Firing order for 1990 GM 3.3 help please.

We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
help with the firing order of the coil packs.

I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
wrong coils.

The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
kick back.

Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
out and put them on right?

Thanks,

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com

On Jan 29, 10:52*am, Mike Romain > wrote:
> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>
> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
> my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
> protest and delay until it got dark. *He started off by snapping the O2
> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
> wrong coils.
>
> The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
> kick back.
>
> Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
> out and put them on right?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 'New' frame in the works for '08. *Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
> Photos:http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com

Firing order on coil packs:
1
4
5
2
3
6
Front of car.

Cylinder lay out:
2,4,6
1,3,5
Front of car

The original coil packs are have cylinder #'s on them. Replacements
don't.

dahpater wrote:
> On Jan 29, 10:52 am, Mike Romain > wrote:
>> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
>> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>>
>> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
>> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
>> my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
>> protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
>> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
>> wrong coils.
>>
>> The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
>> kick back.
>>
>> Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
>> out and put them on right?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Mike
>> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
>> 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
>> Photos:http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com
>
> Firing order on coil packs:
> 1
> 4
> 5
> 2
> 3
> 6
> Front of car.
>
> Cylinder lay out:
> 2,4,6
> 1,3,5
> Front of car
>
> The original coil packs are have cylinder #'s on them. Replacements
> don't.

Thanks a lot, ours are a mix of originals with numbers all over the place.

Mike

dahpater wrote:
> On Jan 29, 10:52 am, Mike Romain > wrote:
>> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
>> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>>
>> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
>> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
>> my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
>> protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
>> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
>> wrong coils.
>>
>> The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
>> kick back.
>>
>> Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
>> out and put them on right?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Mike
>> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
>> 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
>> Photos:http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com
>
> Firing order on coil packs:
> 1
> 4
> 5
> 2
> 3
> 6
> Front of car.
>
> Cylinder lay out:
> 2,4,6
> 1,3,5
> Front of car
>
> The original coil packs are have cylinder #'s on them. Replacements
> don't.

Ouch, something is really wrong here....

I know I traced one wire through the channel to show the kid how to and
for sure it fit in the number 2 coil. This wire was on the front
drivers side end of the engine or tranny end, not the waterpump or front
end????

Your diagram shows it opposite with number one on the passenger side or
waterpump side?

Thanks,

Mike

Mike Romain wrote:
> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>
> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
> my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
> protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
> wrong coils.
>
> The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
> kick back.
>
> Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
> out and put them on right?

OK, this is nuts. The car was driving nice, just passed emissions, etc
and we decided to tune it because sparks were flying out of the wires in
the damp.

It looks like the first coil pack is replaced with 5 and 2 on it instead
of 1 and 4, the rest look original with the numbers 5,2,3,6 in
descending order with the buss line at the #6 end.

My son mixed a couple wires at the back so it wouldn't start this
morning, it did run last night, got those now in the 'original when we
got it' coil packs.

'I' traced two wires in the front channel of the engine just to show my
kid how to do it and 'for sure' the wire plugged into the front right or
tranny end of the engine was in coil #2... The front left one was in #6.

Everything I read says 1,3,5 are the front bank of cylinders, not the
back bank?

OK, so is this engine wired backward? Something like clocking a
distributor cap 180 off because you messed up the cam?

It just don't want to start now though. I get a hard sounding crank
crank crank and seize, let off the key, try again and a solid crank
crank crank and jam.

Man I need a beer.....

Mike


>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
> Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com

Mike Romain wrote:
> dahpater wrote:
>> On Jan 29, 10:52 am, Mike Romain > wrote:
>>> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
>>> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>>>
>>> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
>>> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
>>> my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
>>> protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
>>> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
>>> wrong coils.
>>>
>>> The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
>>> kick back.
>>>
>>> Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
>>> out and put them on right?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Mike
>>> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
>>> 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
>>> Photos:http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com
>>
>> Firing order on coil packs:
>> 1
>> 4
>> 5
>> 2
>> 3
>> 6
>> Front of car.
>>
>> Cylinder lay out:
>> 2,4,6
>> 1,3,5
>> Front of car
>>
>> The original coil packs are have cylinder #'s on them. Replacements
>> don't.
>
> Ouch, something is really wrong here....
>
> I know I traced one wire through the channel to show the kid how to and
> for sure it fit in the number 2 coil. This wire was on the front
> drivers side end of the engine or tranny end, not the waterpump or front
> end????
>
> Your diagram shows it opposite with number one on the passenger side or
> waterpump side?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike

Wife's car - 90 beretta, 3.1. Not same engine, but when I did the plugs
and wires I had managed to butcher it - I had cylinder #1 wrong. Is
there an underhood decal still?

Mike Romain wrote:
> Everything I read says 1,3,5 are the front bank of cylinders, not the
> back bank?
>
> OK, so is this engine wired backward? Something like clocking a
> distributor cap 180 off because you messed up the cam?
>

Which head is further "forward"? (front of engine, not front of car.)
I don't know if the 3.3 does that, but the old small block did, and the
3.1 in ours did. Which meant that #1 was the BACK and not the front. I
had totally miswired it.

If you've got it totally backwards, I think it would run, but badly
because it's a waste-spark setup. But don't quote me on that.

yeah, nothing sucks more than messing up the plug wires and alternating
between backfires and no-start.

But hey, at least there's no carb to light on fire when it backfires.

Ray

Ray wrote:
> Mike Romain wrote:
>> Everything I read says 1,3,5 are the front bank of cylinders, not the
>> back bank?
>>
>> OK, so is this engine wired backward? Something like clocking a
>> distributor cap 180 off because you messed up the cam?
>>
>
> Which head is further "forward"? (front of engine, not front of car.)
> I don't know if the 3.3 does that, but the old small block did, and the
> 3.1 in ours did. Which meant that #1 was the BACK and not the front. I
> had totally miswired it.
>
> If you've got it totally backwards, I think it would run, but badly
> because it's a waste-spark setup. But don't quote me on that.
>
> yeah, nothing sucks more than messing up the plug wires and alternating
> between backfires and no-start.
>
> But hey, at least there's no carb to light on fire when it backfires.
>
> Ray

OK, I checked that and the front head is indeed forward. That would
imply # 1 is front of car and belt side of engine. LOL, This is nuts.

The stubs of the wires that were in the front channel are still there
and 100% for sure the front left or passenger side of the belt end of
the engine's wire came out of #6 on the coil pack with # 2 on the front
of car tranny end of the engine. I just checked again...

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com

Well, this is just too funny. I don't know what drugs or kind of red
wine the last owner of our Cutlass was into but the spark plugs were
wired to use the waste spark idea Ray mentioned and timing matches for
firing to make it run, who cares what the numbers on the coil packs
are.... LOL! Someone had a weird sense of humor.

What a strange thing. It ran beautifully except for rainy starts.

We just put it together according to the diagrams dahpater gave, tied
the O2 sensor back into it's hole with a coat hanger and away it went.
Just purrs again.

Thanks all!

Mike

Mike Romain wrote:
> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>
> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so
> my wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
> protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
> wrong coils.
>
> The engine wants to back fire now and only turns over in chugs, then a
> kick back.
>
> Can someone tell me the plug order in the three coil packs so I can go
> out and put them on right?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
> Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com

"Mike Romain" > wrote in message
ng.com...
> We have a 'new' 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine and I need
> help with the firing order of the coil packs.
>
> I have a badly damaged neck from being a passenger in a passenger side
> T-bone hit and can't reach to repair things like plug wiring anymore so my
> wife got our 24 year old son to do the job with lots of grumbling and
> protest and delay until it got dark. He started off by snapping the O2
> sensor off in the back and finished off with the spark plug wires in the
> wrong coils.
>>snip<<

Ya know, when we need for the wife to help us during painful-neck-days,
we just hafta put her usual blame off on the son, don't we? Really, I
might shouldn't kid MR about such, but feel like I can since I've been
disabled since '97 with neck pain being the precursor to continued levels of
spine-squeezing on sp. cord--spinal stenosis. Plus, Mike's got a good
sense of humor! s