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Cadillac Jim

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Everything posted by Cadillac Jim

  1. Cadillacs have electric seats that can raise the driver's seat to fit you to perfect visibility and control of the wheel. Since you are female, we will try to raise the intellectual tone of the discussion a bit.
  2. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the cat is clogged. A real diagnosis awaits the OBD codes and more information about the driveability problems. The 1991 Deville has OBD I and a 4.9 liter engine with a 4T60E so I'm going to defer to those with more experience with that driveline.
  3. I've heard chirping noises in old cars that use multiple fan belts, usually coming from the font of the engine. You can use the cardboard tube form an empty roll of paper towels, or even two taped end-to-end, to localize where it is coming from without getting your head or hand near the fan blade. Usually it's one of the fan belts, and may be normal for a new belt on a new or very clean pulley. Sometimes it's a bearing seal on a power steering pump or even damper wheel. If the belts aren't loose or over-tight, and you don't have an oil leak or power steering leak, you probably don't have a problem.I have also heard a piston starved for oil emit a high-pitched squeak, as well a oil-starved seals, and, of course, something rubbing against the fan belt like a slightly bent alternator turbine, or a slipping fan belt, usually at idle on an alternator, the highest-stress pulley situation. You really do want to use a cardboard tube or whatever to localize the sound.
  4. The part number you gave for the relay, stamped on it, is one digit short of a GM part number. You say you found a relay on Rock Auto that is the same part; I don't see a relay by itself for the 1984 Biarritz electric seats, just 21-pin combination switch-relays and an 8-pin switch-relay. If you could give us the exact application where the same relay is used, and the GM part number, then we could probably find it for you. You can also match the relay with another one based on the size, voltage (12 Volts), and number of pins and functionality with pinout. That's a last resort but always there for parts like relays.
  5. I don't know about the 1984 personally, but, if they were made *for* Cadillac, parts should be available through normal GM sources and it should be covered in the GM shop manuals of the time. I see a bunch of relays for the 1984 Eldorado Biarritz, including two for the rear window defroster, and all are inexpensive. If you have the part number you can probably just do a search on that on Rock Auto or Amazon.
  6. The gauges aren't accurate in terms of what readings should be unless the A/C is turned on and functioning, and the compressor is running, and possibly other things like temperatures of the A/C refrigerant lines.
  7. Another possibility is a slipping A/C compressor clutch. If you can hear the clutch clicking but the A/C compressor doesn't spin, that is the problem.
  8. The first thing to do is to run the OBD codes and post them here. The link in my signature block goes to a Caddyinfo page that tells how.
  9. The radio runs on the retained accessory power, which either times out after 10 minutes or cuts off when a door is opened. The most likely culprit is the switch that tells the car's computers that the door is opened, but I'm not sure why it doesn't time out. You can check this quickly by seeing if opening the passenger door and see if that turns off the radio. The second thing to look at is a stuck relay. Please run your OBD II codes and post them here. The link in my signature block brings up a Caddyinfo page with instructions. With that, we can get to specific things to look at or fix.
  10. For that kind of money I would be looking instead for transmission rebuild, with all new clutches, seals, solenoids, and gaskets. This sounds strange for a 4T80E, which is pretty much bulletproof for other model years.
  11. We have two people here with radio problems, one with a 2002 Eldorado and one with a 2000 Deville DHS. For each of you, please run your OBD codes and post them here. The on-board diagnostics (OBD) system built into your Cadillac, accessible through your A/C controls and Driver Information Center (DIC), plus the experience of Caddyinfo people, an amazing amount of expertise is brought to bear on your problem. Without the codes, nobody can tell that much from a bulletin board post. I'll address the 2002 Eldorado first since that one started the thread. I don't have a 2002 FSM but I believe that your radio system is similar to the Bose system for the 1997 model year, but with satellite radio capability. There are two fuses in the trunk compartment fuse block: the RADIO/PHONE fuse (10 Amp) is for the integrated radio chassis (IRC), which is in the dashboard. The 12 CD changer runs from the COMFORT fuse (10 Amp). The Radio Interface Module (RIM) rear of the car behind the back seat and runs from the RADIO/PHONE fuse. The speakers run from the AMP fuse (30 Amp) in the trunk compartment fuse block and the LEFT and RIGHT DELCO-BOSE relays in the trunk compartment relay center #3. Note that there are two 30 Amp fuses for the AMP (the radio audio amplifier), one for the active system, where the power amplifier is behind the seats, and a separate one for the Bose system, which powers the relays that switch power to the speakers, which have the power amplifiers built into the Bose speakers on the doors. There are a lot of other things on both the RADIO/PHONE and COMFORT fuses so I would look at the AMP fuse first unless a lot of things were not working. The 2000 Deville DHS has an intermittent problem that rarely manifests itself. These are often hard to find because it's hard to troubleshoot something that isn't giving trouble at the time you are looking at it. What I can say is that the radio controls in the dashboard control the antenna while the RIM in the trunk drives the speakers.
