Ok I started by thinking this motor was blown (from what my mother discribed). now Im down to needed to know why it isnt starting. I took the coils off and the control mod into get it checked, the coils passed and the control mod failed twice. So its got a new control mod on it, still wont start.

To start with your next Q's
Yes its getting fuel, yes the wires are in order (1,4,6,3,2,5) <--- from left to right on the coils.
Any Ideas?

Crank angle sensor? cam sensor? fuel injector problems?

I would lean toward the crank position sensor.This is where the car turns over but,does not fire.U have fire,fuel no spark.This is the first place I would start with that engine.the 2.8 and 3.1 have had this issue based on post on the jb.It is mounted on the block I think the back side but if u go to http://www.advanceautoparts.com clik on shop online then choose ur vehicle and in the upper lhs on search type in crank position sensor it should show a picture of the part so u know what u are looking for.That is the first thing I would repl and it will not set a code in alot of cases based on my knowledge of this specific issue.This issue is in maintenance (way old post) but think it was for a 2.8 same scenario.Now u say it's getting fuel is it going into the intake,if not spray some ether start (starting fluid) inside the air intake tube and see if it fires up.If it does I would lean towards the injectors being in the picture or maybe a clogged or bad fuel filter and fuel pump going bad (check fuel pressure).This is what comes to mind.Hope this helps give u some direction on what to do with out spending alot to fix it.As long as it turns over but,no start I would think the cps is the issue bc it works in conjunction with the timing to make it fire up.ok

please for the love of god ... if you think it is trashed do a compression test on it first if that checks out then start to do elect diag...... (if you havent already)

just tryn to save ya some coin ...

also we need more info to diag the car the right way

Yes please get us some more info so I can do some research for you. Like maybe what the car is?! Just ragging ya =D

Stephen

sk843143 wrote:please for the love of god ... if you think it is trashed do a compression test on it first if that checks out then start to do elect diag...... (if you havent already)

just tryn to save ya some coin ...

also we need more info to diag the car the right way

CPS is only 30 or so bucks

1997 Buick Skylark.........I just got home from being on the road, this weekend is the time I have to do it......60 degrees outside.

I planed on doing a compression test b4 i start with chasing other problems, I know this car is not maintained (it my mothers) and I also know she runs it low on fuel all the time. so everything is a giant factor

Well I got the coils back on and the wires back on. Took the intake tube off and instantly smelt fuel, turned it over and put the pettal to the floor to clean out the flood and had a back fire, so since its getting fuel and back fired (its getting spark aparently) could any of the other thoughts of whats wrong still be whats wrong?

oooh and it still wont start.

Don't touch the damn pedal... for cryin out loud this thing doesn't have a a quadrajet on it.

Let it sit until its not flooded, pull 1 plug wire from each of the front cylinders at a time, and while 1 is off have someone else crank the car over to make sure that each coil pack is making spark. If it is and when they are all plugged back on it still won't start - check the compression.

The only thing that will totally kill spark is a dead ICM or CPS. If its getting full spark and fuel... blame the engine.

CPS is the next task.....I dont know if there is 2 of them or what, they call for one on the block and one behind a balancer. I still go to look b4 snow and extreme cold hits. Garage is full so working in the grass is my only hope.

The one on the back of the block should be your main concern. The one on the back of the balancer is a pressed on reluctor wheel that reads on a hall effect sensor that is bolted to the timing cover - also behind the balancer. The piece that bolts to the timing cover is what goes bad, but - In my experience the ones on the back of the block are the problem causers. The one on the back of the block is the 7x sensor and is the main control for spark, the one on the balancer is the 24x sensor and is more secondary. This is just assumption now - but I think it ties in with the camshaft position sensor for SFI control.

On the older 3800s they had their cps set up on the balancer also, but the reluctor wheel was part of the pulley and they always had issues with the pulleys coming apart on the rubber balancer and causing the cps to fall out of time and make the car not run.

Hope that helps you out some. The one on the back of the block is a hell of a lot easier to get to on most platforms also. You'll need a gm harmonic balancer puller to get the balancer off if it comes to that.

here is a big Q, Is the 3.1 an intersecting motor or non-intersection? meaning do the valves and piston share limited space inside the combustion chamber? I.E crashing the valves?

any ideas for the last Q?