[kendog]

Hi everyone, I'm 17 and my first car is a 1974 Cadillac Deville Concourse, it's the most lovable car in the world. Now anyways, It has a slight oil leak, which I can deal with (I just have to check it often, it goes down real slow). But now recently I keep getting this error "Service Ride Control". From looking through the forums on here, it seems like it could be either a strut/shock problem or a loose sensor right? Anyway after getting more info from this wonderful site, I went into the diagnostics, and heres the codes I get.
S026 ......................... Right Rear Damper Solenoid Valve Short to Ground/Open
S060 .............................................. Left Front Position Sensor Fault
Can anyone explain what that means, and the severity of my problem? It's still like floating down the road, but I really want to try fix it.. I'm HOPING its not the struts, cause there is no way I can get 1500$. If it is that, do I have to replace them? or at least right away? Thx for the great site tho!

 

[ocjmakaveli]

Hi everyone, I'm 17 and my first car is a 1974 Cadillac Deville Concourse, it's the most lovable car in the world. Now anyways, It has a slight oil leak, which I can deal with (I just have to check it often, it goes down real slow). But now recently I keep getting this error "Service Ride Control". From looking through the forums on here, it seems like it could be either a strut/shock problem or a loose sensor right? Anyway after getting more info from this wonderful site, I went into the diagnostics, and heres the codes I get.
S026 ......................... Right Rear Damper Solenoid Valve Short to Ground/Open
S060 .............................................. Left Front Position Sensor Fault
Can anyone explain what that means, and the severity of my problem? It's still like floating down the road, but I really want to try fix it.. I'm HOPING its not the struts, cause there is no way I can get 1500$. If it is that, do I have to replace them? or at least right away? Thx for the great site tho!

no not the strut unless the dealer wants to rip you off but almost always you can replace the valve separately.

The front sensor is also replaced separately.

You can drive the car like that for years if needed it's only a comfort issue just don't drive too rough because the car may be more bouncy etc.

It shouldn't be too expensive too fix have ti checked out be careful because dealer prices are pretty high so it will probably end up at $500-800 just an estimate though.

you can go to a normal suspension shop they can replace both those parts just as well and charge about $350 or so for the same job

let us know what happens

 

[kendog]

Thanks a TON! That was really fast too, now I kinda know more whats goin on, I thought it might be a little more bouncy atm, but I'm not sure if that's just cause I was looking for something to be different, or if it actually is. But that's ALOT better news then the struts bein dead. I just gotta save up for it, $500-800 is at least in the possibility range. I'm just gonna try be real gentle with my car for now and save up, until I get enough money to fix it. (still gonna be gentle after I fix it) Umm, I need to buy those GM coolant pellets too, added some coolant, and didn't have that stuff, how much are they? And do I order them from GM or what? Thanks again though for the fast reply

P.S. WOT's good or bad?
Seems like I'd have better chancse of blowing a head gasket if I do them, but everyone on here suggest cleaning out the carbon. I just want to do whats best for my car

 

[Krashed989]

1974?? I'll assume you mean 1994 because of the OBD-I format of the codes.

ocjmakaveli, Are you sure that the dampering valve can even be bought seperatly from the shock or strut? I doubt it, but If you find it let me know. The dampering soleniod valve is in the shocks and struts. You can unscrew them from the shocks and struts but I don't think you would want to replace just the valve, for fear of the unknown.

I say, clear the codes and see if they come back. Go into diagnostics mode and when it says "PCM?" press the fan down button until you reach "RSS?". Then press the fan up button to enter that submenu and press the fan down button again until you reach "RSS CLEAR CODES?" press the fan up button to clear the codes and then turn the key off to exit diagnostics mode. After that, go for a test drive to see if they come back.

A lot of times the S060 code is just a computer fart from going over a pothole or something like that. If your S026 comes back, your best bet is to follow that wire that comes out of the shock (its the wire that goes to the dampering valve) and check it for loose plugs, frayed, melted, or stripped areas, and breaks in the wire.

Passive systems are not that expensive, and they are not very hard to install either (with the exception of the struts because you have to get a front end alignment afterwards). Look into Arnott, Strutmasters, Boston suspension, and Monroe. The thing is, it is going to be REALLY difficult to get rid of the prexisting S026 code because passive systems don't have the dampering valves. There is really nothing to worry about with these codes, its just that the SRC message can get really annoying after awhile.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Also N* are performance engines so it likes WOT's. As long as you use the suplemental tabs in the coolant like your're supposed to, WOT's should actually help the engine perform better. Do a forum search, there is a correct procedure that has been posted a few times on WOT's just to make sure it doesn't hurt the engine.


Ohh yeah almost forgot, :welcome: :wave:

 

[kendog]

Yeah its a 1994, typo, dunno how I put the 7 in there. Where can I buy those GM tablet things? Does autozone have them, or do I order them from somewhere? Anyway I did what ya said and cleared the codes, now all I get is the S026 code, so I think you were right about the other one maybe just bein a computer fart. Sometime tomorrow or this weekend I'm gonna try check out that wire you're talkin about, and see if its that. I'm happier that its at least just the S026 code at the moment.. Well thanks for the help big time, I was freakin out alot before I posted on here.. Still a little worried about my car, but at least its not like an engine problem or anything.

 

[Krashed989]

The tabs are called "Bars Leak" tabs. I'm not sure what autoparts stores carry them because I just get mine from the dealer. They always have them in stock. Expensive I know but you only need them once in a while.

An ohmmeter would be a helpful tool to help you find the break in the line. I would unplugg the nearest plug to the shock and insert the two probes of the ohmmeter into the connector that is directly connected to the wire going to the shock. If it reads 5 ohms or less I wouldn't worry about that section of line. Then I would unplug the negative terminal on the battery (to prevent module errors) then unplug one of the plugs going into RSS module and use a small paperclip to jump the two inlets from that dampering valve (I have pictures to tell you which ones but they are too big to post) and go back underneath to that same plug you unplugged before and probe the other side. If it reads 5 ohms or less that means that there is no break in that part of the line. If they both read 5 ohms or less then that means that the line is shorted to ground (pretty much every metal part of the car is ground). You can find out exactly what line it is by inserting one probe into one of the terminals of the plug and the other on a metal part of the car. If the ohmeter reads 5 ohms or less, you've found the culprit.


You can buy cheap ohmeters at wal mart for under $20. They are usually built into multimeters.

If you want the pictures of the RSS module and the plug diagrams for it, e-mail me;

Krashed989 @ gmail.com

Take out the spaces.

P.S. thanx for the rep points.


Ohh yeah one more thing, when you plug the battery back in, there will be a new code. I052 (I think) don't worry about this code. Just clear it, go into diagnostics mode and when it says "PCM?" press the fan down button until you reach "IPC?" then press the fan up button and then the fan down button until you reach "IPC CLEAR CODES?" press the fan up button and after it displays "IPC CODES CLEAR" turn the key off to exit diagnostics mode.

 

[DFBonnett]

1) http://www.caddyinfo.com/disable.htm

2) Regarding the BarsLeaks, you want either to use two tubes of the Golden Seal powder or six pellets. I used to see them at KMart and a couple of the local parts stores. Six of the pellets from the GM dealer are also OK.