[BlownBirdy]

Hey all,
Well I am back again with more questions about my daily driver than my race car. Argh! I have a 97 buick century with the GM 3100 (3.1) and once again it has lead me down a path of dispair. Recently I was able to get some sensors and stuff at a great price so I changed a bunch of them, TPS, Idle air control, air charge temp, mass air, MAP, EGR, and the fuel pressure regulator. Not all of the originals were bad but since I had some stuff apart I decided to change everything to freshen it up a bit. For a day or two after I changed the stuff everything was great and the car ran like it was new, i was stoked. Then on the third day i noticed it was running kind of ratty and had an exceptionally high idle, close or above 2k i would imagine. Being the genius that I am i figured one of the sensors had gone bad or was defective so i thought i would disconnect them one at a time and try to find the problem. Bad idea. I disconnected the tps with the car running and the idle came down, and then it died. That was a week ago and it still hasn't started since. The fuel pump wont prime and as such there is 0 fuel pressure at the fuel rail. REally strong spark but no gas. talked to a bunch of people and got answers from bad fuel pump to spiked PCM to bad gage cluster. I changed all the relays and fueses but to no avail. I know this one will probably end up at the dealer but if anyone has any advice on what could have happened it would be most appreciated. Both the fuel pump and the computer are really expensive on this car so i am not going to just start throwing parts at it.
I think the orignal high idle was a problem with the egr as my friend with an OBD1 350 had a problem after he changed his. I guess there are some spacers or something that need to be installed based on the size of the EGR port but mine is a completely different design so I don't know if that is accurate.

Also, i noticed that the insulators around the center electrode of my plugs are a burnt orange reddish color?! The car has a collapsed lifter thanks to some water that got in the engine and it is my guess that this tick is triggering the knock sensor to pull the timing way down to compensate and as such is burning up the plugs? Is that a possible guess? Thanks to everyone in advance.

[milner]

man you got more problems than anyone i ever heard of. first of all you should never change a bunch of things at the same time, makes it very hard to pinpoint a problem. the check engine light will usually tell you what the problem is. pulling off the tps will not make the car not start ever again. you have a fuel problem. check the pump fuse, check the relay. check for power at the connector at the tank. keep us posted.

[M&M CUSTOM]

97 Buick Century with a 3100

First did you scan for any set or pending PCM trouble codes?
If any were present, did you clear them before starting the car with all this new stuff you may have not needed?

As much as the PCM controls in the newest generation of vehicles, the first thing you should NEVER do is disconnect ANYTHING while the engine is running, and then only after reading to do so in a repair manual.

The fuel pump wont prime and as such there is 0 fuel pressure at the fuel rail. REally strong spark but no gas. talked to a bunch of people and got answers from bad fuel pump to spiked PCM to bad gage cluster. I changed all the relays and fueses but to no avail.

The fuel pump does not rely on the PCM to run, the guage only indicates how much gas is in the tank, I would venture a guess at a bad fuel pump.

But without the vehicle here to test, I can ONLY venture a GUESS.

I would recommend at this point, before you throw any more unnecessary money at this car, to take it to the dealer.