98 Buick century

[Roger Buffalo]

98 century is losing power on hills push on throttle smell gas after topping hill it runs fine. Changed throttle position sensor and cleaned throttle body helped but it's back to same problem anyone have any idea what's going on.

 

[chem_man]

Welcome to the Forum!

Yes, there are a few things that can be considered, but you first need to get your hands on a decent OBDII code reader/scanner and see what diagnostic codes are present. Also, if the code reader/live data scanner is a decent on, you should be able to monitor several engine functions/sensor outputs to help diagnose what is going on. Also, you will need to get your hands on a fuel injection system fuel pressure gauge in order to see what the fuel pressure is in case the fuel pump is dying.

Rather than shotgunning things and tossing a whole lot of new parts at the problem (and making your wallet a heck of a lot lighter) you need to diagnose the problem. Hence the need for the code reader/live data scanner.

You could have one or more weak ignition coils, a weak or dying fuel pump, a defective fuel pressure regulator, one or more spark plugs or spark plug wires going bad, a bad MAF or MAP sensor, a catalytic converter becoming plugged, a problem with the Evaporative Emissions System, etc.

So my questions are this - Are you wanting to do this by yourself or are you going to take it to a shop? Do you have a decent coder reader/live data scanner? Tools (socket set, combination wrenches, digital multimeter (DMM), etc.)

Also, is your Service Engine Soon light on the instrument panel illuminated? If it is, is ti flashing or steady?

Good Luck and waiting to hear back from you!

 

[Roger Buffalo]

Steady mostly but flashing when car shutters

 

[chem_man]

Well, you need to get it looked at and repaired ASAP or you'll be looking at adding a failed catalytic converter to the repair job. Flashing MIL Light means that unburned fuel is being introduced into the exhaust system which will result in catalytic converter failure if it continues.

So, are you going to tackle this or is a shop going to do it for you?

______________________________

 

[Roger Buffalo]

Going to get a good scanner tomorrow and check for code Will be doing work my self

 

[chem_man]

OK. If you have an android device, the combination I am going to detail is extremely powerful and quite inexpensive. It uses a Bluetooth OBDII dongle and the Torque Pro app. Total cost is under $25.00. Here goes:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011NSX27A/?tag=elightbars-20

You can get the Torque Pro app from the Google Play Store for about $5.00.

This setup will allow you to monitor various engine systems and sensors in real time, and it gives you the ability to store the monitored data in an Excel type file. I use this setup all the time. It takes about 30 minutes to setup the app's parameters, and to select the sensors you want to monitor, but once that is done, you are on your way to data/diagnostics heaven.