  12. I have the top-end radio for the 1997 model year. DSP, Bose, etc. Out of the showroom it had poor sensitivity on both AM and FM. A few months later it went silent. No off-on response, but clock and OnStar worked OK. The dealer replaced it with a remanufactured unit under warranty. The replacement radio has been fine ever since. At the time I wasn't knowledgeable to run the codes so I didn't know anything about what was up internally. Your car is seasoned so I doubt that my experience is at all applicable. I suggest that you run the OBD codes and post them here. Other than that, I suggest that you check the fuses and replace any bad ones before you run the codes.
  13. Technical questions should be posted as new topics on the main board. That's here:

    http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showforum=3

  14. I have never heard of an internal steel timing chain breaking on anything in normal use and reasonable mileage. Admittedly I don't have a lot of experience in European exotics and short-lived non-imported cars, but this includes American V8's (all of them that use timing chains, e.g. GM since 1949, Chrysler since 1951, Ford since 1954), the Quad 4 and Quad OHC series, The Northstars, etc. Either this woman or her informers confused one of the V6's with the Northstar or there is something serious going on, down in the noise, like more FUD about American cars.
  15. That actual RPM at which a WOT shift begins depends on not as many things. One of these is engine redline. Possibly, with a restricted intake, the falloff of engine torque could make the shift point below redline. With a clean stock air cleaner and element, that won't happen. What the engine RPM does during the shift willl change if the engine restriction is changed because the torque at redline will improve and the PCM changes to pull the engine RPM down for the shift -- spark retard, shutoff of random fuel injectors -- will have slightly less effect and the tach will wander a little higher during the shift, particularly if you do the WOT shift in Drive instead of 3 or 2. Bruce made some timed runs with various cold air intakes and K&N solutions way back when his car was an STS. His post with a link to an archive of that page on post #4 on this topic now has a bad link, so I found the page where he documented his testing: http://drupal.caddyinfo.com/?q=node/149 Note that there is no measurable performance improvement with either of the two aftermarket air cleaners. The conclusion is that there is no measurable advantage to be gained over the stock air box and Delco air cleaner. If you use the car as your daily driver and plan to keep it for a long time, the efficiency of the air cleaner in stopping dust is important, and the AC/Delco is far superior to the drop-ins there. And, the stock air box takes in cold air through the fender and passes it over the PCM cooling fins below the air cleaner element, and an K&N cone in the engine compartment gives up the cold air routing and the PCM cooling. Here is his test with stock mufflers and Borla stainless steel "Super Turbo" replacements, an option that many dealers were putting on new cars at the time: http://www.caddyinfo.com/exhausttest.htm There is a slight but noticeable improvement from this change. In an older car, it is also legal to change the Cat (it's legal also if the cat is bad or missing) and you have an opportunity to get yet another improvement using an low-restriction catalytic converter; be sure and get an OBD compliant one. In California you need to take special care because 50-state OBD compliant cats are usually direct-replacement bolt-ons and you need to get one that has a larger element than the stock cat to improve the restriction at WOT.
  16. What I can say about my dealer-tuned OBD-II ETC is that, at 13 years old, it can still get the whites of the eyes of most people if I can keep traction in low gear, which is not too difficult with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS tires, at least on reasonably good pavement.
  17. All of the chips that I have heard of that actually do reprogram the PCM run at least $300 and the neighborhood of $500 is what you are looking at. They usually come in two flavors, a "Stage I" for daily drivers and a "Stage II" that requires that you use a 160 F thermostat (not good for the longevity of the engine but a little more HP). I doubt that you are going to be able to find a chip much cheaper than the Wester's Garage chip. The dealer can reprogram your PCM, any year, using their Tech II equipment and a trained technician. They can do the equivalent of a Stage I tuning on your car. I think that this is not uncommon for the first year or so if the driver requests it. They reprogrammed mine after I asked them to recommend a chip for my car and I was satisfied. I don't think that any dealer will set your car up to need a 160 F thermostat, though. Someone we heard about here on Caddyinfo knew about some guy who got a Tech II from a dealer that closed and was willing to reprogram OBD II Cadillacs, apparently for either Stage I or Stage II tuning. I would expect that if he can reprogram an OBD II Northstar then he can reprogram an OBD I Northstar. If anyone knows of that guy perhaps they will chime in here and put you in touch with him.
