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I have looked low and high to figure out this issue. I have not been able to figure it out thus far. I have an 1994 Oldsmobile 98 3.8l with 175,000 miles on it. I took it on a trip awhile back, and that’s when the problem started. I get an engine light and my traction control stops working. If I drive it when the engine light is on, it will hesitate badly to accelerate, the shifts from 1st to 2nd gear take longer. And it just chugs overall. However, randomly, the light will go off and everything will work 100%. Sometimes the light will stay off until i start the vehicle again, and sometimes it will go days without a problem. When I had the codes pulled awhile back, there were only two codes, one for a crank position sensor and one for TPS sensor. The TPS sensor tested good, but I had a spare laying around that I put on, and the problem didn’t change. I have looked high and low for a problem, I had a spare coils for the spark plugs laying around and changing them eliminated the crank code. I suspect MAF at this point. Since if i unplug the TPS and drive it, the symptoms arent the same. If i unplug any other sensor and drive it, the symptoms arent the same. The only sensor that causes similar issues when unplugged is the MAF. I cleaned the MAF the other day, and the engine light went off. I don’t know if it’s because it helped the issue a little bit, or if it was just being intermitten like it has been. Today, the light came on. And I’m just tired of spending money for people to diagnose it and then not get a diagnosis from them. Looking for opinions! Thanks so much!
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I would look at the freeze fram data and see if that help you on anything.. you could pick up a nother MAF from the junk yard and see if that does anything but I dont think that is it…. I would look at the fuel trim levels in the freese fram data and see if that gives you anything…
sometimes you have to huck up a scanner with live data and read it while recording it untill you see the problem happenMy question is this. You say “I get an engine light and my traction control stops working.”
I assume you mean the Check Engine light comes on but how do yo know your traction control has stopped working? I’m guessing by traction control you mean ABS. I would expect an ABS code or light to come on if there was a problem. Either way I don’t think that would affect how the motor ran.
As for the codes I would make sure the crank sensor is working properly. Crank sensors can make a huge difference in how the motor runs.The traction control light is a byproduct of the engine code, not a problem. It’s fairly normal, especially on GMs, for any sort of driving aid to error out if the engine has a drivability related code. Something as simple as a misfire can cause everything to error out. So just ignore it for now, if it’s still around later deal with it then.
If the MAF is failing, cleaning it won’t do anything. If it is failing, unplugging it should negate any issue it is causing. Of course unplugging it will immediately cause a CEL if the car is running. But the idle and drivability should change.
This YouTube video may help in your diagnosis:
https://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-performance-issues
If you’re paying someone for diagnosis, they should be diagnosing the issue. Sometimes it is a matter of seeing it in a state of fault. The charge for engine diagnosis is generally about an hour of labour.
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