Ok, i have owned a 96 chevy cavalier for about 2 years now. It has given me no problem and when i first purchased the car, i did a tune up on it, spark plugs, wires, all…i have did the regular oil change and new air filter routine and everything…i didnt start to see problems in my car until about 5 months ago, only when it rained outside and the check engine light popped on. It only did it when it rained and i thought nothign of it. Well about a month ago, my mom borrowed my car one day while it was raining really bad and she went to a gas station and put fuel in it. She returned home and said my car started to stall and putt really bad. I just thought it was because it was raining. I took my car out that night and when i was returning home, about 2 blocks from my house, my car went dead. I tried to start it about 10 times but nothing happend…it turned over but it just wouldnt start. Well i went to a local auto parts place and put it on a machine. They told me i had a multiple misfire and my crankshaft and TPS sensors need to be replaced…ok…well i went to a auto mechanic to be sure and he put it on the machine again, he told me that i need a new coil pack and two of my spark plugs were bad, ok well i went to another mechanic for another opinion and he also put it on the machine for the 3rd time and said that i needed a crankshaft and tps sensor but my sparkplug wires were fine. Well i bought sparkplugs, tps and crankshaft sensors and got my car serviced by a trusted mechanic. Well that didnt do the job…now my car is running even worse, i cant go over 35mph and the check engine light blinks constantly…he said i need a module, coil pack, and sparkplug wires…please help, i dont know what to do or who to believe anymore. OH AND I ALSO PUT FUEL INJECTOR CLEANER IN MY FUEL…TWICE!
I’m guessing that, since the check engine light is/was on, the mechanics read the codes which said something about the sensors, and simply replaced the parts. Not the way to go about it.
Did anyone ever tell you what codes were causing the check engine light to come on? They’re important starting points.
Given that the worst problems started after a fill-up, it’s also possible that you might have gotten a tank of bad or watery gas.
yea the mechanics told me the codes and what they were meaning but they all said start with the tps sensor and crankshaft sensor cause those were the most important things…my gas also smell kind odd too…
When a DTC code comes up, it means that there is a problem in that circuit, which has that component in it. It does NOT mean that the component is the problem, though it may. It may! Some of the smarter, better, mechanics realize the distinction. When this is not realized, a lot of good parts get changed, unnecessarily.
In the repair manuals, there are troubleshooting charts for each DTC code. It would help if more mechanics used those, and used a “full-bodied” scan tool. It would save a lot of customers a lot of money.
I think that they haven’t really been listening to your description of the circumstances of when the problem started…in the rain!
The electrical connectors (and wires), which carry the wires for the circuits, which set those codes, need to be checked for water.
ok…thanks…im going to try and take it to another mechanic this time…the journey never ends…