need everyones help fixing / diagnosing my sisters car

[resq302]

Well, after fixing the a/c compressor on my sister in laws 1989 Buick Lesabre 3.8l V-6 yesterday, the engine now idles and then dies for no reason like someone is shutting off the key.  I am totally baffled.  When replacing the compressor, I only removed the wires to that and did not touch anything else.  When the engine dies, it does not sputter or try to keep running.  It shuts off like someone just was inside the car and turned the key off.  She needs this car for school and her internship and I need to get it back on the road as soon as possible since her parents do not think the car is safe with just shutting off like it is even through it only happens at idle and an occasional rev in park and then the engine when idling down back to curb idle, dies.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Oh, the car now has all the freon back in it so that is not the problem either.  It does this with or without the a/c running.

[tan top]

its not like the modern ford stuff is it !! disconnect the battery & the ecu computer returns to default mode & once battery is re connected the ecu re learns optimum setting after driving 20 miles or running 20 minutes   just a idea 

[resq302]

Well, when I was removing the old a/c compressor, since it was so close to the starter motor, I did disconnect the neg. side of the battery.  Maybe that is part of the problem?

Whats weird is that there is no rhyme nor reason as to when it dies.  Almost like there is a loose wire that is breaking or something that is killing the engine but why would it start all of a sudden when I didn't touch any other wires or move anything else around?

[Charger-Bodie]

some of those older ones need up to 25 miles to re calibrate. I would try that before anything else.

[no318]

The crankshaft position sensor on that is behind the harmonic dampner.  The A/C is low on the engine.  Is it possible that those wires/connector got distrurbed?  Also the ignition module is above the A/C and has a long flat plug in with a bolt holding it into the module.  I would double check those 2 connections and wiggle the harness to see. 

[resq302]

by ignition module, do you mean the coil packs?  I noticed a whitish gray grease on the lower rad hose and seemed to also be on the bottom of the coil packs (all 3 coil packs are clumped together and has two discharges).  Kinda wondering if when her engine over heated a bit it might have melted or cooked the coil packs.

[Cooter]

Without a scanner, you are pissing in the wind....Same symptom, about 10 different causes. Need to find out what it is loosing and without the scanner, you are dead in the water.

[resq302]

It is an OBD1 system and I am not aware of any scan tools that would work with it.  I was on a Buick forum site and it said to jump terminals A and B and the service engine soon light or check engine light would blink out the error code.  I have the list of OBD1 codes so it is a matter of time till  I can get back to the car to work on it.