Shop Mini Shocks

I agree with Tom that there are a lot of options out there for a simple bright-lights bulb replacement. This is especially true since you prefer that they work in conjunction with your high beams, rather than a supplement to your low beams.

I also agree that LED solutions will not draw much current-just not sure if you'll find ready replacements for your brights.

Remember one thing about brighter halogen lamp replacements-they typically operate at higher temperatures and suffer from shorter life. I've seen more than one lamp housing sporting a melted reflective surface rolling around in the bottom of the assembly.

Have any of you tried any of these replacement bulbs? Any feedback as to their effectiveness?

Your car your call. I'd sooner try exact fit higher power bulbs for the OE lights. I've done that and if totally compatible with the car's electrical which they usually claim they are great!

If you do choose extra lights I'd try to find ones with low amp draw. More and more LED stuff out there that uses no amps vs regular bulbs. Watch out where you place them as if too low it's easy to bust them on certain roads or parking situations with those parking bumpers they use here - may not where you are,

T

I agree with the old guy. The old style halogen jillion candle power driving lights sucked up lots of amps , got very hot and were prone to burnout. As Tom stated LED'S are the way to go. Very low amp draw , very bright white light and they will outlast the car payments. Many imports had driving lights as an option . Some came pre wired for this ,with a blank fuse outlet and relay socket. Some even had a spot in the air dam for mounting .Check your owners manual or dealer parts dept.

Engine still runs which is good so far. Now it needs to be totally hoisted to inspect for damage my guess is more from "rocks" than the water so far. Exhaust pipe(s) could be bent, broken or more. Will need to be seen in person to really know,

T

Another problem,before the water incident,there was a strange and very loud vibrating noise from the exhaust pipe,i think. This would happen any time am idling in traffic and occasionally the idling would change on its own,revving between 500rpm and 1000 rpm. Please help,this was my first car and I have had it for close to 8 years and in my part of the universe mechanics are not known for their honesty especially when dealing with female drivers. Thanks!

Have you checked TPS voltage at closed throttle? A shorted to reference voltage, TPS could put the ECM into a clear flood mode and turn off injector pulse.
Should be around .5 (1/2) volt at closed throttle and 4.5 volts at wide open.
Test this at the signal return wire, at the ECM; it should be a dark blue wire at terminal 15. Not sure witch one of the two connectors; my wiring diagram doesn’t have the connectors labeled for some reason.
Why I say test it at the ECM, is that you’ll also be testing the harness as well for short to power.

Dan.

Closed throttle TPS is .68 volts and the WOT is 4.68 volts as per my scanner.I'l get back on the voltage at the ECM .Any ideas on the voltage from the module ? Do you think 2.5 volts is enough

The voltage is .6 volts closed throttle and 4.1 volts @ WOT .I tried holding at WOT with a Noid light and no signal either. Do you have pin out voltage for the ecm, alldata does not list for this year. I reallly think I have a open wire somewhere but where is the question.

I’m not sure what reference voltage you’re talking about?
I have a 2.5 volt reference from the module to the ECM is this enough ?
What color wire. ECM or module pin?

No sorry I don’t have pin out chart for this thing either.

Have you tried disconnecting the wiring harness (close to the manifold) that leads to all the injectors and testing for pulse on the ECM side of the harness?
With the way they designed these things you can’t get to all the injectors to disconnect them, not without pulling the upper plenum. Being bank fired you could have a couple of injector pulling the whole system low?

Have you tried pulsing the injectors manually, with a jumper wire; just to see if they will fire? Again if there is some form of short under the plenum; it may have fried the drivers out of the replacement ECM?

This car doesn’t have an anti-theft system in it like Pass-lock does it; it’s likely to old?

Dan.

The ECM connector in question with 2.5 volts is connector 430 from the module.I have not disconnected the harness under the plenum.I did check at the mini harness behind the ecm checking for voltage at conector A ,K,E,F then checked the resistance of the injector harness .How do you suggest to fire the injector ? Ground the ECM side of the injector ? And as for the antitheft I don't see one since it is so old.Unless someone added One ? I'll look at it Saturday.Thanks for the help Dan.

