'02 Grand Prix wont stay running more then 3 seconds.

345

Asked by mingle Jan 07, 2014 at 08:55 PM about the 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I recently had an issue with my Grand prix that was resolved by replacing F/P(new) and MAS (refurb). Yesterday during the extreme cold here I started and ran the car for 15+ minutes and then pulled it in the garage. About 20 minutes later I started it again and it died 2-3 seconds later. Here is the kicker, if I try to start the car again it will not start. I have to turn the key to off first, then the process repeats, runs for 2-3 seconds then dies again. It does not idle rough when it dies, it just shuts off as if I had turned the key off. I must turn the key off prior to restarting but it does start run and die everytime.

36 Answers

44,605

Are you sure you are getting fuel to the engine? By turning the key off and back on you are cycling the fuel pump.

5 people found this helpful.
345

I turn it off and on one time. I can check the fuel but it was not a consideration because the pump on the car was changed less than a month ago.

2 people found this helpful.
44,605

I have got them bad out of the box. Don't trust it because it's new.

3 people found this helpful.
345

Fair enough. Any other suggestions I can try if that turns out OK. I will be working on it again in the morning.

1 people found this helpful.
44,605

Hook a fuel pressure gauge to it and see what the pressure is when it starts and if it drops when cranking after it quits.

1 people found this helpful.
345

I was unable to get a fuel pressure gauge today however; after unplugging the battery and restarting the car it is now running with no issues. The security light is now on and flashing, my car is equipped with a PASS Key III system. I gather from the owners manual that the system is disabled when the security light is flashing. How soon will this need serviced.

3 people found this helpful.
345

Still fighting with this thing. To date I have replace MAS, F/P, installed New Rockies Pro Bypass Module to completely bypass PK3 and have recently installed an ICM. I have 44lbs fuel pressure when hooked to a gauge. I drove it hard for about 16 miles after ICM installation, worked just fine. The next morning I try to drive it to work and it broke down again a mile from home. I confirmed I still have fire to the plugs when it wont run. I start it revs up to about 1500-2000rpm and dies within a couple seconds. In a couple of days I should be able to drive another 18 or so miles before she breaks down again... what is up with this car?

13 people found this helpful.
345

As a further note when I try to give it gas after starting it dies immediately as if the gas peddle is a kill switch it bogs down and dies...

7 people found this helpful.
44,605

You need to see if the injectors are pulsing when it won't run. Go to advance or autozone and buy a set of noid lights. Unplug one of the injectors and put the correct one in the harness. Crank it over and see if it flashes. If not you are not getting ground or power to them. The ECM supplies the ground to pulse.

3 people found this helpful.
80

did you fix the problem? We are having a very similar situation and are striving to find the solution. We have also replaced the MAF, crankshaft sensor, air filter, plugs, fuel pressure regulator (because the test showed the pressure dropped instead of holding steady when we turned on the ignition switch without starting). Just not sure what else to do now. Going to check the injectors like tuff4x4 suggested. Just thought I would see if you had found the problem.

345

@makinahome: I have not worked on it since my previous post due to the snow and the cold weather in my area. After the last break down we tried to start it the next day and it would not start. We unplugged the battery 5 seconds and plugged it back in and it fired right up and we drove it onto the trailer. Since then I have let it sit and run 3 seperate times at 30-45 minutes each. I drove it about 1 mile yesterday no issues on any of those occasions. I will begin trouble shooting again this weekend but now I have to make it break down again before I can check fuel injection. let me know if that turns out to be it for you.

1 people found this helpful.
20

I replaced the switch harness due to the a/c not working at lower speeds. that part is working now but i created the same problem as you described. the switch harness i installed was used. I may have to get one new to resolve this problem

20

issue resolved for me. I went back and checked the pigtail and i had it cocked. seated it properly and all is well. So my 2cents is that the problem stems from a faulty ignition harness. That thing seems to be able to cause all kind of strange troubles..ie lower speeds of fan, lights etc. good luck guys

2 people found this helpful.
120

Alright. This happened exactly to my 2000 gt. Pass lock sucks, but that's not why your car isn't staying running. My cat was clogged. As soon as I cut the exhaust just before the cat, I started it and it ran like a champ.

5 people found this helpful.
345

The upper intake gasket fixed my issue. The car set over winter but still had the issue when I started it back up. I replaced the upper intake gasket because it was the one thing I was told to do but hadn't done because it didn't make any sense. I've had no issues since. The only sense I can make of it is that leak affected vacuum pressure. Car has over 200k on it and runs like a champ again.

3 people found this helpful.
30

i took my 02 grand prix gt to a mechanic as i lost heat in the car. we flushed the entire system and replaced the head gaskets as i was leaking oil. the car was fine for 2 weeks....i went and tooped the oil up as i was at 45 percent............a few days later it just shut off while driving. i pulled over and gave it a few minutes and it started then died again. we finally got it to the inlaws and left it over night. i went there today and fired it up and it worked....i drove it home and parked it. i went out 20 minutes later to start it again and the car died repeatedly after it started.......any suggestions......is this because there may be to much oil in the car?

