[Tav]

Hello Cadillac community, this is my first post and it's a little wordy, I apologize in advance. I stumbled across this forum after acquiring a '95 Cadillac DeVille about two weeks ago and have been trying to search/read up on the common things.

As far as my car goes, I have a few more kinks to work out before the car is ready for daily use.

Issue #1: The DIC. I made a vid to visualize this but I can't post it until I have five posts.. no big deal. But I'll try to explain it. Basically, a previous owner had installed a blackout lens which covers up the text at the bottom of the DIC so the driver can't see what it says. It seems VERY ignorant to do.. has anyone seen this before?

Issue #2: I haven't seen my cooling fans come on once and I've put about 15 miles on this thing. That's not good, especially since I wouldn't be able to see the warning if I started to get too hot. I plan on checking my fuses and relays but I haven't had the chance to research their locations.

Issue #3: My rear brakes squeal at low speeds and it gets louder and higher pitched in reverse. There's also a steady tick-tick while cruising 45-55 in town. It sat for about a year so there's got to be some oxidation on the rotors, but I've never serviced brakes on my own and I'd like to start now. Especially since they're the most important part of the vehicle.

Issue #4: My A/C doesn't work. The compressor doesn't turn on (so I've heard, haven't fully investigated that), and when I try to turn it on from inside the car I hear a ticking noise from the dashboard. I probably need to do some more reading on that because I live in East Texas (90*+ already)

Aside from the aforementioned issues I LOVE THIS CAR! I can't wait to get it running tip-top and giving it a nice detail! It only has 78k miles.

Y'all want some pics? It's nothing too special, most of the FWD beauties I've seen on this forum are much cleaner.

 

[drummerman64]

I for one, would love to see some pics of her

 

[Submariner409]

#1. Warning messages and information should not be blacked out. There must be a reason, as in: Too many warning messages.

#2. You will probably never see the fans "come on" if the cooling system is in good condition. IF you have a 4.6 Northstar and no A/C function is set, fans do not even go to SLOW until 224 degrees. Turn the A/C ON and open the hood. Fans should run in SLOW any time an A/C or DEFROST function is set. If you have a 4.9 engine, someone else will have to chime in.

#3. Perform four or so aggressive stops from 60 mph - do NOT come to a full stop and do NOT hold the brakes ON if you have to stop: with hot rotors this tends to transfer pad resins and material onto the rotors. The idea of aggressive stops is to "scrub" the rotors clean. If the squeal persists, you may have worn pads and the squeal is the mechanical fingers on the front pads - a warning device. (See the message in #4 - same thing:warning in DIC.)

#4. Have the system checked and recharged: a low system charge locks out the compressor. (It also sets a warning message in the DIC..........see #1.)

BTW..............Welcome Aboard !!!:welcome:

Update your profile with your car year, model, engine. It makes things easier........

 

[Ranger]

The '95 Deville would have a 4.9. Even so, you probably won't see the fans run. Like Sub said, they only come on when the engine temp gets above normal operating temps or when the A/C is on.

 

[Freakzilla]

It's a beautiful car, isn't it? :thumbsup:

You'll see the fans come on while refilling the a/c refrigerant. Mine was leaking from the a/c hose that crosses the exhaust manifold, I think the heat wears it out. It's a pain to change. There's a sensor on it near the compressor that can leak, too.

The brakes are easy, it's a little tricky getting the parking brake cable off but no big deal. I have a spare set of rotors. I get the other set machined, if needed, when I change the pads. Brakes Plus does it for like $14 a piece.

 

[Tav]

Well, today I took the car on a short trip to turn in a job application and I did notice the fans were working.. that's a good sign. The bad thing is I heard some slight chattering coming from the accessory pulley area. I thought it might have been the compressor or something.. but when I got home and parked it, coolant started steadily flowing from underneath the car and hissing/popping could be heard near the bank of the engine closest to the firewall.

I really hope I didn't just destroy this engine. Especially since I'd been trying so hard not to let it get too hot.. but that's a little difficult when you don't have a coolant temp gauge. I really can't believe these cars were built with aluminum blocks/heads and no temperature gauge.. on a $30,000+ car when new..

Maybe that chattering I heard was the water pump letting go? Here's a picture I took after it stopped leaking so severely..

nevermind.. still need a few more posts to show y'all the picture.. oh well. I guess it'll have to wait.

I'm VERY bummed at the moment..

 

[Caddyshack100]

tav, if I remember right, you dohave the coolant temp gage but its in that blacked out area that you mentioned, it will give the exact temp that the cars pcm would give out, english for the us and metric for the rest of the world. Take a good look underneath the car for rust issues, although for texas it should not be much of a problem, keep an eye on the tranny, you should have some good life left in it, but it usually fails without much warning. Dont drain the oil and replace, this is one tranny that does not benefit from this service, it infact enhances the varnish wear with the fresh oil and causes leaks. Good luck and i hope you get things working like you want them, get that blacked out piece out of there, there is too much info that you are not getting.

 

[Freakzilla]

You can reprogram the DIC to show coolant temp, battery volts and engine rpm in addition to what it normally shows. Instructions are around here somewhere...

Besides that, you SHOULD get a warning when it gets too hot, if it weren't blacked out.

It might only be a leaky heater hose, that's the only thing I could think of on the firewall side that could leak on the exhaust manifold and sizzle like you described.

 

[Tav]

Thank you for the replies so far, fellas. I had it towed back to the mechanic's today. The check engine light was illuminated today for the first time also. I asked him to try and remove the blackout lens, which he'd probably have to do anyways if he wants to pull the DTC('s). I'll just cross my fingers in the meantime and hope it's something simple like a hose because I really do enjoy driving this car.

Updates will come s things unfold and pics will once I have enough posts.

 

[Tav]

I'm back in the game.

I picked the car up from the mechanic's today. It got a new water pump, serpentine belt, and rear brake pads. No more leaks or squeaks! Well, for the time being at least.

Last week I overheated (gasp), and lost coolant from the engine somewhere.. not the radiator and not just from the water pump. I did notice some coolant and bubbles coming from a bolt on top of the intake but there's no telling where all it was coming from. It wasn't much, but enough to make a small puddle under the car and trickle out in front of the bumper. After I picked it up today I put about 10 miles on it and haven't had any leaks yet.

The good news is, with the new belt, the A/C compressor engages and I have a little A/C now. I haven't run it much because I'd like to have the system checked by a professional, but it's good news nonetheless.

1 more post and I can post some pics.