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261K views 169 replies 89 participants last post by  Submariner409 
#1 ·
Need some expert advice here. Purchased a '94 DeVille (with the SSS system) from the son of the original owner (38k miles). "SERVICE RIDE CONTROL" message is on the dash. Took car to the local Cadillac dealer and was told it would be one hour labor to diagnose; figured it was one of the struts and at least one pair of struts would need replacing. After one hour, I was told that none of the struts was receiving a signal and they would need more shop time (1 or 2 more hours) to examine the wiring to determine the cause, as there seemed to be a dead short. They said they would start at the fuses and relays and work from there. I went ahead and approved the additional time. After two more hours, I was told that the wiring was fine and now they were looking at two control modules and the wiring between them (I'll get to another point later, but I am after-the-fact guessing they were referring to the SSS module and the PCM). After another 1.5 hours I was told the car needed a new "Body Control Module", which they would have to order. I asked what the bill was so far and was presented with 4.5 hours that was $20 per hour HIGHER than the shop rate I had been quoted when I made the service appointment two weeks earlier. Oops, someone must have given me an incorrect rate...I told them to close out my bill and give me a detailed estimate on their recommended repairs with a list of needed parts, part numbers and prices. Kind of felt like I was financing the education on the Cadillac SSS for his service technician and I still did not have a great deal of confidence in his diagnosis. I was told by the guy in the parts department a price for the "needed parts", but "I didn't need the part numbers because they knew which ones to order and would get them when I made another appointment to have the rest of the work done".

Long story short, I referred back to the factory shop manual and could find no "Body Control Module" for a '94 DeVille with SSS. Called back the service writer at my local Cadillac dealer and, after consultation with the service tech, now decided it was the PCM that my car needed. OK, now that's at least a part this car has!

Fast forward to yesterday. Had a reason to call the owner's son and he said the car was taken to their dealer for diagnosis of the same thing before I bought it. He said his dealer had told him whatever was defective was no longer available from GM and the cure was this bypass harness that GM sells. Called that dealer this morning, but no notation was made on the work order except "Check and Advise", but no mention was made as to what the advisement was. This was only about six weeks ago, so I asked to have the tech or writer who handled the car to give me a call back; I'm hoping maybe they remember what they found out when they inspected the car in late October.

Does any of this sound plausible? HELP!!!!!

sdhow
sdhoward@parker.com
 
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#130 ·
Well, here's my $.02. I happen to work at a Cadillac Dealer doing steering n suspension. The code doesnt really mean much. You are suppose to ground terminal c to ground and count the # of flashes on your ride control module in the trunk. Very simple. But anyways. You cant get OEM parts forthis car anymore. But you can get a Bypass kit. YOu wire it in the trunk inline w/ your ride control module and the light will never come on again. As long as your car doesnt ride bad its probably just the electronic part of a strut that has went bad. Someone may have already said this but there were to many replies to your question to read them all.
 
#134 ·
Hi, all. This is my first post, and I appreciate this forum already. I have been reading all over the place, but still have a question: At the end of this post is a portion of a service manual that applies to my 92 Eldo TC. I want to disable the Service Ride Control message, constantly on for 4 or 5 years.:eek:

What I need to learn is how to correctly use my OBD to follow the below directions. Cad models have different codes and button-pushing sequences, and I couldn't find specifics for my Cad.

I would appreciate any direct advice or guidance to available reference materials.

Thank you.

Cuz



1991 Eldorado and Seville with Computer Command Ride (CCR): Refer to the Service Manual page 8D-12. Set the BCM override value BS09 to 0 by using the warmer and cooler buttons. Store this value by pressing the Econ button on the climate control panel and the Instant Econ button on the Fuel Data/Drivers Information Center for about five seconds. The new value will be stored even through the indicator does not flash. Remove the key from the ignition. Disconnect both battery cables from the battery. When both cables have been disconnected, touch the ends of the cables together and hold for five seconds. This will discharge the capacitors in the system and allow the system to perform properly when the battery cables are reconnected. Advise the customer they will have to reset all radio stations and clock.
 
#135 ·
Im new to the discusion and site so work with me. Im in the process of disabling the service ride control message on my 94 caddi deville 4.9. I need to kow what the module looks like i found some in the trunk area but dont know which one it is or what wires to cut. If anyone has pics of the steps, can you let me know.
 
