If you have any thoughts or suggestions - I'd really appreciate hearing them.
Here's the deal:
I have a 1984 GN totally stock execpt for the Hypertech Street chip.
It has been stored for about 15 years (58K orig miles).
Before I laid it up in storage, I was having this intermittent, random problem with (what I believe is) the electonic ignition/ECM/computer system.
I could be driving down the road happy as a clam and the car will suddenly quit. Dead as a doornail!!! In fact, it dies so hard and fast that the ECM will not register any error codes. Nothing!!.
It will eventually and ALWAYS restart, but it can take from 20 seconds up to 20 minutes.
About 6 months before I stored the car I took it one last time to the Buick dealer in town and explained everything to the mechanic that was going to work on it. I told him to drive it like it was his own. Take it to work, to the store, to the track - wherever. He did this and called me about 2 weeks later and confirmed what I posted above. His recommendation was to replace the ECM box and chip (which had a recall). I told him to replace the computer and that I would replace the chip with the aftermarket Hypertech street chip. We did and the car ran great for months. Never missed a beat. I drove it 1200 miles to my folks to put it in storage and it never quit once. Life was taking me in another direction, but the car was running great.
Last summer I broke the car out of storage and got it running. I did all the right things, fuel change, filter changes, oil change, etc. etc. The car was running good - not great, but good - for a while. I took it to a body shop to have some work done and when I called them to see if it was ready they said "Yeah, but it's stuck in the paint booth - it won't start". CRAP!!!!
So I went and pulled the ECM, took out and reseated the chip, checked the board to make sure that there wasn't any massive corrosion or problems. Checked all the grounds and put it all back together and guess what! Yep - the %$#*&!@(&% thing started right up. Two days later I had the car idling in the driveway and it quit again. 2 minutes later it started right up.
So, the problem is apparently back.
Has anyone heard of a similar problem with a stock '84 GN????
Because it won't HARD FAIL, I can never really get to troubleshoot the the stupid thing!?!? Totally frustrating problem.
That leaves just blindly replacing parts and hoping that I eventually find it - awefully expensive.
I personally believe that the problem is in the computer connector/harness. It seems to be the only thing that would explain it running flawlessly after the computer change for 6 months or more and then coming back to haunt me. Possibly a cracked wire, or loose pin or seat???? Seems to me that when the mechanic changed the ECM box and I changed the chip that we somehow made this intermittent connection more positive for a while. But after a long storage it must have slipped back or something.
Or, I have considered just yanking the whole stock electonic iginition system and installing an aftermarket system. I could use the knowledge gained from this endeavor on another project that I have coming up soon (build a scratch LS-1 for installation in an aircraft). I just want the thing to run reliably - I actually want to sell it when the economy improves again. Which aftermarket electronic engine control systems do most folks put in these cars when they mod them for the track??? Which system would be the least complex to install that would provide me with a reliable, close to stock electonic engine control system?
My preference would be to keep the stock system - as the car would eventually be more valuable that way to a stock purist. But if it won't run reliably, the car's value is diminished anyway.
Anyone got any ideas or suggestions???
Sure would appreciate your insight.
Thanks.
Here's the deal:
I have a 1984 GN totally stock execpt for the Hypertech Street chip.
It has been stored for about 15 years (58K orig miles).
Before I laid it up in storage, I was having this intermittent, random problem with (what I believe is) the electonic ignition/ECM/computer system.
I could be driving down the road happy as a clam and the car will suddenly quit. Dead as a doornail!!! In fact, it dies so hard and fast that the ECM will not register any error codes. Nothing!!.
It will eventually and ALWAYS restart, but it can take from 20 seconds up to 20 minutes.
About 6 months before I stored the car I took it one last time to the Buick dealer in town and explained everything to the mechanic that was going to work on it. I told him to drive it like it was his own. Take it to work, to the store, to the track - wherever. He did this and called me about 2 weeks later and confirmed what I posted above. His recommendation was to replace the ECM box and chip (which had a recall). I told him to replace the computer and that I would replace the chip with the aftermarket Hypertech street chip. We did and the car ran great for months. Never missed a beat. I drove it 1200 miles to my folks to put it in storage and it never quit once. Life was taking me in another direction, but the car was running great.
Last summer I broke the car out of storage and got it running. I did all the right things, fuel change, filter changes, oil change, etc. etc. The car was running good - not great, but good - for a while. I took it to a body shop to have some work done and when I called them to see if it was ready they said "Yeah, but it's stuck in the paint booth - it won't start". CRAP!!!!
So I went and pulled the ECM, took out and reseated the chip, checked the board to make sure that there wasn't any massive corrosion or problems. Checked all the grounds and put it all back together and guess what! Yep - the %$#*&!@(&% thing started right up. Two days later I had the car idling in the driveway and it quit again. 2 minutes later it started right up.
So, the problem is apparently back.
Has anyone heard of a similar problem with a stock '84 GN????
Because it won't HARD FAIL, I can never really get to troubleshoot the the stupid thing!?!? Totally frustrating problem.
That leaves just blindly replacing parts and hoping that I eventually find it - awefully expensive.
I personally believe that the problem is in the computer connector/harness. It seems to be the only thing that would explain it running flawlessly after the computer change for 6 months or more and then coming back to haunt me. Possibly a cracked wire, or loose pin or seat???? Seems to me that when the mechanic changed the ECM box and I changed the chip that we somehow made this intermittent connection more positive for a while. But after a long storage it must have slipped back or something.
Or, I have considered just yanking the whole stock electonic iginition system and installing an aftermarket system. I could use the knowledge gained from this endeavor on another project that I have coming up soon (build a scratch LS-1 for installation in an aircraft). I just want the thing to run reliably - I actually want to sell it when the economy improves again. Which aftermarket electronic engine control systems do most folks put in these cars when they mod them for the track??? Which system would be the least complex to install that would provide me with a reliable, close to stock electonic engine control system?
My preference would be to keep the stock system - as the car would eventually be more valuable that way to a stock purist. But if it won't run reliably, the car's value is diminished anyway.
Anyone got any ideas or suggestions???
Sure would appreciate your insight.
Thanks.