Pontiac Transport 1995 starting problem

Could be computer..... or coil

My bet is the crank sensor. Engine will run without it, but not start. OK when cold, open when hot (or is it the cam sensor - come to think of it I think it's the cam sensor that is only required to tell the ignition which TDC it is on to sequence the spark for starting)

Here's another idea in the mix............ fuel pump or electrical in the fuel pump circuit. When the engine won't start can you hear the fuel pump running? It should for the first 2 sec. when the ignition key is turned on. Do you have a way of checking fuel pressure when in the "no start" condition?

Your problem sounds somewhat similar to what my daughter's '92 Grand Am was experiencing intermittently. The fix on her machine was a new ignition switch. There was not enough voltage getting through to the ECM and on to the fuel pump relay when the switch was doing its thing.

A dozen different things can cause your problem. The first step is to find out whether, fuel pressure, spark, or injector pulse are missing during the no-start condition. Your engine has several ignition coils, btw, not just one.

I believe the most frequent cause of no-start-hot-only is a bad crankshaft position sensor, but odds don't fix vehicles, diagnosis does.

If you have the equipment to check things out, someone can walk you through it. GW

Silver Surfer wrote:

Does your "Service Engine" warning light come on when you start the motor? If it does then you can get the fault code easily from the vehicles onboard diagnostic plug/socket. This will tell the cause of the problem.

Thanks for the replies. I am taking the van in on Thursday to get it fixed , as I have not had any luck.Will let you all know what the fix and cost was.

The update as promised. No codes ,mechanic said it could be 4 things, coils- module - cam sensor - crank sensor. Service guy said I should change the module @ $409 cdn for the part, the mechanic said he didn`t want to start guessing. I decided after checking the cam sensor myself and it looked good to go ahead with the crank sensor. Lucky guess combined with a few posts (thanks to nospam.clare & Geoff Welsh and some reading) , turns out it was the crank sensor. They charged me $180 cdn to change it but it has started well since. Thanks again all who replied.