I messed up! 2002 Buick Century Ignition Coil issues

[Texas]

Hello All,

I have a 2002 Buick Century Custom and it suddenly lost power and sounds like a cylinder is either blown or misfiring while driving but I was able to get it home. I went to get a spark tester and all coils were putting out sparks. The spark plugs and wires are new so it looks like everything's working on the ignition/spark side of things.

When I turn on the car from a cold start, it turns on fine and idles ok for about 1-2 minutes. Then, it slowly starts to develop a sound like its misfiring or there's a blown cylinder. If i rev up the engine, the sound will get louder and the engine starts to sputter like it has no power. I have already cleaned the MAF sensor and replaced the air filter.

Is there a way to tell if it is definitely a cylinder or should i continue to replace the fuel filter and test the fuel pump? After testing those I'm thinking I should check the fuel injection? I'm not good with cars so any help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I tried to drive the car around the block, and it doesn't go over 15-20 mph and doesn't feel like it has any power. I also noticed an odd smell coming from the motor, not sure if that helps.

 

[MelsRegal]

do you have a check engine light on and if so can you get the code read? can you do a fuel pressure test?

 

[Texas]

OK here's what i've got now:

The car has 2 service warnings but only 1 is lighting up. There is "Service Engine Soon" and "Service Vehicle Soon". The Service Vehicle Soon is lit up, the other is not.

I connected a cheap OBD2 device with some freeware on my pc and i came out with this:







Thanks for the reply.

 

[MelsRegal]

Unless I missed it, I don't see any codes but I do see the word DEMO all over the place. You are sure you scanned your car?

 

[Texas]

I also used another software called easyobd2 but it came out with zero diagnostic codes. While running the engine for testing, the water gauge dropped to zero and i saw smoke coming from the hood. I went to check and it seems the radiator (or a hose) has broken and I'm hoping thats a separate issue. I will flush the radiator and look for leaks.

I plan to buy a fuel filter and see if i notice any difference. I also hope to test the gas pump just to make sure its ok as well.

It idles fine, and i dont notice any smells/problems until i have it on for about 2 mins. Or, if i press the gas to rev the engine, i notice the sound/loss of power starts sooner.

I will update or start a new thread when I replace the fuel filter and check the fuel injectors. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[JMurphy]

This sounds like an easy one. You said it's fine cold and worsens the warmer it gets. You also said funny smell. Sounds like catalytic converter is clogged/bad. This is normal symptoms. The catalytic converter can breathe easier cold. Once heated, it chokes out the exhaust. Normally the smell associated with catalytic converter is described as a bad egg smell. I've seen catalytic converters so bad that they glow red after running for about 5 minutes, but they're not all that obvious. On cars that i'm familiar with amount of pressure coming out of exhaust, I put on my heavy leather glove and put over tailpipe and see if exhaust pressure is weak compared to normal. Now if you can smell bad egg, it IS the catalytic converter. Nothing else makes that smell. If you determine it's the converter than don't just replace it. Check your O2 sensors. Honestly a lot of shops with say O2 sensors are bad when they can actually just be cleaned and bench tested most the time. Personally I'm going to bet your catalytic converter is just bad from normal wear and tear if it was never replaced before. But continuing to try and run motor with it clogged 'will damage O2 sensor'. I put it in quotes because like I said. O2 sensors can be fixed by cleaning them most the time.