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Buick Regal 97, electrical problems


Pabz

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Hey guys my parents regal is outta wack, sometimes without warning the car will go psyco. The speedo goes all the way up, ABS light goes on, trac control turns off, alot of the panel lights go on. This happens while the car is running, once i shut it off, it will not start up again.

 

I believe i had a similar problem on my 89 olds and i replaced the ecu, but i dont think its as easy to get an ecu for these newer ODB-II cars, do you think it is the ecu??? What else could the problem be???

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HOLY SHIT! I know all about that problem. :lol: Me and my buddies were fixing a 3300 Cutlass Ciera. The speedo flies up and lights dim and shit. It WILL start if you get out, pop the hood and bend the battery cables until the interior lights go back on. It kept doing that over and over again so we taped in a position. :lol:

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That definitely sounds like a bad ground or a battery cable problem. I'm almost sure the '97+ cars have remote positive terminals. Check the tightness of the nut at that terminal, and check the battery connection tightness too, you want 'em nice and snug. Most likely what's happening is it's tight enough to power accessories, but not tight enough to power the starter, invariably.

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That definitely sounds like a bad ground or a battery cable problem. I'm almost sure the '97+ cars have remote positive terminals. Check the tightness of the nut at that terminal, and check the battery connection tightness too, you want 'em nice and snug. Most likely what's happening is it's tight enough to power accessories, but not tight enough to power the starter, invariably.

BINGO! Hahaha, we had to be careful not to take turns to bad or we'd move the battery cables. :lol: You know it's gonna stall when it does the speedo dance. The car shut off when I was doing 120km/h :lol:

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I second the "Aux Terminal" notion. My Regal did the same exact thing when the nut was loose on the Aux Terminal (although the motor shut off while I was driving down the highway...)

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  • 1 month later...

Well I checked out the connections. All good. however i decided to take the battery in for a load test and it failed. Bad Battery. I am going to pick a new one up tommorow. Do you think this was the cause?? :shrug:

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the temp and speedometer on my moms venture go nuts all the time. one time i took the boat over on a 200 mile or so road trip and i used quite a bit of gas. i get back and my mom comes in and says "oh thanks for filling the van back up." even though i didn't put a dime in, it said it was completely full.

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  • 6 years later...

the regal is finally in my garage. It has been sitting idle for the last 7 years, since this post back in 2005. I decided to check all the wiring starting with the engine bay. Checked all grounds and this problem is still happening. I finally did a google search on this and came up with the problem, Ignition switch, apparently allot of people have been having this issue and someone wrote a how to in 2010 about it. Gonna replace the ignition switch and harness and see what happens.

 

I also need to flush the coolant out (DEXCOOL) get rid of that garbage. Change the oil and I should be happy driving another W-body.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Replaced the ignition switch and soldered the VATS resistor from the key in place. Changed out the starter, oil change, coolant drain, changed air filters and spark plugs.

 

Now the car will turn over :D. Only problem is there is half a tank of gas that has been sitting since 05' :think: . Need to siphon it out :extrapuke:and replace with fresh 2012 gas. Hopefully the injectors are not gummed up or the filter n pump.

 

Any one know how to test the fuel pump? on the 89 cutlass you can hear it but this car its silent, even when i pull the FP #19 relay out.

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if you jump the two load pins that are used for the relay, it should kick on since the fuel pump feed is given constant +12V.

 

i jumped them and nothing, pulled a fuel hose and no pressure, i pulled the fuel inlet line and also tried jumping the pump and nothing, no flow. I think i need to replace the fuel pump, and I just filled the tank. Siphoning that out is gonna suck. :extrapuke:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finally got the Buick Running, all in all it got a new ignition switch, new spark plugs, new fuel pump and fuel filter and the VATS resistor soldered in place.

:D

I took it out for a spin and she runs great. Now to replace the rotors and pads x4, they are all rusty and give shitty breaking. Once thats done a trip to the shop for an inspection and some recall work and this Buick is another w-body on the road!

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Same with having multiple W's, your posts have helped me since you posted your first website with a write-up on typical Cutlass issues. Specifically the first write-up about the alternators in these cars. So glad I came across that page 15+ years ago. Do you still have a copy of it. If so I would like to print it out and get you to autograph it, so i can display it in my garage.:D

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