  18. The problem with going to a dealer with a 1994 STS is that the car is now 16 years old. The best Mr. Goodwrench Tech II man is likely about 30 now, so he was 14 when your car was new. Your computer type, OBD I, was last sold by GM in the 1995 model year. Most people take their cars to chains like Goodyear Stores, Pep Boys or Sears Auto once the car is out of warranty for a few years. If you can find a dealer tech who is familiar with the peculiarities of the 1993-1995 Northstar, it will necessarily be someone well over 40. Fastchip and others once sold chips for the OBD I Northstar. A call to Fastchip is probably worth your time. Even though the sales volume has tapered off and the chip has dropped off their online catalog, they may still sell it and support it. Be cautious, though. Please keep us posted here of what you find out.
  19. I'd like to mention Atlantic City NJ as a possibility because it's an easy drive from NYC and North Jersey, and there is lots of transportation to and from Atlantic City because of the casinos and the promotion of conventions and other events there. And, it's inexpensive because parking and hotels are subsidized, as it were, by the casinos. Other than that, I'm good for a reasonable drive from the Philly area.
  20. You would have to look at the make/model used in the signatures on the board to ensure that 40 characters is enough, but, that is halfway across the page in normal text, so I would hope so. An example of a make/model: 1196 Deville Concours, Have A Nice Day Now, that's 39 characters. Hey, that's enough for me.
  21. I was trying to edit my profile a few minutes ago because I saw in my signature that apersands in my interests were being displayed as &amp, making my signature block twice as high as it should be. But, every time I try to save it, I get an error "model and year of car not in correct format" or some such. The Car model and year is an open text box and there is no guidance in the Help page on this box. Perhaps it's a custom profile entry for Caddyinfo? In any case, there seems to be an "Easter egg" format check on it that isn't obvious. It wants "Model, year" and I have "1997 ETC" now. It won't take "1997 Eldorado Touring Coupe" and at that point I decided to just ask.
  22. The dealer reprogrammed my PCM after I had the car for a few months and kept asking them about a chip. The result was an improvement in throttle response but no change in fuel economy that I noticed. The only thing that might be called a downside is that I could feel the engine at idle as a very faint hum in the steering wheel, which I couldn't before. I think that this was pretty common with the STS and ETC when the dealer perceives that the customer is performance oriented and doesn't care that the car isn't perfectly smooth and quiet, at least in the 1990's. There have been people here who have gotten a custom chip for a 1997 Eldorado, and they may chime in. We have had some interaction with chip people about this but I don't know of anyone who has marketed such a chip widely. Someone may respond that does know of such a chip. It's harder on the OBD II Cadillacs because GM integrated the EPROM with the PCM instead of making it a owner-accessible pop-out chip like in the OBD I cars and in other makes. There is an outfit that will reprogram your PCM using a real Tech II and they have reported advantages similar to those of the chipmakers. That's your best shot. The only thing I would add is that this was on 1995-1999 Northstars, and I don't know how much experience these guys will have with a 2003. If your car has VVT, that's important because VVT offers a whole new parameter set to work with for performance and economy.
  23. How about my favorite destination, Atlantic City? Inexpensive venues most with free off-street parking for guests and inexpensive for visitors, plenty of shows, IMAX theater, the beach, and the legendary Boardwalk. Or, if we have under 20 or so pretty Cadillacs and get all those washed and invite the locals to come and look at them, I could likely make arrangements for getting Freedom Park in Medford NJ, which is two blocks south of NJ Route 70 in Medford, which is 18 miles from Philadelphia. Or, 30 miles East of Lakehurst NJ (where the Hindenburg burned) down NJ Route 70, if that will help you find it on a map. It's easy to get to from the NJ Turnpike, IH 295 or IH 95, the PA Turnpike, etc. There's a decent car wash in Medford, too, but it isn't a no-contact type. Here's a satellite photo of Freedom Park: http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=h&lat=39.89...186&zoom=18
  24. I'm in South Jersey, and my convenient driving radius is within 100 miles of Philadelphia. There have been small meetings for lunch in North Jersey, and I have recommended Atlantic City as an inexpensive place with lots of entertainment.
  25. I wish I had known about this guy in June 2006. All mine needed was Timeserts and gaskets.
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