96 Grand am runs rough when cold, fine when hot

I have a 96 Grand AM with 90,000 miles on it. The engine runs rough when cold and the engine light blinks. After about 5 minutes the engine runs fine. The engine light stops blinking (but stays on). On warm days this doesn't happen. Only cold days.

I took it in for a diagnosis. The garage ran the computer diagnostics. They replaced fuel injector one. They also replaced the gasket for the intake manifold.

This worked OK for about a month. But I think it actually worked OK because the weather warmed up. Now the problem is happening again.

I took the car back to the garage. They told me it is running OK and the computer is not telling them any incorrect codes. They suggest plugs and wires. I changed the front 3 wires and plugs myself (the problem is still occuring). I am having trouble getting to the back ones. But that is another story... amazing to me that a mainenance item would be so hard to get to...

I am a little skeptical about what the garage is telling me. If the plugs and/or wires were bad why would the car work fine when warm?

I need to take the car back to the garage. Any ideas on what to tell them to look for?

Thank you for your time.

-Richard

Reply to
Richard
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Reply to
Dave Shepherd

I'm curious, did they suggest plugs and wires the first time you went in? Bad wires can easily cause a miss when the engine is cold, especially if the weather is damp. After the engine warms a little the wires dry off and the miss goes away. Bob

Reply to
Bob

Bob,

I guess the reason they originally changed the intake manifold gasket and the fuel injector is this is what the computer showed symptoms of failure. They hooked up the computer to the car sensors because the check engine light was on. I am not sure how smart these computer sensors are, or how much room there is for interpretation on what should be done...

Dave,

As far as suing them, as long as they did the work to the best of their knowledge based off of what the computer told them was defective, and I authorized the service, I do not see that I have grounds to sue them.

Of course I am unhappy that the problem still exists, and can vote by going somewhere else...

The problem as I see it is there can be lots of different things that cause the check engine light to go on. It could be mechanical, electical, a busted sensor, or all of the above. If you replace enough things it will ultimately get fixed. But in doing this you might end up fixing things that didn't actually need to get fixed. It is a difficult situation.

-Richard

Reply to
Richard

But did they suggest plugs and wires on your first visit or only after you came back still having problems? Never mind Dave, sue happy pricks like him should have there nuts clipped to keep them from reproducing. Like you said... if they give you no satisfaction vote with your wallet and take your business elsewhere. Bob

Reply to
Bob

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