The car is a 1995 Pontiac Bonneville SE

Well, my car has a bad ICM/coil pack(are these the same thing?). I knew it could be one of the problems, but after changing the spark plugs and wires, I brought it for diagnostics at a garage and they said it was a bad ICM and Coil.

My question is, which vehicles have the same engine as mine or basically, which cars and years can I get the parts from so I can go to a junkyard and pull them. Also, does anyone have any instructions(that would be awesome if you had pictures too!) on how to do it? Or should I try and find a Chilton'*/Hayne'* to figure it out?

Thanks a ton! Btw, before I registered it was this site that helped me figure out how to diagnose the problem.

edit: oh one last questions: Is there any way to check the ICM and Coil while it'* still on the junkyard car without turning it on? I'm guessing no, but I figured I'd ask. I'll just try and find a low mileage one to be on the safe side.

The ICM is seperate from the Coils. Your mechanic doesn't sound very knowledgable.

Ask him WHICH he diagnosed as bad. Coil pack troubleshooting is in Techinfo, link at the top of the page.

What are your symptoms? Be as specific and detailed as possible.

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...highlight=coil

The car starts up fine. The car shakes "a little" while it'* idling. It'* definitely noticeable, but not what my girlfriend would say is "bad".

Once it'* put in gear, she says that she feels like the "pressure on the gas pedal is off", she puts it all the way to the floor and it still feels gutless.

It'* very slow to accelerate, but it does make it up to cruising speeds eventually. While accelerating it'* fine other than the gutlessness, but once she starts cruising at a constant speed in 3rd or 4th gear she says it shakes really bad in the front of the car and the pedal and steering wheel. It keeps going but it is very rough. If she pushes down on the pedal, the shaking goes away if the car downshifts and she continues to accelerate. I suppose this only happens in 3rd and 4th because the car won't cruise in a lower gear, but we haven't checked it out I guess.

When she first pushes on the accelerator from a stop sign, it makes like a squeaking noise. Like a quick putter and it smells like burning rubber after driving it for a while and she stops and gets out.

I'll ask the guy today I'm about to go pick the car up. I'm guessing the ICM should have been the first thing he checked when he started moving the car around and felt it doing this, it was one of my first guesses after spark plugs. So there'* no way I'm paying him 70 bucks for taking 5 minutes and holding a multimeter to a couple of wires and metal studs!

You're in NY. Go to our National and Regional Meets section and read up about NEBF. It'* going on this week and over the weekend. If you can, it would be a great opportunity to get that car to CT, meet some good people, and get a scan or two on that car, and some expert attention.

If you can't, we'll keep troubleshooting here.

How old are the plugs/wires?
Can you check your coils as detailed in that article?

When was the last FULL tuneup? Do you have any way of checking fuel pressure (these things can all be done at NEBF).

well I can't test the coil until I get my hands on the multimeter. My gf and I work a lot, so i don't think I'll be able to make it><

Just changed the plugs and wires as my first guess, pretty sure they were all original!

Apparantly the ICM is bad, and there'* actually a crack in the center of the bottom-most coil. Guess that explains how they are both bad.

The fuel pump turns on just fine.

I get paid tomorrow, I think the first thing I'm gonna do is buy a multimeter and fuel pressure tester. Always useful tools to have either way.

Any detailed instruction on removing the ICM lying around? The coil seems pretty straight forward.

once you remove the coils the ICM will basically lift right off. you just need to disconect the wiring.

Coils are 5.5mm from the top. ICM is 3 10mm nuts from below (might not be 10mm, but that'* a good guess). Surprisingly, there are spare ICM'* and Coils at NEBF as well, but they can be shipped from CT to you at a very good price also.

PM Billboost37 for details.

It sounds to me like one bad (cracked) coil. I'd be tempted to replace just that one for now. Rather than wasting money on unneeded parts. Unless the ICM/coil price from Boosty is too good to pass on.

is there a way to test the ICM myself?

No, there isn't. And the testers at the local auto parts store are notoriously incorrect in their diagnosis as well. I've personally seen good ICM'* fail, and bad ICM'* pass their tests.