It more than likely is the heat shield on top of the converter. It probably has broken loose.
It's a bit tricky actually. I bought a Haynes manual, and the diagram within does not display this particular motor and so is pretty useless. The thermostat housing is located on the end of the top water hose mounted sideways on the top of the engine underneath the throttle body and right next to the junction of the exhast manifold and header. You will have to remove the air cleaner box for sure, but access is extremely restricted compared to the 3.1l.
It is behind the ashtray, You may have to remove the ashtray mount to see it on the left in a half moon metal holder. KEZZART:
remove the entire ashtray assembly by removing the 4 easy to see hex screws, 2 at the bottom corners and two you can see at the top corners when the ash tray is opened - the cig lighter will still be attached by wires so be careful not to pull out the ash tray too hard or too far - the flasher is inside the ashtray hole to the left and may be held in place by a small clip which often comes loose so it may just be laying loose at the end of a long wire - the flasher is a squat little silver cylinder that just unplugs - remove the clip if it is still attached to the flasher and put it on the new flasher and plug in - then clip it all back in place though i just lay it loose and dont bother clipping it - i sure wonder what jerk designed it to be so hard to find and replace
I would suspect a bad alternator and battery, have them both checked at the parts store. A car with a fully charged battery and a bad alternator will run until the battery is drained and then quit.
remove the neg (-)battery pole and plug in back in about 5-10 minutes
The voltage regulator is an integral part of the alternator on that vehicle.
The turn-signal flasher on my 2001 Olds Intrigue is the same unit as the hazard warning unit. The part number is GM 10401280. you can access to and replace it through the center vent air deflector. You can use a small flat screw driver to open the top clip of the vent deflector to remove the vent. The Hazard Warning Switch Turn Signal Flasher will be visible on the left.
It will vary depending on the model, but I have a 94 Cutlass Ciera, and it has a 3.2 liter V6 in it