jenniferpa Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 I just come into possesion of an 94 Cutlass Supreme SL 2 door coupe (white, leather interior, 70000) and I'm hoping someone here can help me. To begin with, this car has been garaged since 97 when the original owner was DUI. It has new: brakes, struts, gas tank, a/c, tires, battery, hoses, plugs, filters and alternator. I think that's all, but I might have forgotten something. The transmission has been flushed. Question 1) Keyless Entry. I am correct in thinking if I ground this and the locks do NOT cycle, the receiver is fried? There's no fuse for this? Question 2) There's a teardrop shaped grille in the door jambs. What is this and is it functional? One of mine is damaged, and I want to know if it can wait, or if it should be fixed immediately. Question 3) Is there anything else I should watch out for, or have fixed in advance, because the car has been sitting for this length of time? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 #1- No fuse. If they don't cycle the receiver is fried. #2- Air flows through the body. That is a vent for it. No big hurry to replace the vent. #3- Was the new stuff done after you got it or back before it went into storage? If it was done before the gas may need drained, check all hoses including vacuum lines. Pull the air filter and make sure there are no mouse nests or anything between it and the throttle body. Change the oil and filter. Replace the fuel filter. Replace the PCV valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 welecome to the madness! i'm assumeing you had all the new stuff put on? question1) i can't help you there plenty of others can and i'm sure they will chime in question2)not sure what those are for, i think to halp move air through the car, one of mines had a few small pieces cracked outa it for months now, i woulden't worry about it. question3) be careful of breaking door handles, your cars already got the better brakes. not much else sounds like you had your bases prety much covered when all those parts were replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Welcome to the board! 1) Check out the battery in the remote first. If that doesn't solve it you may simply have to reprogram the remote. A simple task either way. Its not at all likely that the unit is "fried". 2)The grille is cosmetic and serves as part of the cars "flow through" ventilations system. It won't negatively affect anything other than your asthetic tastes. 3) Give her an oil change and it looks like you'll be good to go, I think you've pretty much got everything covered. The only other possible worry would be the coolant. You can flush it your self ($15) or have an oil change place do it for around $50. Hope that helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Wow...three people writing three replies at the same time. Nuts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 1) Check out the battery in the remote first. If that doesn't solve it you may simply have to reprogram the remote. A simple task either way. Its not at all likely that the unit is "fried". Nah, she tried grounding the unit itself (like you would do to program a keyfob) but the locks didn't cycle when she did. isolated problem from the fobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Thank you for the fast response. No, all this stuff was done after taking it out of storage. I'm resonably certain that everything that was visible has been dealt with, it's the less obvious that I'm concerned with. There are some minor electrical problems that I'm dealing with (power mirrors only adjust 3 ways, not four; the light (LED?) that illuminates the power switches in the driver's door is out, plus the keyless entry issue), but that's about it. I suppose I'm somewhat nervous about it because a week after all this stuff was done (with the exception of the alternator) one of the hoses on the transmission blew, which caused the alternator to fail. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 i woulden't worry about it, what engine does it have by the way? it should just be a small lightbulb behind the switches, i know i have one out now, i'm too lazy to fix it rigtht now though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Woops, multiple responses while I was writing the last one! Yes, I replaced the batteries in the fob. It was working intermittently, stopped completely after I changed the batteries, and won't let me reprogram it (as per the handbook). I think I can live without it (since I have no desire to remove the back seat to get to it). Whose bright idea was it to put the unit back there in the first place? Oh well. All the fluids and filters have been changed, and the car's running fine. Just trying to be premptive, I guess. Incidentally, it's a 3.1 L V 6. Many thanks for all the responses. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFromColorado Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Welcome Jennifer. you found the right place to ask the right questions. I've got a couple questions.. when the brakes were done, did they bleed the system? After storage for that long, the brake fluid will pull in a LOT of moisture, usually it will just ruin the fluid, but can sometimes damage the rubber lines too, may want to look into that. I had a whole paragraph asking about the trans, nevermind, I had to re-read your first post (Duh) I personally would ask why the gas tank was replaced, was the car bottomed out? this can easily hurt the suspension and cause problems later on in the cars life, you can tell by looking at exhaust parts and other things under the car to see if they are all scraped up - you may not need to replace anything, but it will give you some insight as to what to look for in the future. If it's running fine, don't fix it. I and everyone on here would say, a K&N filter is a good investment for your next replacement air filter. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head - Welcome to the board - --DaveFromColorado. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl3196 Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 For the window switches I believe you have to replace the whole switch to get it to light up again. A few in my cutlass were burnt out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted August 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 DaveFromColorado The brake system was bled, but I'm not sure whether the lines were replaced: I'll have to check. The gas tank was replaced because my mechanic had concerns about corrosion: apparently when the driver lost her license, the car was stored without any preventive steps being taken, so the tank wasn't drained. There's no damage under the car visible to the naked eye. Having said that, though, anyone who drove drunk enough times to get their license permanently suspended was potentially less than careful when driving, LOL. I'll definitely take your advice about the air filter. Dan Rats! I had a feeling that that might be the case when I looked at it. I've never owned a car with so many lamps (all different) in it. Can anyone tell me the point of the glowing keyhole? It only comes on after you've opened or closed the door, so it seems pretty pointless, but maybe I'm missing something. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFromColorado Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 wow, you're up early.. just getting up, or just getting to bed... LOL I replaced a tank because of that once - long storage, no care - sounds like you ended up gettin' a good car tho - mind if I ask how much ya paid for it? --Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 any pics yet???....and welcome to the board.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 before last night i never saw the point of the glowing keyhole it can be hard to find the keyhole in a drak parking lot, if you pull the handle it should light up for a few seconds so you can find where to stick your key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 There, I would never have thought to pull the door handle when I knew it was locked: you live and learn. Regarding the price: I paid the owner just under 1K and the mechanic just over 3K. This brings it to above book value, but i feel it was a fair price for this car in this situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFromColorado Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 I'd say it sounds like you got a good deal for sure! Contratz! --Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiiirt Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 perhaps the wire you are using is not strong enough? use atleast 10g wire Other than that if the keyless works sometimes then you'll need to follow: http://www.w-body.com/inside-stuff/keyless-entry.html I know it says 88-92 but atleast im tryin Congrats on the cutty and welcome to hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 YES! I tried it with a larger wire (18 guage) and it did exactly what it's supposed to do: cycled through. I now have a working keyless remote! Thank You! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Well, it (keyless entry) worked for a whole 10 hours, then it stopped working again. I can't ground it now either. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 welcome to the boards. yeah get some pics up. got a nice car on your hands for sure. dont worry about the keyless entry, i had power door locks, until they decided not to work about a year ago, since then its been manual locks for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiiirt Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 I was told to change batteries but I dont think thats it. My key fob was brand new. I am going to rip that sucker out and try the soldering. im just too lazy to actually get to the box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supreme_style21 Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Yeah if the locks are not cycling after you ground it, the module in the rear deck is more than likely toast. Check fuses first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferpa Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 And now it's working again! I suspect that the temperature is having an effect on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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