Eric

I’m down at the lake for the weekend and don’t have access to my manuals to see what this circuit is. Need high speed internet and all that’s available along this section of the north shore of lake Erie is dial up. Maybe there’s a reason they call this village “Turkey Point”. LOL

Yea to fire one of the banks of injectors is too momentarily ground the driver side of the harness and I mean momentarily. I usually have a pressure gauge connected to the fuel rail; pressurize the system, fire the injector(s) and compare the pressure loss, difference between the banks.

I never thought of after market security systems; well worth a look. You never know what someone may have added too the system that has long been forgotten or never known about, by this owner of the vehicle?

Dan.

Hey Dan the puzzle has not been solved.I pulled the upper plenum and verified voltage on circuit 639/839 all good.Checked for continuity at 467/468 all good.Checked resitance of injector .6 ohms all injectors.verified ground at D4,D10.No theft system .I did not test for injector spray due to I know I have power and continuity so what gives I'm stumped .

I did check for power at the D3,D9 with a volt meter and was fine.The check engine light is on with key on I did verify that.I will take another look at it tonight and see if I can get the ECm to flash code 12 and also I want to check the injector resistance I don't think my multimeter was reading correctly at the .6 ohms so I borrowed one from a friend.I'm not sure if my scanner will run that test but I can manually do it.


In regards the slapping trick I forgot about that one .I worked in a dealership in 1980-83 and remember doing that a few times after you mentioned it.I'll get back

Check D3&9 with a test light; the test light will put a small amount of load on the system, where a 10 mega-ohm DVOM will not.
The DVOM will read whatever voltage that is on that circuit without being intrusive to that circuit. A test light requires current flow to light the light; if there’s high resistance in the circuit, a test light will not light; where a “good” voltmeter will show system voltage.

Dan.

Okay we be smilin now I got it figured out.I did the test with the test light and both have power at the ECM.I went again and checked my harness resistence and had 4.5 ohms spec is 4-5 ohms with injectors harness connected.I then ohmed each injector and found 1 that was .6 ohms and the rest where 11.5-12 ohms.I disconnected the injectors from the harness and installed the noid light on each connector .BOOM I got power.Checked each one on the rear bank and all flashed the light HUM .Did the same with the front bank all flashed until I connected the injector with .6 ohms .It must be shorted out and must be grounding the common ground in the driver for the other bank.Odd the harness test didn't show a difference compard to the other bank.
So anyway I have'nt installed the injector yet may have an oppurtunity tonight or tomorrow.I really appreciate all your help and will drop in from time to time and see if I can be of any help. Eric

Good stuff, let us know the end resault.

Dan.

Not sure what to suggest, other then possibly one of the replacement parts were defective? It wouldn’t be the first time finding a defective module right out of the box?

Dan.

Hey Muggs,

Not sure if this will be helpful at all...but I have noticed this to a degree with the exact same model that my girlfriend has which I drive somewhat often. It doesn't seem as sharp as you're pointing out here, but it definitely happens. Something with the design perhaps? I'd be interested to know what the issue is if you figure it out.

-Nate

Thanks, Nate, that's what I think too......its a design problem. Nothing to do but put up with it. Our main car is a Toyota. Its as as sure-footed as a mountain goat so this Buick is an annoyance. Thanks again, Muggs

Haha yeah...it's a smooth ride but when you're driving a car that felt like it was meant to be a boat, this will happen I suppose. I often feel like it should have a rudder instead of a steering wheel.

-Nate

The problem is solved. The rear shocks seemed to be OK but I replaced them anyway. That seemed to have solved the problem of pitching sidewise on bumps. M

Nate! The one up close is a boat. A 2001 LeSabre is an economy car! I owned a couple of those suckers and three people could stand thru the sun roof! You could move a twin bed made up in the back seat and close the trunk lid on a small car as a spare. Never mind a rudder you needed tug boats to park those suckers but boy were they fun!

