So i was trying to fix my turn signal lamps as they hadnt worked in about a year. I bought the new sockets, and was trying to reconfigure the wiring setup since the previous owner did the same thing and I think messed it up. These bulb have been running really hot and burning out too fast...that and when i turned the signal on, the rear ones worked but not the front. Anyway, like an idiot, I left the battery in and the car running so when I made connections, the light would turn on and I could get an idea as to which wire did what. Once I had figured that out, still not working right ( they are as bright as my headlights but at least they blink) I was going to unplug my battery to make the solid connections. As I was taking the positive end off, i dropped my ratchet and sparks flew, all kinds of clicking went off. I went to check my guages and found I blew the fuse for my guage cluster. I replaced it, and continued replacing my turn signal lamps.

I finished and was going to run the car but it has a really rough idle and missfire feel until it gets to about 180 degrees, then it stops and just runs rich.

Have I messed something up in the PCM? it missfires bad when I am giving it gas, idles really rough, and then when it warms up, its fine.

I am thinking its not spark plug/ wire/ distributor because it fixes itself once it is hot, but could the PCM be giving the car bad instructions? I

If I unplug the battery and let it sit overnight, won't that reset the PCM and maybe fix my issue?

I am at a loss right now and sorely missing my convertible in this beautiful weather.

Thanks,

Sean

That's bad...sorry to hear about this problem. Doncha hate it when that happens?

Two things could have occurred, depends upon what wires were shorted and where the wrench was dropped. The first is that a fusible link was burned out. If so, it will have to be found and replaced. Replacing is as simple as cutting out the old, burned out link, soldering the new one in place (Auto Zone, Peep Boys, etc.) and then insulating the solder joint. The other and worst one is that the PCM might have been sent a voltage surge and yes, that could have blown it.

To test the PCM, disconnect the battery negative terminal for a few minutes to reset back to the Integrator program. Reconnect and see how the engine runs, if the engine runs great, no harm and no foul--the car is back in business, providing the Integrator will transfer over to the Block Learns in about 20 miles. If not, and the engine continues to run badly, it might mean a new PCM, or maybe the voltage surge took out a sensor like a TPS, MAF, Map or (shudder!) the dreaded Optispark. No matter what, you will have to do some diagnostics. Of the three sensors, only the MAF and the TPS could be culprits, but the TPS shouldn't have been hurt--the MAF might be the culprit..they are very sensitive and if that isn't the problem, suspect the Optispark.

In past postings, I've mentioned about this tail light socket problem--the best ones are from GM. All that is needed is to buy the socket (it ain't cheap, by the way) and then replace the wires with the cars OEM harness--the replacement pigtails that come with the socket are easily pulled out by using a paper clip to release the little tang. The best sockets are really the ones from GM. What more than likely happened to your OEM sockets is that the ground wire corroded due to a bad connection, but the ground wire from the harness is still good...all that was necessary the first time was to clean it. There is a posting under my old posting name of Charles on this subject and how to do it--maybe it will help. If I lived near you, would show you how to do this--it's not very hard. However, I had to buy the stupid new socket from GM and then break the defective one apart to see how everything worked.