Frustrated with Girlfriend's 95.......

Riding as a passenger in my girlfriend's 95 Riv.  Every time she accelerates from a stop, or pulls a hill, this car starts missing.  So far we have replaced the coils, wires, cap, and rotor, wires, and plugs.  This was all done by a local mechanic for the people that she (my girlfriend) purchased the car from.  I'm sure that the computer could tell me the symptoms, if I could find a card reader for the beast.  Bought one out of LA, and as it only has instruction disks, I tried to load them in my laptop.  Apparently I have to have operating program of Windows 10.  Won't load to Windows 7.  So,,,,,,What do I do ?  Even the local Buick dealer can't read the card, as their reader won't read 1.5.

Are you sure it's misfiring? Does the SES light start flashing? Is the SES light even on?

Abaddon wrote:

Are you sure it's misfiring? Does the SES light start flashing? Is the SES light even on?

Yeah the SES light is on. Comes on after engine starts lurching (Missing?) Stays on until she stops and shuts off engine. Then when she resumes driving, the 1st time she sticks her foot in it, then it does the miss, lurch thing and the light comes back on. She says at times the light goes out and then the next time she pulls a hill or punches the accelerator, from the passenger seat it feels like an ignition thing, but I could be wrong. Anyhow the light comes back on.

That sucks. You've got to find a competent mechanic that can scan that thing. What you describe could be a few different things. Does it shift hard at all? Like BANG shift?

slugranch wrote:

Riding as a passenger in my girlfriend's 95 Riv.  Every time she accelerates from a stop, or pulls a hill, this car starts missing.  So far we have replaced the coils, wires, cap, and rotor, wires, and plugs.  This was all done by a local mechanic for the people that she (my girlfriend) purchased the car from.  I'm sure that the computer could tell me the symptoms, if I could find a card reader for the beast.  Bought one out of LA, and as it only has instruction disks, I tried to load them in my laptop.  Apparently I have to have operating program of Windows 10.  Won't load to Windows 7.  So,,,,,,What do I do ?  Even the local Buick dealer can't read the card, as their reader won't read 1.5.

All 1.5 is, is OBD 1 read via an OBD 2 pinout.  The Buick dealer probably lost or let go of the mechanics who knew how to do that using a Tech II, OR they don't want to be bothered with your car because they think you will vomit at the shop hours it could take and there's no sense in pissing another person off so to speak, OR the dealer primarily uses its mechanics to do new car prep.

Unless you are going to do the work yourself, you might want to find a independent mechanic within 50-100 miles of you, or so.  with at least one tech who prides him/herself on the ability to deal with automotive arcana.

Concerning Windows 10, if you leave your laptop connected to the Internet long enough and use the Internet Explorer browser a bit, eventually Microsoft will ffer you a free "upgrade" to Windows 10.  IMHO the Win 10 upgrade may be the biggest &pyw8re operation this side of heaven. Also, IMHO you have to install it to keep current as more apps over time will require Win 10.  Word to the wise: do a web search to find out how to neutralize the thing once you install it.  

Finally, concerning your problem.  (1) THIS IS A GUESS:  It really could be as simple as you need to fix or replace the vacuum harness.  The vac is used for signaling, and if its not working but you demand power you won't get the vac signalled but electronically activated vac advance, the car will miss, and your SES will light. Because the *throttle* is mechanical but the vac advance is not. After so many miles of driving normally the light will go back out.  I think it's set up that way because there are certain so called "boundary" conditions (hi altitude?) that are still pretty normal, wherein everything would be working as designed but you'd still get a miss.

Abaddon, what do you think?  

and (2) by the way, please post a picture of the replaced cap and rotor on the engine 'cause I'd like to look for obvious issues.

Albertj

Abaddon wrote:

That sucks. You've got to find a competent mechanic that can scan that thing. What you describe could be a few different things. Does it shift hard at all? Like BANG shift?

