Help 98 Eldo light show

redsaw1 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-04-08, 09:48 PM

All of my dash lights are flashing, speedo and tach are jumping, computer reads check airbag and security system problem.
Here is the wierd part, when you turn on the dome lights it stops the flashing.

weephee · #2 (**permalink**) 01-04-08, 10:30 PM

Can you provide more details. Will the car start. Is the system voltage higher than 13.9 volts (measure voltage at battery) If you turn on other accessories like the headlights does everything settle down. It may be that your voltage is too high due perhaps to faulty voltage regulator or battery and when applying additional load it reduces battery voltage back to acceptable levels.

chubbyranger · #3 (**permalink**) 01-04-08, 11:05 PM

Pull codes:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...s-warning.html

CadillacSTS2003 · #4 (**permalink**) 01-05-08, 04:02 AM

check battery terminals

redsaw1 · #5 (**permalink**) 01-06-08, 10:29 PM

I put a new battery in the car the day before the problem but did not check voltage at battery.
I also had a remote start recently installed, but it was removed when troube started.

consigliori · #6 (**permalink**) 05-30-09, 03:07 AM

I'm now experiencing a light show of my own... I got the theft system problem/car my not restart message, and the service airbag message. Radio and climate controls have no power, temp and fuel gauges don't work. Yellow lights between the speedo and tach- the gear position indicators, all flashing. Traction Control and Air Bag lights are lit.

Sheesh... Car does start. I had to drive it to work, hopefully it gets me home in the morning where I can take a good look at it. I can't pull codes because theres no power to the climate controls, so pushing OFF and PASS WARMER doesn't do anything.. The Car May Not Restart message will go away by pushing in INFO button, but the Service Air Bag message stays....?

Yesterday I had a Service Stability Sys message, and got a code for the steering wheel sensor.

Now I got all this + the keyless remote doesn't work (i opened it to check the battery and the little silver bracket that holds the battery fell right out w/battery in it, great), trunk and fuel door buttons on dash don't work, power locks will lock, but not unlock from inside car...

WTF?! What are the chances I'm just looking for a loose wire harness connector or bad ground or faulty computer or something like that? Can the connector at the base of the steering column or something simular cause all this...?

Seems like a lot to be all going south at the same time...

consigliori · #7 (**permalink**) 05-30-09, 05:09 PM

Well, I'm screwed-

I checked everything simple I could think of- battery, grounds, connectors, maxifuses, all the connections along the steering column and behind dash, and nothings changed.

I'm tired, aggravated, and fed up with it now and havn't slept in 24+ hours, which makes everything so much better... The stealership will diagnose it for $120. I'm just worried about taking it to them and having them tell me I got 3 grand worth of stuff that needs fixing

Also, who knows if what they tell me is actually right. how many stories are told here about the dealership "fixing" a car only to have the owner return because the problem wasn't fixed and the dealer finding something else, etc, etc, etc..

I don't know what to do.

Necrosan · #8 (**permalink**) 05-30-09, 09:40 PM

Both scenarios sound like a dead/dying battery to me.
I may be wrong though. Good luck.

consigliori · #9 (**permalink**) 06-01-09, 05:11 PM

The craziness continues! You're gonna love this....

After checking everything I could think of saturday and really doing/finding nothing, car wouldnt even start anymore. It sat all day yesterday.

As a last try effort to avoid taking my boy to school on the back of a motorcycle in the rain this morning, I tied it again. Well, it started right up! No theft problem message, no flahing lights, radio and climate controls back working fine. Only thing it said was AIR BAG, and once I put the SIR fuse back in, even that went away.

?!?!?

Well, I had pretty much decided to take it to the dealer for diagonsis. But, I figured before I do, I should at least try and take care of some of what I already know I need. Bought some spark plugs and both torque struts which I noticed were in bad shape while under the hood. Spark plugs in, dogbones changed, codes cleared- She's running like a freakin' champ, the noise which I'd assumed was the I shaft is gone. My P0300 misfire is gone- granted I only drove around the block a few times but as of right now everything seems fine and drives/feels/sounds much better..

Kooky, eh? No telling how long it will last, but at least the nonsense swinged my way, for now...

consigliori · #10 (**permalink**) 06-05-09, 01:18 AM

It's back...

consigliori · #11 (**permalink**) 06-05-09, 05:02 AM

with a new symptom even, yay!

Now when I put the key in and start it, the whole dash remains powerless for about 5 to 10 seconds, then the light show and messages appear. The only codes that came back during the couple of days that everything appeared to be fine was P0300 Misfire and B1319 Sunload Sensor Short Circuit. I did see a Speed Limited To 90 MPH message once also.

Any thoughts?, Anyone... eh?

I'm thinking either a bad PCM or a bad Ignition switch...

I dunno, the no power to radio and climate center bothers me. Hmm..

Could still be a bad ground somewhere too, I suppose. That sounds the most likely cause and least expensive to fix, but that would be waaaay to easy a solution, and besides that- I can't find it anyway.

Whatever it is, its looking like its going to cost me a bill twenty to find out.
Sux, cuz I could replace the PCM or ignition for that, but I can't be sure which one, if either- actually needs replacing...

consigliori · #12 (**permalink**) 06-05-09, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weephee

Is the system voltage higher than 13.9 volts (measure voltage at battery) It may be that your voltage is too high due perhaps to faulty voltage regulator

Is this the voltage that it should be at while running? I'm pretty sure I saw a reading of 14.5 volts when cycling thru the INFO button, while driving around the other day.

First thing I'm checking when I get home.

[off to read volt/reg/alt threads now]

consigliori · #13 (**permalink**) 06-10-09, 05:14 AM

K, well I checked voltage last saturday morning when I got home. 14.5 while running, 12.4 when off - at the battery. Normal.

I unplugged the sunload sensor to see if it would somehow magically fix everything, it didn't. I left it out, figuring I need to replace it anyhow.

Well, on Monday morning, the battery was dead. Completly drained.

So, looks like I'm buying a new battery, checking grounds & connectors again.
Then an Ignition Switch/Lock.
Then a new PCM.
Maybe an alternator too.

And if nothing changed after all that, it's probably gonna end up at the dealer.

The madness continues.....

consigliori · #14 (**permalink**) 06-13-09, 03:37 AM

New battery didn't solve anything.

Gonna do a VATS bypass in the morning and see what happens...

consigliori · #15 (**permalink**) 06-17-09, 05:49 AM

The VATS bypass worked for about ten seconds, then everything went back to the problem state, just as before.

Funny thing though- I've been disconnecting the battery after everytime I'm finished with it, since its a new battery and I dont want to risk the chance of the car draining it like it did before, and last time I disconnected both cables and left them touching each other hoping to reset or clear something (does this really do anything on an 98 Eldorado?) Anyway, tonight I hooked the battery back up to roll up the window, and whadda know- everything started fine, no messages or anything.

I'm not counting on it keeping though, I'm positive my light show will return just as soon. I dont think leaving the cables touching each other had anything to do with it, but I'd LOVE to be proved wrong on that one. We'll see... I didn't have any time to pull codes or anything else while she was acting normal- we'll try that tomorrow, if she's still being nice. And I guess I'm leaving the VATS bypassed for now, as it rules out the possibility of the two white wires in the ignition switch causing the problems. I shut her down and restarted her three times and everything looked good. Wow

I disconnected the battery again too, just in case. I'm thinking about the positive cable maybe being bad somewhere- The negative cable has been removed, cleaned, installed + ground points cleaned again and again, but would a bad positive battery cable cause all this??

Let's see what tomorrow brings...