Argh, This CEL is driving me nuts....

[DrCheeto]

Ok... My 90 has been acting really strange... the tach fluctuates and it runs like total crap with the cel light on... the cel goes off and the tach is normal and it runs fine.... I did the KOEO test, and the two codes i see are 21 and 57... according to my list, there IS no code 57..

I'm really stumped, the car has been getting awful gas mileage and has NO power with the light on.... any advice would be appreciated...

Oy, i just noticed ive been here for over a year and posted twice.... lol

 

[wood_e]

If your car wasn't at normal operating temp than the code 21 will come up. Do another test with the car at normal operating temp. The 57 code does not exist. Also, run a KOER test as well

 

[DrCheeto]

Wait... It gets worse....

I cleared the codes... now it flashes 21 and waits, flashes 5 in a row, then 21 again....

I tried the KOER test, performed the "Goose test", and it flashed absolutely nothing...

 

[SHORANGERBIRD]

-just Guessing But Sounds Like Crank Sensor...

 

[Rockledge]

Either the crank sensor or the DIS Module.

 

[DrCheeto]

Ok, so wait, last time i had a crank sensor fail, the car wouldnt run, period... The car runs like total crap right now, has absolutely no power, and is burning through gas like no other....

Every once in a while, the tach reads accurate, and the car runs fine...

I was leaning towards the CID, but with me not being able to read the codes, i'm kinda stumped...

 

[SeanMc]

DIS, coil pack, wires, plugs.

 

[DrCheeto]

Already changed the coil pack, plugs and wires... The car doesnt miss, it feels like it loses like 10 degrees worth of timing when it acts up (note, tach never goes over 3 grand when it does this, and 70 mph in 3rd says 2300 rpm lol)... Is there a way to test the DIS?

 

[Racer X]

It's your DIS going bad, I'd say. The car feels like it's running on 4 out of 6 cylinders, with the vibes to go along, and your tach is lower than what you're really spinning was a bad DIS, in my case anyway.

 

[DrCheeto]

Anybody have a used one lol? I dont want to pop 120 bucks to find out that isnt the problem...

 

[jaded93atx]

When my CID failed I intermittantly lost tach signal, and had rough driveability, although the tach worked or it didnt...it wasnt sluggish or unaccurate
Like said when my CPS failed I had a no start condition, not a driveability issue. A DIS can be tested at most auto parts store for free, its a pass/fail test so you dont end up replacing a pricey good part. However I maybe wrong but I think if a DIS fails it causes a no start condition also, not poor driveability.
Hope this helps

 

[projectSHO89]

DIS failures in which two (or four) cylinders drop out and the tach reads 2/3 or 1/3 of the correct engine speed are pretty common.

Steve

 

[DrCheeto]

It was the DIS... however, now the car seems to have half the power that it did with the old DIS.... The secondaries open, and the car goes nowhere.....

I give up lol.....

 

[doclees]

Hey sounds like my 89. I thought it is the crank sensor because I didn't use locktite on the screws holding it in. I didn't want to open all that up if it isn't the senson. My DIS is cracked at the connectors with a piece missing. I'll try swaping out a spare.