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2001 Buick Regal.... not starting, Gas Smell, gray smoke out exhaust

H

hanson09

New member
All... Owned the car for only 2 months thus far. 155K on it.. Originally asked to check FPR and Vacuum hose for gas from dealer to troubleshoot starting issues and stalling issues under 5mph on my sons car. No Gas in FPR/Vacuum hose attached verified last night. MAF and Throttle body recently cleaned as well and ran great for 2 weeks no issues until now. Will not start at all now. Thoughts before I have it towed to Buick dealer???? Not a car guy....
 


is your car n/a or s/c?

is the check engine light on?

and the gray smoke, was it all the time or just at the end, before it wont start now?

so it cranks but wont start? or wont crank?
 
bear with me on my responses... Not a car guy at all. Non-Supercharged, No Security or CEL on the dash, no codes appear on the car on 3 attempts to read for codes. Gray smoke came out the other day for teh first time. When we cleaned the (sensor) in the rubber boot that connect to the Throttle Body the gas smell went away, just cleaned the MAF and throttle body after that ran fine for 2weeks. Yesterday Turns on but then shuts off after 2 seconds, tried again five minutes later cranks but then got the gas smell.

Spark plugs wet... I am not near the car to check that... What if they are?
 
with the car off, un plug the maf, then start it if it runs better its the maf. also check the wires to the plug for the maf for crack or missing insulation.


what did you use to clean the maf? and did you remove it to clean it? or just spayed it through the throttle body? if cleaned while on the car, the smoke could have been the cleaner burning off.

if your under a warranty, i'd recommend using it, free work is free, and im always for game for free repairs.
 


So would that mean a replacement is needed on the Plugs if Wet? The car honestly runs so smooth when it is running, doesn't miss etc... Could that actually cause the car to die under 5mph a couple times a day then? the symptoms have gotten worse since we bought the car. Got screwed by the seller on this one for sure.
 
scottydoggs... I'll give that a shot tonight. Cleaned the MAF and another plug (pyhsically removed) with MAF cleaner from the auto store. Throttle Body was cleaned by the Dealer 1st week we had the car. NOt sure what they did but it is clean when I look in it after I take the screen off etc.... Not under warranty bought from private party and they are the ones laughing now I would assume. The car runs great when running so I am cornfused....
 
pull a front plug and see if its wet.

what happens is you turn the key to run, and it primes gas into the cylinders,(every time you try to start it) if it wont start repeatedly you will smell gas. aka flooded. wet pugs wont fire.

put it back in the plug wire, touch the threads of the plug to metal, to ground it, have some one crank the engine, you should see a nice blue spark, if no spark try to find another area with bare metal.

if it wont spark at all you have a spark problem. could be a bad icm, under the coils packs.
 
Also, I met a guy who gave me his used Throttle Body for my car and a used MAF sensor etc... Should I attempt to swap or will this mess up my vehicle if the MAF is not the correct one for the 2001 Regal? I beleive his is from a 2006 MOnte Carlo 3800 or an older Regal. This is the same engine but I have heard form the dealer that if the MAF sensor isn't the correct one it will screw the car big time. Or do I buy a new MAF if what you suggest to try is the culprit?
 


Or just pull both wires off the same coil pack and have someone try and crank it, if the spark goes across the terminals, you have spark, then check plugs there.

There's always a few ways to go about these tests.
 


Wow... thank you very much. Don't know if I can do this but if it comes down to it I'll attempt. how do you know if the Crank Sensor is shot vs. it being something else though? Without error codes I am having to attempt other fixes maybe not needed.
 
there is really no way to to tell. this is one of them sensor's that will go bad and never throw a code, or cel light.

most of the time the compliant's for a crank sensor is car dies while driving, the tach would drop to zero right before it shut off, and most of the time it starts back up and your on your way till it acts up again. or it gets changed.

i would remove the icm, and have it tested at a parts store. before tossing money at it. its a free test.
 
I can't thank you enough for what you have provided.. What you just described is exactly what my son has been experiencing since we bought this car. ICM location? removal procedure?
 
witch part? the dyeing while driving down the road? thats the crank sensor. no need to mess with the icm if its the crank sensor.
 
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