3 people found this helpful.
345

Try your crank sensor. Oil shouldn't be the issue unless you poored a couple of gallons in it and I'd bet it would be smoking or smell of oil pretty bad. Crank sensor is a bit of a pain to replace but that tends to be the culprit most of the time.

1 people found this helpful.
60

I have the same problem as Brandon, My Grand Prix from time to time will fire up for a split sec and die, if i rev during I can keep it running but if it drops below 1000 rpm It'll die, after it sits for a good couple hours it'll fire right up and run and idle fine, if anyone has had this same issue and has resolved it please share!!

6 people found this helpful.
130

I know this is an old thread but I thought I would post my fix...I had all the same symptoms. Would start and immediately die if it started at all. If I unplugged the mass air flow sensor the car would start and race to 4000 rpm and stay there. What I found and from what I understand to be a common problem is the plastic upper intake...right behind the throttle body the egr tube runs up from the bottom and eventually deteriorates the intake manifold burning a hole through it. I found quarter size holes just under the wiring harness and evap and fuel lines. Replace the upper intake if you find this and your problem is solved!!

6 people found this helpful.
Best Answer Mark helpful
130

Sorry. To clarify my vehicle was a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix gt vin k with the 3800 series 2. Not supercharged.

5 people found this helpful.
80

Hi I am having this problem with my 03 grand prix gtp. The car fires up and 2-3 seconds later it shuts off. Can someone plz help me?

8 people found this helpful.
345

@Yinz412, unfortunately I have given up on this car. I have replaced several sensors and tried every fix posted in this thread and that I've read elsewhere. ICM, MAS, F/P and filter, cam and crank sensors, replacement intake gasket (no holes on the intake) and New Rockies bypass for the PK3 system. After months of driving since replacing the crank sensor it broke down again with the same symptoms. I hope you figure it out. As for me, I am Grand Prix free. Im gonna miss that car... Good luck.

2 people found this helpful.
50

The same thing just happened to my 02 Grand Prix. Can't get a code using a scanner. Keeps saying link is bad. That tells me electrical. Also, since disconnecting the battery makes the problem go away for a little while, that's also a clue it is electrical. This starting happening after a huge lightning storm. I think it's water in the connectors. I'm going to see if drying it out helps.

1 people found this helpful.
50

One more thing, if anyone has the same problem, try to get a code. Let us know what you get. I couldn't get a code because it would report "Bad Link" every time I tried. Checked the code reader on another car and it worked fine. Something is preventing the code reader from working. Has to be electrical.

170

Stay away from Gm products as they are nothing but bad engineering and problems...

1 people found this helpful.
170

I had a 2002 grandprix gtp and replaced all coil packs and plug wires.....ran like a champ but of course its always short lived with gm products....two weeks later the acceleration slowly got worse....took it to 2 shops ...no codes no reasons....put in a new fuel pump no fix....now i have a pretty yard ornament with a shit auto maker emblem :)

1 people found this helpful.
50

Fixed the problem. It was the Engine Computer. Got a rebuilt one from Autozone for $189. Cardone will pre-program them for free. Took about 15 minutes to install. Car started immediately and has been running better than ever before. I think it was defective for a long time and progressively got worse. Best clue is when you can't get any error codes. If it says, "Bad Link" it is probably the EC.

4 people found this helpful.

I know this is an old post but I'm having issues with my 98 GrandPrix, has the 3800 series 2 engine. It only has 63,000 miles and I have not had a problem with it until now. I was turning around in a drive way and I gassed it a bit hard when it boggled down and died. I tried to start it and it wouldn't then I let it set for about an hour and it started right up. I changed the ignition control module cause someone told me that was it and it didn't change a thing. Still dying while I'm driving it then not starting. We saw a sensor was melted to my exhaust and we pulled it out and fixed it. My car started right up. It's still super hot around it and my car isn't saying it's running hot or anything. I'm stuck.

345

Mine turned out to be the crank sensor. The exhaust manifold is always going to be very hot. Just try to fasten any wires as far away from the exhaust manifold as they'll reach without pulling too tight.

1 people found this helpful.

You must check all fuses to get a code from the car. Any fuse will block the codes, car lighter, ac, ignition, or any broken fuse for this car will stop you from getting codes on that diagnostic box.... It's the key most likely you have to get a new key programmed from the dealer, Otherwise it would be a bad EC

Oh yeah and some crack sensors are out of position to cause this problem on non supercharger 3800s

50

Same issue, just got the wife a 01 gtp 3.8 supercharged. first cold/snow of the year. starts runs 3 seconds dies. found this thread while trying to find the likely source to start looking.

5 people found this helpful.
20

I have a problem with mine it will start then die about 5 times then it will run fine

Have a 2002 Grand Prix SE with the 3.1 motor, 390k miles. Similar issues as above, two causes: idle air control (IAC) valve (would not start or idle unless you kept your foot on the gas, oddly threw a MAF code, not IAC code). Also had a vacuum leak on the crankcase vent tube that runs from the valve cover on the front back to the EGR. The seal in the middle where the tube goes into intake was gone (ingested?). Replace IAC valve and vent tube, car ran normally.

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