#163 ·
im new to the discusion and site so work with me. Im in the process of disabling the service ride control message on my 94 caddi deville 4.9. I need to kow what the module looks like i found some in the trunk area but dont know which one it is or what wires to cut. If anyone has pics of the steps, can you let me know.
is the concours diff? I cant find the modual either????
 
#137 ·
OK, Ive read so much on replacing the electronic stuts with passive ones, but here is one main question for my 93 Deville, Monro makes replacement ones for about $80 each. Strutmasters and arnott have them for about $140 each, bottom line, won't I still get the bouncy ride if I have adults in the back with the passive struts - thus the more weight in the back seat and trunk the more bounce from passive struts?
 
#143 ·
A strut is usually an integral load carrying part of the front or rear suspension which also incorporates the damping function of a shock absorber, which was originally an additional, replacable suspension part used exclusively to damp spring/road return oscillation.

Today, the two terms have become almost interchangable with the widespread use of independent rear suspensions and strut-supported front suspension.

Modern struts may also incorporate electrical features to allow the car control systems to alter the damping characteristics almost instantly.
 
#144 · (Edited)
I have a leaking front strut and funny groaning noises with stops, turns, reversal. (speed limit to 90mph message comes and goes)
Do I replace the factory ride control struts? or a kit for "normal" struts. Savings is about $1300.
4-wheel job for 4 non OEM "replacement" kit to overide the ride control system. $1700.
2 wheel OEMfactory job front only $2450. 4 wheel factory OEM job $3100.
I have 100,000 k, it get's 32 mpg highway. I have Michelin Hydrodge rubber with at least 60k of life left, full brake job and engine mounts 15k miles ago. What would you do? I suspect the "non OEM ride control omit KIT) will be fine. I suspect I will have another $700 repair at some point in the next 18 months? 2000 SLS that is long paid for.
 
#145 ·
Hello Cadillac friends,

I´ve read trough all the 15 pages but i am still not shure how i can properly read out the codes on a 92 STS (export model).

I checked the codes in diagnostic mode(hold warmer button...etc) but i couldnt figure out which are the ones for the 4 different struts?!?

I also have a connector under the Dash, but i would prefer to do it over the Diagnostic mode of the Computer.
 
#147 ·
Okay, I tried to wire a relay into my 94 DeVille 4.9 and I still get the "Service ride control" message on the display. Would anyone have a pic of the diagram I could look at to ensure I wired it correctly, as it appears I didn't. I followed the instructions on this thread explicitly.....Any suggestions?
 
#148 ·
Another Newbie trying to get some "expert" advice. We have a 1995 Eldo
with the "Service Ride Control" message on.
Our mechanic, has traced it down to a bad "height sensor" on the rear
driver side. He checked, and found the part is not made anymore, but I found a Caddy GM part vendor online in Texas, that shows they have one.
My question really is, where have others with this 95' Eldo problem found a replacement part? We are told the 95' is not compatible with earlier models.
Best regards,
DeeEldo
 
#150 ·
This is how I did mine.....

The module you are looking for is mounted on the rear seat support, lower right, right of module marked Bosch, lower right side, accessible from the trunk. It is about 5" X 4" with a connector on the bottom.

Following the instructions previously posted, you will identify which pin numbers on the relay correspond to which wires on the connector/socket. The relay is plainly marked as to pin identity. The socket has extra connections for other uses so just strip the ends of the wires you will be using. Making a little flag out of tape to mark the wires with the correct pin number helps to keep things straight.

You will find the pink wire coming out of the connector on the module. Cut it at a convenient place. You will wire pin 86 from the relay to the section of pink wire going to the module. You will wire pin 87A of the relay to the other section of pink wire.

You will locate the solid brown wire and splice the wire from pin 85 of the relay into it.

You will run the wire from pin 30 from the relay to a good ground. I used on of the bolts holding the Bosch module to the seat support.

That should do it.

When I did mine I soldered the connections and used shrink tubing and it has held fine for about 8 or 10 years.

FWIW
YMMV
 
#152 ·
(Sorry in advance for a long post)

I think I implemented the relay mod correctly, but I still get the "service ride control" message. "94 SDV", the earlier poster who reported the same, if you figured it out could you post what you did. Otherwise, if someone could give any advice, it would be appreciated. Here is what I have done:

Following the instructions, I tapped into the wiring for switched power and ground. I connected the gnd line to pin 30 of the relay and the power line to pin 85 of the relay and verified with a volt-ohm meter that the ground line was indeed a ground and that the voltage line contained switched voltage.