T

Hey Tom

Driven many of those...
MAN..those were nice riding cars...especially that "Monster" in the front..
It appeared to just float down the street...
Remember the rubber insulation on all the coil springs...
A buddy of mine had the exact one pictured....used to let me drive it for weeks at a time..
He had several cars...What a great car!!!!
They don't make 'em like that anymore...
Probably one of the few Ford/Lincoln products I liked working on...."Remember the test drive made it all worth it"..When the job itself was rough....
Thanks for the trip down memory lane...

JIm

Jim - had a couple 73 Caddy Land Yachts too. Not the Eldo but two of the one on the left. Dang hood alone weighed more than some wicked small cars of today by itself! Of course you needed to friends with an OPEC country to drive those too

Just fun,

T

With all due respect Tom/Lincoln guys...

NOW YOUR TALKING....CADILLAC...BABY....

Yea ..MAN, those hoods were heavy...remember when you had to take one off to do engine work...
Definitely needed some helpers..
Owned quite a few land yachts myself..
Remember under the hood of those Eldos...more room than some studio apartments...LOL
Those were the days...and Gm/Ford wonders why they cant sell cars today

Sorry to but in guys....just wondering if these cars can be converted to fuel injection....I owned a few bigems myself, back then gas was .40 a gal.........

Dave: The Caddies used a lot of monster 472 aka "the 501" engines with quadrajets. Fuel injection was in some rare models - they didn't do any better on gas just took out the hassle or the shamless indignity of having to pump the gas pedal once it they would never start.

The 60s had the same monsters that were as big but didn't look so big in the crowd. They also got tons better fuel mileage in the 60 than the 73 (detuned for emissions) cars. Had a 67 and a 68 Caddy that would do close to 20 + without trouble on trips - nothing around town. Those engines had so much power you barely touched the gas to maintain hwy speeds. Some used VR (variable rate) torque converters which was and felt like limitless ratios for power and close to lock up without load!

Today: The best anti-theft control ever is let a theif try to steal a car with a carb - will screw them up every time if they never drove one and don't recall the days

T

.40 cents a gallon...MAN your young....
I remember it much cheaper than that.
I remember the gas price wars between local gas stations vying for business, gas in the teens,YES teens and they even had give aways like S & H green stamps, dishes,glasses,mugs...etc...
Those were the days....the oil companies have forgotten what made them and what customer service once was..

How 'bout it old timers.....

I recall the "gas wars" in town (1960s) one station against the other - 17.9cents (they always wanted that .9 cent) - always something free with a fill up too. Was working at Mobil when gas first crossed the one dollar line and we had to post the real price on a card but didn't have the spot for a whole dollar and the pumps couldn't be adjusted so we had to just set them for half and double the charge till new pumps were installed.

Regualar gas was 93 octane and high test was 98 or better! Sunoco used to sell 105 octane. Now we think 92 is the "super" gasoline! "Unleaded was called "white gas" or "marine" gas that only Amoco sold here for Winter storage or gasoline heaters. Lead (tetraethyl) in gas would congeal pretty quickly and make a jelly at the top of a gas can if left too long!

Also - "self serve" WHAT WAS THAT?? ------- And find where the gas cap was on all those cars - some hidden behind tail lights on the fins!

T

Let's start a new thread - I'll call it "Gas Station Memories" in the "open posting" spot. Let's see if we can dig up some neat old pics - the cars, gas wars, gasoline brand name changes, marketing - fun stuff.....

T

WOW Tom...I can't believe the size of those cars...I thought crown vics were big. I wish I lived in a different climate, I'd just stick to my damn motorcycles (no offense to you fine car folks) and just have a beater pick up truck to haul crap around in.

And maybe I'd buy a kayak/corolla too : )

Thanks for the reply, Tom. Very nice of you to help the auto store determine which of their anti-freeze testers are bad. In a perfect world, someone in the supply chain would have already done that.

Yes, I'm in the process now of trying to determine which 3 of my 6 gauges are correct. I would have been inclined to think that the 3 round dial gauges, which were much more expensive, would be the accurate 3. But the 2 cheap pencil gauges match the pencil gauge on the free air compressor at the gas station, so my search is still on.

