pontiac 6000 help please

Same thing happened with my '86 6000 - usually when it was wet outside. It would start, but after being driven any distance, it wouldn't crank or start unless it sat for fifteen minutes or so. Didn't happen all the time, and never happened when it was near a mechanic.

Putting the key in gets it going ( as in trying to start ) you here the Whrrrr Noise of it trying to go .. but it never gets to the next phase of getting fired up to run. Same problem with the mechanic as you. The one time it was there all day at the garage being started and restarted it never did it once. I am totally stumped on this one.

Sounds like the crankshaft sensor. The sensor may work when the engine is cold & not when it gets hot. I had to replace one on a cutlass 3.3 v6. It acted very similar & keeps getting worse once the sensor starts breaking down. The sensor should cost about $40.00 I believe. If you replace it yourself, be sure to set the spacing correct with a feeler gage.

I have a 1989 Pontiac LE (122K miles) suffering the same problem. Gets me to work, but doesn't always start in the afternoon to get me home. The next morning it starts fine. I have taken it to three mechanics (including 2 dealers), and it always starts for them. No error message shows up on the computer when they plug it in. The fuel pump has been checked and is okay, the fuel filter is new. It turns over but doesn't start. Last night when this happened, I pulled one of the spark plugs and checked for spark, and it had plenty. The car actually started to then run with only the three spark plugs in. I replaced the one I pulled, and then it started right up. What's going on? I have read the emails about the crank shaft sensor. Has anyone replaced this and had the problem go away? OB

I had an 86 6000LE 2.4 4 cyl. One problem that car had for the entire 10 years I drove it was that when the valve cover gasket got worn, oil leaked into the plugs, fouling them. At best, I'd just drop a cylinder; at worst, it wouldn't start without cleaning the plugs.

Other causes of intermittent no-start in my former car: faulty starter relay; bad starter, bad distributor and bad plug wires.

When the relay was going out, it'd usually start okay cold, but could take 20-30 minutes to start later in the day. Very hard on the battery, plus embarassing to be sitting there, cranking away, waving away help, saying, "It'll start ... sooner or later ..."

Note: I am not a mechanic.

ummm.... yeah, If a Pontiac HAD a starter relay, it would either allow the starter to crank the engine or not (like a Ford), but if your car was cranking but not starting.......anyway...next

I had the feeling I was remembering something wrong. The whatever-it-was repair was a few years ago; it seems as though you have a *far* better idea than I do - would you mind posting the correct name for what I was describing?

I'm not sure what you are describing. If a vehicle cranks fine, then the battery and starter are fine. If it cranks for a long time, without the engine starting to run, then you have a fuel or ignition problem. Usually ignition (ignition module, crankshaft position sensor, coils) GW