Following the instructions, I cut the red wire (C15) going to the module and connected the module side to pin 86 of the relay and the wiring side to pin 87A of the relay. I checked the behavior of these signals with the meter. The module side of the red wire, now attached to pin 86 of the relay, gets pulled to ground by the module about 6 seconds after i turn the key to the on position. My understanding is that this is the module sending the signal that becomes "service ride control". When this occurs the wiring side of the red wire, now attached to pin 87A of the relay, changes from ground to about +8.7 volts. I am assuming this is resulting from the relay getting energized and causing an open circuit between 87A and 30 (ground).

This behavior is basically what I expected from the description of the circuit mod. I thought that possibly 8.7 volts was not enough for the fault logic circuits (i didn't really believe this, but was clutching at straws) , so I tried, as a test, putting a 500 ohm pull-up resistor between the relay pin 87A (wiring side of red wire) and relay pin 85 (+12). With that test in place the voltage on wiring side of the red wire after the relay is energized is about 10.2volts instead of 8.7, but I still got the "service ride control message".

The following is the behavior of the fault codes with four conditions (1) wiring mod, (2) original wiring, (3) open circuit for C15, (4) Wiring harness side of C15 grounded.

Starting with the modification installed, the car stationary and all codes cleared, I switch on the key. After about 6 seconds the “Apply Brake to Shift” message comes up and then the "Service Ride Control" message comes on. Next I display the codes and there is only I039 Current. If I clear the code, then I039 does not come back.

Same test, but this time with the wiring restored to the "pre-modification" state and the behavior (messages and codes) is identical.

The next test was leaving the red wire (C15) cut between the module and the wiring harness. The behavior is almost identical. The only difference is the order of the messages – the “Service Ride Control” comes on before the “Apply Brake to Shift” rather than after.

And lastly, grounding the wiring harness side of C15 circuit. With this wiring there were no codes at startup, hoping that this was the solution I was looking for, I drove the car around, and after about 1 block the “Service Ride Control” message came on and checking the codes, this was indeed I039.

Not knowing precisely how the fault detection works, I do not know how to proceed. I am guessing that the mod is working as it is supposed to and something else is causing the I039 message. Is this crazy talk?

I have seen in this thread that there is a flashing light code that can be checked from the model. The exact text in the thread is “You get into the SSS/CCR system by grounding pin 'C' on the ALDL. On the module there is a white plastic window with a LED behind it. It will flash codes after pin 'C' is grounded. It will repeat the codes as long as it is grounded.” So my question is: what is an “ALDL”, where is it, is the “pin C” on the mysterious ALDL and is, the ALDL just the module back I the trunk which I have been hacking at or is it something else?
 
#153 · (Edited)
The ALDL is the grey connector under the dash on the driver's side about 3" to the right of the parking brake. The pins are marked but the markings are hard to see.
You noted cutting a red wire going into the module. On mine I cut the pink wire coming out of the module. Do you have a RED wire coming out of the module? If you have RED going in and RED coming out, could you have cut the wrong wire?
For power I spliced into the solid brown wire. I ran pin 30 to a ground.
I know the instructions call for RED but seemingly that becomes PINK on the output side of the module on my Eldo. I know little of things electrical but I posted what worked for me. I forget where I got that red/pink transition info, but it was from someone on another board who had a handle on the issue.
 
#154 ·
"SERVICE RIDE CONTROL" message fix

Hi guys,

I think I have a fix for ‘SERVICE RIDE CONTROL / 84’ error message for at least ‘93-’97 STS / ETC with Northstar engine. (I did it on my ’93 STS, but it should be the same or similar for the other years).

There are two main causes for this message – active strut failure and accelerometer failure.

As it’s stated in the shop manual, the resistance of the electric part of the strut should be between 1.5 and 3 Ohm. As it turned out, a resistor within the specified range may successfully simulate this electric load.

