Engine will not start?

It definitely sounds like it is getting too much fuel. When you are holding the accelerator down to the floor, you are entering what is called clear flood mode. Basically this tells the PCM to cut the injectors off. If it is still not running on all cylinders then I suspect those injectors are still dumping fuel or there are other issues.

I would suggest starting with pulling the plugs and seeing if they are fouled. If they are wet or smell like fuel after cranking this way then it is still dumping fuel. The reason it starts this way is because it is getting fuel but when you cut the injectors, the plugs are able to fire with the remaining fuel in the cylinders.

Let me know what you find with the plugs and we can go from there.

Lastly, if it sat that long, I would put new plugs in it when you pull them all out since they are coming out anyway.

plugs were dry but black this morning when i pulled them, but it set all night fuel pressure had dropped to 0 overnight as expected. does the 1995 have obd2? it has a plug but my reader just gives me a connector error will not read anything. i know some 1994 and 1995 do but some don't. i just have a cheap code reader. check engine light is on but engine is not running. according to the Buick book i have it can be on when engine is not running and have no codes I have not worked as a mechanic since the late 1970's in automotive but worked on plant maintenance at a explosive plant. so i am not up to date on this computer cars and only work on my own stuff and that is getting harder because i am as old as dirt.

You have an OBD 1 vehicle and to confirm this you should have a connector that looks like the attached picture. In order to retrieve the codes, you need to jump the two terminals together and then count the flashing check engine light.

It should flash once, pause, then flash a certain number, pause, then repeat. It should flash 1-2 three times then give you all the actual codes, then flash 1-2 three more times. The 1-2 are the opening and closing codes and they don't mean anything other than to tell you all the codes have flashed.

just checked my car has a 16 pin and the GM manual i have shows that it could have a 12 or 16 pin and is not flash capable. but my obdii wont read it. just a cheap one of Amazon. but the manual says that the check engine light should be on with key on engine not running. so I need to go from there. I will get some new plugs tomorrow in town and replace them and see if it will start then. when I was trying before I added a can of sea foam to the gas to maybe free up the injectors after two years could not hurt i guess.

From what I can tell, your vehicle has a 12 pin connector which means it is an OBD 1 which is why your OBD II reader won't work.

Let me know what happens with the plugs and we can go from there. Thanks

Going to get new plugs today. it is a 100 mile trip to town so it will take all day. but the connector is a 16 pin. i would send a picture but i don't have any way to get it on the computer.

Wow. I thought I lived out there.

If it is a 16 pin, I would think it is an OBD II vehicle but I could be wrong. Keep us updated. Thanks

It is a 16 pin but GM manual says it is obd 1. put in new plugs and got it started but only at full throttle and it runs rough and surges up and down and backfires shuts off if you back off of throttle at all. I think it needs new injectors maybe. fuel pressure on gauge stays at about 40.

Yes. I would agree that the injectors sound like they are stuck open. Holding the accelerator to the floor is called a clear flood which means it cuts the injector pulse width. The fact that when you remove your foot it stalls just shows that it is too much fuel. I would try not to start it too much until you figure it out or you will foul the plugs again. Black plugs as you found earlier is a sign of carbon fouling which is caused by excess fuel.

If it were me, I would put injectors in it at this point.

i will have to let i go until payday. injectors not cheap. try that on the first.

Hello,

It also could be a Mass Air Flow Sensor. a quick check for this is unplug it and start it up should change the way it runs. It could also be the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor reading a really low temperature. check it the same way. I'm attaching component location and repair guides below let us know if this was helpful.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-a-mass-air-flow-sensor-maf

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-a-bad-coolant-temperature-sensor

Thanks
Joe T.

Good point Joe. Thanks. The ECM determines fuel pulse widths based on amount of air (MAF) coolant temp and a couple others. Good easy test. Let us know what happens. Thanks.

i will try that when i get home Monday. had to go to the grand kids for a couple days.

Sounds great. Grand kids need attention too. Enjoy. We will be here when you get to it. Thanks

unplugged MAS it starts and run okay. cleaned MAS and that did not fix it so replaced it. running okay now. have to run a few miles and see how it works out it had set for 2 years before i got it with a bad fuel pump that i also replaced. thanks for your help .

That is great. Thank you for the follow up. Please come back to 2CarPros next time.

Changed the fuel pump and filter, cam sensor, battery, crank sensor, and checked the wiring . It still won't start,
it has spark, it dose not have injector pulses. We checked the codes with a tek 2 no codes but the car would run with the tek 2 attached, we took the tek 2 off and the car would not start anymore? The last thing we know to do is replace PCM. My uncle has been working on this car for weeks , he is a certified master mechanic, this not a simple problem.

I have seen this happen on a honda would only start with a code reader attached. It was a lopse ground.Do have the 16pin obd2 style connector?

I posted the ground I want you to check depending on the 8th digit of your vin is where the ground is located.Let me know what you find the wires to that ground should have less then 2 ohms to ground.

ob2

I figured that buicks started the obd2 style connectors in 1994.Check that ground i posted.

I maid a mistake he said it was obd1 he had all ready checked the ground you indicated. It was a little under 2 ohms . He plugged the tek2 in and started the engine with it. It ran for about 40 minute's and then died it still wouldn't start with the key. But it would still start with the tek2. Tomorrow he is going to take the ground off and clean everything up and see it that make a difference. he may even add a direct ground to the battery.
i will let you now if that makes a difference .
john

The car quit - restarted - then wouldn't start again. Due to it being a 1995 how can I check the codes to see what the problem is? I was told that all 3 coil packs were bad but that doesn't seem logical to me. I was hoping the code would tell me if it was a particular sensor that was not sending signal to the coil packs. Please help as replacing all 3 sure will be expensive. Thanks.

