete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD 2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH 1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one
MattStrike wrote:It was the worst week of my life! *pause, drinks beer... smiles* But I'm better now!
Just to take that a step further... ALL EMISSIONS RELATED COMPONENTS have a federally mandated 80k warranty. There should be a list in the back of the owner's documents that lists all the components covered by the emissions warranty. Many dealerships will happily charge customers who don't know any better.
it also smells like rotten eggs. From what I have read, it almost sounds like the catallactic converter is bad. If so, what is the factory warrany on them and what causes them to go bad?