   Initial shift into gear will "snap" in.  Not really a "Bang."  When shifting up or down it is smooth as a baby's bottom.  There ain't a competent Buick mechanic in the area that I've been able to find.  That's why I had decided to tackle it myself.  Guess I'll just keep looking for the proper scanner adapter that I need.  I already have an OBDI scanner, and this piece of sh-t thing that I bought that I'm supposed to be able to use my laptop to read out the conditions of the computer in the car.

albertj wrote:

slugranch wrote:

Riding as a passenger in my girlfriend's 95 Riv.  Every time she accelerates from a stop, or pulls a hill, this car starts missing.  So far we have replaced the coils, wires, cap, and rotor, wires, and plugs.  This was all done by a local mechanic for the people that she (my girlfriend) purchased the car from.  I'm sure that the computer could tell me the symptoms, if I could find a card reader for the beast.  Bought one out of LA, and as it only has instruction disks, I tried to load them in my laptop.  Apparently I have to have operating program of Windows 10.  Won't load to Windows 7.  So,,,,,,What do I do ?  Even the local Buick dealer can't read the card, as their reader won't read 1.5.

All 1.5 is, is OBD 1 read via an OBD 2 pinout.  The Buick dealer probably lost or let go of the mechanics who knew how to do that using a Tech II, OR they don't want to be bothered with your car because they think you will vomit at the shop hours it could take and there's no sense in pissing another person off so to speak, OR the dealer primarily uses its mechanics to do new car prep.

Unless you are going to do the work yourself, you might want to find a independent mechanic within 50-100 miles of you, or so.  with at least one tech who prides him/herself on the ability to deal with automotive arcana.

Concerning Windows 10, if you leave your laptop connected to the Internet long enough and use the Internet Explorer browser a bit, eventually Microsoft will ffer you a free "upgrade" to Windows 10.  IMHO the Win 10 upgrade may be the biggest &pyw8re operation this side of heaven. Also, IMHO you have to install it to keep current as more apps over time will require Win 10.  Word to the wise: do a web search to find out how to neutralize the thing once you install it.  

Finally, concerning your problem.  (1) THIS IS A GUESS:  It really could be as simple as you need to fix or replace the vacuum harness.  The vac is used for signaling, and if its not working but you demand power you won't get the vac signalled but electronically activated vac advance, the car will miss, and your SES will light. Because the *throttle* is mechanical but the vac advance is not.  After so many miles of driving normally the light will go back out.  I think it's set up that way because there are certain so called "boundary" conditions (hi altitude?) that are still pretty normal, wherein everything would be working as designed but you'd still get a miss.  

Abaddon, what do you think?  

and (2) by the way, please post a picture of the replaced cap and rotor on the engine 'cause I'd like to look for obvious issues.

Albertj

Well, You've given me a lot of items to try to repair, and then we'll get back to the Riv. LOL. I'm thinking that the proper route for me to take is to go to Oregon across the river, and find someone that can read the computer, and then either find a mechanic or try to tackle the repairs myself. I think the vacuum suggestion is a valid one, because even though it runs fine 97% of the time, when it does "The Lurch", it feels to me like it's an ignition thing, so could be a vacuum situation where we aren't advancing. As we live in an isolated area, with no Dealers in our area, and only 4 dealers ( GM,Ford,Kia,Toyota) across the river in Oregon, I'll have to go away from the area, to even find a mechanic that is familiar with the car and has the right equipment to read the card. I can use the old method of finding a vacuum leak,(propane hose around all vacuum lines and devices) and maybe hit on it that way. It doesn't seem to have much of an effect on performance or on fuel consumption. It's just annoying. Doesn't bother her. She was more bothered by the driver's side mirror. Finally got that fixed, so now it's the 'lurch."

If you are experienced at the technique, the propane will work.. however, you might want to try a visual first because there is not that much hose. Basically it is pretty close to the intake manifold for the most part. If your tees are stiff it is time to replace them. You may be able to get a whole harness for not crazy money from a GM dealer - may want to phone and ask.

my car had this problem and 3 new coil packs with new old stock acdelco wires and plugs fixed it.