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Service:
Electrical
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Alternator Failure
This seems to affect most W-body cars. If your car doesn't have
a new alternator yet, it will probably need one. Virtually every W-body owner
I know has needed a new alternator! How long they last seems to vary,
and the cause of failure also varies, however, the internal diodes seem to fail
most often. Symptoms include a lit Charge indicator on the instrument cluster
and interior/exterior lighting that has become dim. Cars that are heavily dependent
on electronic instrumentation (some high-end Olds Cutlass Supremes and Pontiac
Grand Prixs) may also exhibit erratic operation of the electronic displays.
| Subject | Tip on Alternator Replacement |
| Author | John E. Dawson |
| Applies to: | All 1988-1993 W-body with 2.8L or 3.1L V6 |
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I have a '93 Cutlass Supreme SL 2-door. I replaced my alternator for the first time at 77K miles. It is possible to replace the alternator without tilting the engine, but tilting the engine would definitely give you easier access. There are three bolts holding the alternator on. The hardest to reach is toward the bottom side of the alternator close to the firewall. If you use a deep socket 13mm and a small rachet, you can get the hard to reach bolt started. You will probably have to switch to a shallow socket as the bolt comes out (it is loooong) and you start bumping up against the intake manifold. The other two bolts (one near the top of the alternator and one towards the front of the car) are 10mm and are pretty easy to reach. When reinstalling, try putting the long, hard to reach bolt on first, then put on the two others. Make sure that all bolts are torqued properly so that the alternator is aligned with your other pulleys before you put the belt back on. |
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Climate Control Erratic
Display
This could affect all 1988-1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with Electronic Climate
Control.
My climate control once exhibited a strange condition where all the segments
and indicators on the Climate Control's display would come on and off randomly
and at intermittent intervals as though space aliens were trying to communicate
with me via my Climate Control. This turned out to be a bad solder joint. Disassembling
the climate control and using a tiny pencil-tip soldering iron to reheat the
connections on the microprocessor fixed the problem permanently.
Driver Information System
shows wrong fuel economy
Affects 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Supreme with Driver Information System option (U51) and 2.8L or 3.1L engine.
The Driver Information System will show a fuel economy reading which is 10-15%
lower than the actual fuel economy. This is due to a bug in the MEMCAL. To repair
the problem, you will have to buy a new MEMCAL from a GM parts department. It
costs approximately $45.
No Brakelamps
A faulty design in the brakelamp switch can cause a total absence of any brake
lights! This is a recall that you can get repaired for free. Call your local
GM dealer for details.
| Subject | Third Brake Light Bulbs |
| Author | Fred Eyerman |
| Applies to: | All |
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Some of the W-Body cars have 2 halogen third brake lights. A tip is to make sure not to touch these bulbs when replacing. The oil from your hands can form a "hot spot" on the bulb and cause it to prematurely burn out. Also, change these in pairs. For some reason, when you change them one at a time, the other bulb almost immediately burns out. I made this mistake over 4 bulbs at around $8.00 a piece. |
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