Look under dash should be around the gas pedal area to mid way. Find a black plug with a couple a rows of terminals.Upper right corner find ter. A & B take a paper clip jump between these trem key on watch check engine light it will flash count the number of flashes it will pause then flash again count the flashes.So if up get two flashes pause then get five you have code 25
Let me know and I will code for you

Its strange that its a obd1 style plug i would suspect it to be a obd2 16pin connector not the 12 pin obd1 connector.It has to be a ground if it runs with the scan tool hooked up.Thats the only thing that really makes sense

We tried the "jump" method to get a code and was unsuccessful. Also, tried taking the ECM board in to the auto parts store for check and they cannot check that particular type of board. Anyone else have an further ideas?

At this point it looks like we are going to be towing the car itself into the auto parts store to see if they might be able to get a code on it.

Thanks.

did you check if you have enough fuel? Sometimes that the cause of the problem. Not enough fuel that goes in the engine to make a spark.

i drove the car on a trip for 1200 miles with no problems when i got to my destination i parked the car went out in the morning and it wouldn't start i checked all the fuses they are all fine.I can not find any spark from the coils, there is plenty of fuel getting to the injectors.I dont know where to look next.could this be a problem with th ignition module?

can not find any spark from the coils, I assumed that this is a DIS-meaning no distributor-is it-could be a power issue to the coil/s, ignition control module, and cam and crankshaft sensors-

Engine Performance problem
1995 Buick Lesabre 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

my buick will start fine but when i shut it off and if i come back in 3-5 mins the car ill turn over strong but will not fire,,there is pleanty of preassure on the fule rail,,its like the spark is gone,,but if i let it sit for awhile it will start and run fine

It sounds like an ignition module, but I can't be sure. Have you checked for spark when it won't start? Also, has the check engine light come on?

i have not checked for spark yet (moms daytoday)but i will can you tell me the most easy way to do so and the engine light has been going on and off since i bought the car bout a week ago,,took it to autozone and they tryed to hook the tester up to the test port and said it was not working,checked the fuses inside and out all r good

Take any good spark plug (even out of your lawn mower) and plug it into one of the car's stpark plug wires. Next, place the steel part of the plug onto a ground on the engine (any steel part of the engine). Have a helper crank the engine while you watch for spark at the end of the spark plug. You should see a strong blue spark.

Let me know what you find.

changed fuel pump cranks wont start may not be spark

if you dont have spark the most likely problem is the crank sensor. to check for spark remove a wire from the coil tower and crank over engine and see if it sparks

1995 LeSabre, 177,769 miles, 3.8 L engine, died while driving. No noise, sputtering, nothing, acted like the ignition switch was turned off, just died. Tried to restart and it puffed smoke, unknown color. Restarted and drove home using 2 feet (gas and brake) to keep it running. Went to start after getting home and would not start.
Replaced spark plugs 2-3 days later and car started. Drove about 10 miles to parts store. Came out, started and drove home, ran well as usual. Got home and went to go for a drive and again would not start.
Rented and ran a code reader and it could not read any codes as it seemed that it could not connect. I tried both the GM and the OBD II. All was connected correctly and code reader worked as I checked it on 2 other vehicles.
Is this a sign that the computer has gone out or what can it be? HELP!!! :?

Sorry for the late reply.

95 is a cross-over year for GM. That might be a hybrid diagnostic connector, I can't help you with that. The other vehicles you tested, were they the same year--make--model as the 95?

I realize this is an old post. In the future, hope you don't have any vehicle issues, but, if you do, keep the site in mind. They are always working to improve the site and it's free to ask a question.
Have a good day.

We have a 1995 LeSabre Limited, 3.8L V6 with 177000 miles. The car stalled the other day while driving down the road. We were able to restart the car, it ran poorly and smoked (don't know what color smoke). Able to drive home using 2 feet (gas and brake) and unable to restart later that day. 2 days later, replaced spark plugs, bad looking and gapped too large. Car started and able to drive to parts store for our our son. Started and drove back home with no problems either way, drove like it used to. Got home and prepared to go for a longer test drive and would not start.
Suspected the Cat converter, as there is a hole in the exhaust pipe in front of it. Could not remove it as it appears to be original and welded in. Drilled holes into it and appears to be almost solid inside. The cat converter and the muffler both appear to be in need of replacement.
Could this be the problem? Or am I just wishing it would be this easy?
I also have a 1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera that did the same thing, only would not restart at all.

Sorry for the late reply.

When the problem is ongoing if it cranks good but won't start, have a helper crank it while you visually check for spark at the spark plugs. If you have spark everywhere, use a gage and check proper fuel pressure. Also, engine cranking, check for fuel injector pulse.

If the starter won't crank, check the starter circuits for voltage and ground. Make sure battery has a full charge.

I realize this is an old post. In the future, hope you don't have any vehicle issues, but, if you do, keep the site in mind. They are always working to improve the site and it's free to ask a question. They have more moderators now, to answer questions than they did in the past.

Have a good day.

Engine Mechanical problem
1995 Buick Lesabre Front Wheel Drive Automatic 80,000 miles

My buick has been sitting for about 3 months and I had to jump it to get it started. It starts up when being charged but only stays running if I have my foot on the gas, as soon as I take it off it dies but keeps a charge. The only way it starts again is the jump---then there seems to be smoke coming from the engine when I rev it up--and the engine seems to get hot---is it the battery or fuel pump?---I have no idea-- it wasw in great shape before I let it sit for a few months---please help!!!! thank u kindly