Hi, I have a 1994 Olds Cutlass Cierra 3.1L 6cyliner. While driving it today up a small hill, the car just stopped accellerating forward. Pressing down the accellerator did not rev up the engine, and then engine just sat idle. I turned the car off, and now I cannot get it to start back up.

In my garage (I towed it home), I started troubleshooting things. First thing was fuel. I placed a guage on the valve where you can sense pressure. When trying to start the car, I receive no pressure. If I jump out the relay and try starting the car I get good pressure (about 43 PSI). I've taken a spark plug out and while trying to start the car there is plenty of spark. Also noted the spark plug was not wet at all.

I'm at a loss and I don't know what to do. I got pressure to the fuel rail, spark in the cylinders but the fuel is not getting into the cylinders. What controls this relay? If the relay isn't working then maybe something else is keeping another relay or sensor from working. I'd hate to have to have this car legally towed to auto zone or a deal just to have them hook up a computer and tell me what isn't working.

Edit: Oh yeah and in a lot of threads I see to replace that TPS and IAC and that, and that these parts are cheap. Where are you shopping? My Autozone and Napa want to sell these parts for $60 a piece!

If you have good fuel pressure at the rail then there has to be an issue with the injectors. The first thing I would do is to spray some starting fluid into the throttle body to see if it starts. If it does then you will need to look at the ecm as it controls the injectors.

However, the crank position sensor or the cam position sensor could be your problem. They send signals to the ecm to tell it when to introduce fuel into the cylinders. I would do the cam position sensor first. If that doesn't work then the crank sensor. If that doesn't correct the issue the ecm would be your next move. Of course check all wiring and grounds before changing the ecm and you may want to purchase and install a new fuel pump relay.

Thanks for the reply! Yes I did spray some starting fluid into it and the engine did run while it could, and it ran well. So theres no mechanical problem. This looks like an electronics problem, so I'm taking the car to the best mechanic in town. Thanks!