I have never purchased a screw-on type gauge, so I guess the next one that I purchase will be that type. I suppose in the meantime I can try going to one of those auto parts stores that have free checks for things. Maybe they can check my pressure with a couple different gauges that they deem to be accurate. I will give that a try.

Thanks for your valuable input!

Inexpensive gauges are rarely accurate at all. You'll even be lucky to get the same gauge to give you the same reading twice in a row. I've gone through this for years and the only way I resolved it is a bought an $80 digital gauge that reads in 1/2 pound increments.

The one thing you want to make sure of when you do this is you always check them before the car has been driven and with approximately the same ambient temp. Pressure readings will vary dramatically with temp changes and the only reliable time to check is before the vehicle has been driven that day and when it's parked out of the sun.

This stuff w inaccuracy is totally irritating. It does matter more than ever. Some to many vehicles use exacting pressures front or rears - the spare and so on. I also deal with WET filled 2/3rds so they make gauges just for that if you like parting with $10 for pencil gauge.
Sorry to sound ticked but am. Antifreeze! OMG - you have to know that. Thank you PRESTONE by name brand (tester) you suk! bought several knowing they'd not all agree and didn't. Measured exact 50/50 and want to see exactly -34 not 10F off either way or lots more off.


Arggh! Price should buy you quality and accuracy but isn't necessarily the sure bet. I default to many agreeing one after the other with the same conditions.
What most folks don't know and add it to your trivia to win a Coke at a bar.


How many pounds/PSI does plain air go up per ea. 10 degrees Fahrenheit of temperature? A. ONE - PSI for each 10F up or down. You notice this most when first cold snap comes thru the dash tires pressure warning go nuts. Tires about all say check when cold and that's why as well.


I'm ticked as this is expected to be a DIY thing and they do that to the stuff! Arrrrrrrrrrr!


Tom

Yes Tom, agreed. And that first sudden cold snap is when it's most important. But it's also important on a hot summer day before a long drive, as you don't want to overfill due to an inaccurate reading and then have a blowout.

Hammer Time, excellent advice for those who don't know indeed. Check the pressure on undriven tires that are out of the sun.

I hate the thought of having to spend $80 on an accurate gauge, but we'll also pay in the long run with tires not reaching their full life expectancy with bad readings, so I may just have to invest in one like yours. The digital aspect is nice also, although I'm certainly not convinced that digital necessarily means accurate. Quality will still matter I'm sure. And it may just take an $80 investment to get that.

I'd venture to say a digital tire pressure gauge is going to be the most accurate as long as it is calibrated correctly. Does your vehicle have TPMS and displays tire pressures?

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, my car does not, but I would have to agree that a properly calibrated digital gauge would be ideal.

Beat on this once more: Digital isn't always the answer as things that require a battery have a habit of failing just when you need it and don't have another - luck. Just in and don't do car stuff much anymore but sooooo flipping hot took a shot at an A/C check and charge up on a stored Benzo. Air over pavement was 140F (digital thermo) and a digital scale I left in the sun dammit went all nuts being too hot that yet another new battery solved.


IDK - someone gave me a digital tire gauge in a fake leather case. It suks. Takes 3 tries (that exact one) to get any reading as the tip is lousy and spits air out while trying. Can't win.


First test on A/C was a home-made gauge by me to read static pressure with a tire gauge (just hours ago now) such that with an unknown system that might have been full of goo for all I know would only wreck a tire gauge. It read 5 PSI, is empty for A/C just for that info how to proceed with said, an unknown system. Didn't want to wreck VERY costly A/C stuff on one reading.


Back to the topic. YOU are supposed to know it's hot for a tire that it's on and or in the sun as a factor. If driven a lot tires warm up on their own and or pick up road temps. You still want to believe what you buy is telling what you want and asked for a brand and I can't name one that always right the first time, did mention NAPA as they sell them untouched in a package so at least they haven't be played with by anyone or probably sustain being dropped in the package? No clue who makes them whatsoever - not marked,


Have a great day - Tom