I have a 2002 3.8 Camaro that is my everyday driver. Two weeks ago, I was leaving a red light and noticed my car sputter almost like it picked up some trash in the fuel. I got to the next light and took off fine but once it shifted into 2nd gear it started again. By the time I got home it could barely get out of its own way and the service engine soon light would flash while it was acting up. The next day I picked up a fuel filter thinking maybe mine just needed to be changed. When we changed it a black fuel mix came out of the line from motor not from tank. Couldn't even burn the black stuff off of the concrete. I went ahead and opened my fuel tank to make sure the fuel was okay, and it was clear and perfect. I still went ahead and changed my fuel pump just in case. Car got a little better but still was sputtering and had the random service engine soon flash but would quit when it would start driving right. I went to check to my air filter next and found that it hadn't been put back in after my last oil change, so I automatically thought that maybe MAF sensor was just dirty and was the culprit behind all of this. Pulled sensor and cleaned it although wasn't dirty at all. Cleaned throttle body while I was there too just in case trash got to it. Also noticed I my downstream 02 sensor wire was damaged, so I unplugged it to see if there was a difference. Car started great and drove great for about 30 mins and started back doing the same thing. I got frustrated and just parked it. I went out the next day and started it back up and drove it again and it drove like it was brand new but after about 20 mins it started back, and the service engine soon light would start flashing again but would quit when you let off of gas. Yesterday I started it, and it now starts with a rough idle and flashing service engine soon light so I'm at a loss. What should I be checking next? Also, when I had codes read all it had was my bank 1 sensor 2 code, the one i have unplugged. So, no help with codes at this moment.

 

scanner should have showed any codes from past issues. seems like its acting up when it goes to closed loop and tries to run from sensors. have you replaced the 02 sensor yet. or at least removed and looked to see if its fouled or damaged.

 

Downstream had wiring damaged so I just unplugged it. Will have it replaced by Sunday afternoon hopefully. I work crazy hours so I'm having to find time to work on it. Should I check the other two 02s too? Or just replace the one damaged one and see how it does?

 

just do the one and see what happens.
check evap system
if your scanner can see temp check it if not test temp sensor with ohm meter.
just going through a couple things to look at.

 

adding to ^^ have you downloaded the factory service manual for your year. go here and do so if not. 2002 firebird is mostly the same anything that is different is covered in the 2000 manual I believe. mostly interior and exterior trim. http://www.mediafire.com/?40mfgeoe4ctti

 

The flashing of the check engine light is interesting. Flashing is a warning that continued driving to drive the car could damage the engine or the cat. It is normal for a lot of missing or the fuel mixture is off. I do not remember that coming from the a down stream sensor. The only thing the down stream O2 sensor does is to tell the PCM that the output of the Cat is cleaner then the actual O2 sensor AKA the (Cat is working). They can cause a check engine lite but they do not effect the way the car runs.

I am surprised you do not have a random miss fire code. This could be caused by ignition or fuel. Could be a coil overheating, or a ICM, bad connection to the MAF or an internal issue with the MAF sensor. You could try to run the car with the MAF disconnected. This puts the car in LHM. If it still sputters it is most likely not a MAF problem.

 

I unplugged MAF sensor two days ago to see if there was any difference and there wasn't. I was definitely praying that it would have been that to fix it though. I will be replacing the downstream Sunday just so we can cross that off the list. I swear I think my car is possessed sometimes lol How do you check coils overheating and the ICM?

 

Also wanted to add because I just thought about it. The day I unplugged the MAF sensor to see if that would help, I also just checked my oil to see what it looked like. I noticed that it smelled so bad of gas. As soon as I pulled dipstick you could smell it. Don't know if this helps with anything but just wanted to add to the list of things that I find.

 

If you are getting gas in the oil you should pull the plugs. Some of them will need replace if they are old or cleaned if not. I always suggest using Youtube if you have very specific question. Since I do not know your skill level or what equipment you have "How" to do something can very in complexity.

Try this search "How to Check an ignition coil" on youtube. Watch couple videos, always glance down at the comments. If there are a lot of views and the guy made any mistake or left something out commenters will call him out.

On a side note, you are going to be shown how to test coils, they can pass all tests but they could still fail under stressed condition. Bad plug wires or just heat and build up resistance can cause the spark to exit the coil on the side instead of out the end. The test check for internal shorts not internal carbon tracking

For the ICM some parts stores can test them but the same situation can exist. It works fine in the store but the store does not get hot or it does not have a coil that is working at 100% because of old wires.

Small ignition testers. They plug inline and flash a light every time the cylinder fire. They also add more resistance. In some cases I have seen them cause a tested coil to fail instantly. You could buy three of them and hook them inline one on each coil and drive around until the car acts up. It still will not tell you if its the ICM or the coil but once you know which cyclinders is dropping just swatch the coils position run the test again and see if the issue follows the coil.

https://www.harborfreight.com/90-in-...ker-63593.html

I would not replace the O2 sensor until the miss is fixed. Gas in the oil, kind of, proves the miss. The last thing you want to do is to subject your new O2 to raw gas or a rich exhaust. At the dealer they would recommend replacing all affected O2 sensors after a miss was fixed.

 

Thank you so much. I'll be pulling wires and plugs and changing oil in the next few days. I'll report back when I'm finished. The plugs and wires are probably a year and a half old. I have worked on cars most my life but i was taught on old school cars so I'm still learning all this computer, and sensor stuff 😂😂😂 thank yall so much again for helping me out.