# '89 Corsica Backfires



## arunforce (Jun 16, 2005)

My '89 Corsica backfires.
What is wrong? ARG!!


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## joeeye (Apr 5, 2005)

Hi,

Being an X mechanic I'll try to help as much that I can.

I find that there are a few things that will make your car back fire.

First off there is something to the effect of a deceleration valve of some sort, what this does is blow air into the intake ports cooling down the fuel/air mixture preventing the back fire when you let your foot off of the gas pedel.

Second, is there any check engine light coming on? you may have the problem stored in code that a mechanic needs to decipher.

these are a few off the wall cases and by no means take this for face value because I'm not familiar with your engine, but this can give you an idea if your handy under the hood what to look for in different flavors that apply to your engine.

The fundimentials are usely the same for all engine of simular.

If it is a check engine light I sugest taking it in to have fixed other than a dealer, there are pleanty of garages that are qualified to fix that with out being over charged.

Also to keep in mind, your exhaust system need to be solid and in sound shape, if you don't have the right back pressure this will cause back fire.

I can keep going with info for you, but I hope this narrowed it down for you, good luck, let me know what you find, or if you find more info, Joe


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## arunforce (Jun 16, 2005)

Well the service light goes on in the corsica, and I tried replacing the spark plugs, but it was no use.


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## joeeye (Apr 5, 2005)

The sad part about cars today is that with these darn on board computers operating many parts of the engine makes it expensive to repair.

Being that the service light comes on means that there is a code stored in memory, it need to be looked at to find out what number it is.

Chances are it may or may not have anything to do with back firing, but you won't know until you know what code number is making the service engine light come on.

If I remember, back a while ago some Chevy's came out with a service engine lamp that had nothing to do with something wrong with the engine controls, it was just a marketing plan to get people into the dealer to get there cars tuned up, I hope thats not what light is comingon for you, be sure that its an actual computer code, I can be wrong, but I do remember for about a year or so there was a few cars that had those lamps to say when to tune up the car.


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## arunforce (Jun 16, 2005)

Ok, I took it to a mechanic.
And, yes he said that I need to have a computer diagnose the problem, which is very well be the shank module or something like that.

Thanks. :laugh:


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## joeeye (Apr 5, 2005)

I'm glad your making progress on the back firing, and even better news that the guy knows that it may even be some part that he mentioned.

Good luck, if the mechanic hits it right, let me know what part it was, thanks for getting back to me, Joe


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

If you live near an Auto Zone, auto parts store, they usually will scan the Check Engine codes for free.

http://www.autozone.com/home.htm

Look at the top right corner for the store locator.

You also need to explain how the car is backfiring. 

Some questions:

Is the the engine backfiring out the exhaust or back into the air intake? This is very important. 

Is the engine backfiring under accelaration or under deceleration?

Does the engine run rough at idle, under load?

Did the backfire start before or after you replaced the spark plugs?

Did the Check Engine light come on before or after the backfiring started?

How long has the Check Engine light been on?

JamesO


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## Volt-Schwibe (Jan 12, 2003)

heh, with most cars you can use a paper clip.

in anything chrysler you turn it on-off, on-off, on, and it will blink out the codes.....

go to the local library, and grab a haynes techbook named, "diagnostic trouble codes"

it will explain this paperclip trick, and list all of the codes.

or, i will be back in a few anyhow, i can explain it all then.

EDIT: and here it is...

this is the procedure for your corsica...

Find the "ALCL" Assembly Line Communications Link located on the underside of the dashboard. this should be in the middle of the bottom of the dash, and is usually closest to the drivers side.

using a paper clip, push each end into the 2 top right corner openings with the car off.

once the paperclip is in place, turn the key to the on position *without starting the engine!* and watch for the SES/CE light to flash.

you will see a code 12 first, and then a sequence of codes, with a 12 at the end. 

there are long pauses between codes, short pauses between numbers, and all codes are two digits. 

example: flash, pause, flash, flash is a code 12.

Write down all the codes. when you get back to a code 12, turn the key off, and remove the paperclip.



> Code 13
> Oxygen (O2) Sensor-signal stays low (lean) during warm engine cruise
> 
> Code 14
> ...


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