I didn’t go into a deep evaluation of this thing but potentially, the current through this load may be high and produce quite an amount of heat (although I didn’t see it getting hot during few weeks of operation). So, as a precaution I would recommend to use resistors for dissipation of 5 or 10 watt. I’ve used two 2W resistors (5.1 Ohm) connected in parallel (for each ‘simulated’ strut). Obviously, the wires going to the strut must be disconnected.

All the resistors have to be connected on one end to CKT 1112 (power). The most convenient (but not that easy to identify) place is the harness in the front of the trunk which makes a loop right in the middle going from the bottom of the rear back seat to the trunk floor.

The wire you’ll be looking for is a thick white one. For its positive identification I strongly recommend to ring it through to the relay. It’s relay ‘F’ in the relay block under the hood (you’ll have to remove the protective cover around the fuse block – under the hood) and it’s the rear one, in the row closest to the fender. Remove the relay and ring through the wire to the trunk.

Once you have the feed from CKT 1112 (in the trunk) you have to identify the wires for the appropriate strut(s) on the 8-pin connector (C3) of RSS module. For RF – D; LF – E; RR - C; LR – E (see the drawing). Cut the wires for the struts to be ‘unsupervised’ and connect each one through its own resistor to the feed (CKT 1112).

Isolate the wires and attach the resistors in a suitable place – remember, they MAY produce a lot of heat…

The second cause may be the accelerometer’s fault. Fortunately, they also can be simulated by the resistors. As it’s said in the description of error codes S070-S073, which are relevant to the problem, the codes and the error message are set if the voltage from an accelerometer is out of 0.5 – 4.5Vrange for more than 0.5 sec. As I’ve figured out, this should be the voltage between ‘+’ and ‘-‘ signal wires of the accelerometer (not the voltage from ‘-‘ or ‘+’to the ground).

As a result, I’ve got a three-resistor divider, which has 100 Ohm resistor from the ground to the ‘-‘ signal wire (as it is in the real accelerometer), 63 Ohm resistor from ‘-‘ signal wire to ‘+’ signal wire and 470 Ohm resistor from ‘+’ signal wire to +8Vsource for the corresponding strut (see the drawing). I believe 5-10% deviation from these values should be ok. (The actual accelerometers, obviously, should be disconnected).

Here the current is minimal so you can use 'regular throughhole’ resistors 0.25 or 0.125W and it may be a very good idea to install them on a piece of a blind board.

The parts you can order at digikey website (with delivery to your place for a reasonable price).

So, if have any comments or would be so exited that you’d want to send me a couple of bucks for beer for going through the hassle of posting this info :) just contact me at caddybear at live dot com.

Good luck!
 

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#155 · (Edited)
austiinDeville:

I have a 1994 sedan deville. Intalled the relay to eliminate the SRC message - got same result you did. However, I did get it to work last night, temporarily. Made several runs around block, and SRC message never came up. However this morning when wife drove to church, the SRC msg reappeared along with I039 code (quits when you push the INFORMATION button until restart the car). So I don't know what's going on here.

Today I lifted and grounded the IPC lead at module and msg went away. It came back on when I exceeded 15MPH. Found in manual that the I039 code is generated if the C15 signal is LO greater than 15 mph, and if C15 is HI less than 5 mph. Hooked system back up original (my problem was intermittent and it works OK sometimes for a while). Then noted that C15 was LO (0 volts). Got in trunk with flashlight, had wife drive around block, and observed that C15 went HI at 10mph and over, and dropped back LO when speed went below 10mph. So in this case, I can't see how the relay mod could ever work for me, since with the relay the IPC lead is HI after turning the switch on.

I am a retired electrical engineer, and have extensive background in electronics, so I am considering building a logic circuit that picks up the speed info to the module, and use that circuit to operate a relay that will cause the IPC lead to go from GRND to HI at >= 10mph, and drop back out to GND at <=10mph.

However, I wonder how you solved this problem, if you were able to. The codes in my case indicated a bad LF strut. The struts wiring is still connected. I wonder if that has anything to do with it, since most of the mods posted seem to be related to changing to passive struts in which case the strut wiring is disconnected???

So how did you fix your problem like this?

Thanks!
 
#156 ·
i have the deville concours (94) with the 4.6L, but it has the rss system for the ride control. looked at the tsb none of the wires match plus it has three connectors not one like the sss system. codes so60,61,63,72. woukld like to bypass but can not find right bypass diagram. could anyone help
thanks
jon
 
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