Buick Park Avenue Electrical / Lighting Problems
parkave91977
Member Posts: 1
in Buick
I have a 98 Park Ave and the power windows have developed a problem of not working on warm or hot days. When the temperatures cool down the windows work fine, but when the air heats up they stop working. I don't know if this is a motor problem or in the actual power switch in the door. Has anyone else experienced this problem? I'm hoping it's something I can fix. I already asked a Buick repairman and was only told they could fix it for $500, and that is for only one window. If anyone can offer a more economical solution please advise me.
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PAU3
the side light the low beam high beam and running light just twist counter clockwise
and pop out old lamp pop in new. The side marker are accessed the same way
from reaching hand underneath fender twisting the bulb holder then pop out and pop in. The rear Brake lights are accessed from trunk area. Remove the two cargo cleats, then unscrew two phelps screws either side of trunk latch then the right side cargo cleat the entire plastic splash piece comes out after plastic screws are levered out. 10 mm socket removes the nuts the whole brake light and turn signal comes off and again twist the bulb unit and pop out old bulb pop in new. To access the backup and license bulbs remove the gray cloth again levering plastic screws. Then remove the eight 10mm nuts the whole trunk lid light assembly can be removed and bulbs replaced and reassenbled.
Where can I find a source for the part? I have not pulled the steering wheel but I suspect that the plastic switch is broken. I may have to replace the wiring harness or perhaps the complete column. I'll do whatever it takes. Just imagine this tiny lady sticking her arm out of this BIG Buick's window to make hand signal. Most young drivers today don't even know what she is trying to do. They think she's trying to flick out a cigarette.
What models and years would have the same parts so that I might do a junk yard search? We are in the Central Virginia area but I guess UPS can bring in a part from anywhere. Thanks for any help or leads to solve this problem.
Mikuh
The battery was new in the summer of 2007 and connections appear clean. First, is the diagnosis likely correct? Second, I'm told it will cost $400 just to disconnect this module as it is positioned deep under the dashboard. This sounds suspicious to me but what do I know? If I go ahead with this, should the battery stay charged? :confuse:
I did a search on Ebay and came up with this store. You might email and ask about rebuilt Park Avenue units
AC control and speedometer rebuild
Or you can search for price on gmpartsdirect.com or rockauto.com for the AC control unit.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Because you have an airbag in the steering wheel that complicates the matter. You might try touching around on the pad to see if you can find a sensitive spot that might be making contact when it shouldn't.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Has anyone had a similar problem and do you have a solution.
ON LEFT HAND BOTTOM UNDERDASH, THERE IS A PANEL NEXT TO PARKING BRAKE, THE DEALER TOLD ME THIS, REMOVE THE PANEL AND THERE WAS A BIG ELECTRICAL PLUG, SOMEHOW IT HAD MANAGED TO LOOSEN, I JUST MOVED IT AROUND RESETTING IT AND ALL WAS FINE.
YOU PROBABLY HAVE SAME PROBLEM, NOW TO LOCATE YOUR PLUG, THAT'S THE QUESTION, AND I DO NOW KNOW, IT MAY BE IN SAME LOCATION, SHOULD BE EASY ENOUGH TO LOOK IN THAT PANEL, LEFT SIDE NEXT TO PARKING BRAKE. HOPE THIS HELPS
First you need to check every fuse with a continuity tester. They can look okay but be blown. I am assuming you have a fuse block under the hood and one under the rear seat with the battery.
Also tighten grounds on the fuse block under the rear seat. Check the owner's manual to see if there are fuses in another location.
My opinion is it's likely a fuse or wire connection that burned.
I'd look for a factory service manual from Helminc.com for the car if you want to try to see what boxes control those items. The factory service manuals sometimes are for sale on eBay by searching for service manual and 1997 buick or use words Park Avenue instead of buick. Check carefully for ones offered to be sure you get all two or three books. Compare pictures of ones offered. You want the ones from Helm, which are the ones you get if you order from the page in the glove box owners manual that came with the car. Original price is around $135. They are available at the website--that may include shipping.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Do you have any coolant in the plastic antifreeze recovery tank on the fender? If no, this points to a leak somewhere in the cooling system.
Are you your own mechanic?
If yes, pull all your spark plugs and then watch the engine while someone attempts to turn it over. When you pull the plugs, you may find some cylinders full of fluid which will start to spill out. If it turns over and is full of fluid, it will spray anyone standing in front. :P
If this is your failure, what happens is engine coolant (antifreeze & water) will flow into your lower intake manifold (thru a crack in the upper plenum) and from there down into your cylinders. Air and fuel vapor will compress in a healthy engine. Water & antifreeze won't. This causes a condition called hydrolock. In a worst case scenario, it could cause expensive engine repair or replacement as piston rods and parts get bent or broken. But it is a common problem, and easily fixed for the do-it-yourselfer. I have never personally seen any parts bend or break.
With the engine locks up, the starter seems to get jammed up, hence the flashing dash lights as it tries to draw a huge electrical load on your system but is unable to turn the engine over. I've had to pull the starter and put it back in to free mine up.
This is just my wild guess based upon your brief description. It may be something simple like a bad starter or battery. Or something simpler.
If you are your own mechanic, you can fix it for less than $150 in half a day. Plus oil and coolant change.
Pull the plugs and let us know how it goes.
If you are not your own mechanic, how well do you know your mechanic?
The other problem was the shift indicator gage. some previous heavy handed mechanic had dropped the steering without disconnecting the shift indicator clip, thus shearing off the actuator arm and popping off the indicator needle. This gage is rotary actuated and all others that I could find in junk yards were linear actuated. The only thing I could do was to try and epoxy indicator needle that was loose in the case and fabricate another arm and epoxy it to the little plastic stub that was still on the back of the gage. To make a long story short, after many trys, I was successful and the gage now works as well the original. If anyone is interested in how I made this repair, I have photos and would be happy to walk you thru the process. Please contact me off line at dbcall1@aol.com.
This was a real learning process and I am happy to finally complete it.
Mikuh
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
There are many things that could cause your hesitation. The fuel pressure and flow needs to be checked.
The IAC needs to be removed and cleaned without getting cleaner up into the operating part.
The MAF sensor is a likely problem area. There is a liquid cleaner to spray on the sensitive wires to clean. You can try disconnecting the MAF and starting the car and see if it runs better (not perfect) without it. That sometimes identifies a problem MAF.
You should check all of the vacuum lines for cracks and rotted sections that might be leaking air. You can try spraying carburetor cleaner around the edges of the upper intake manifold and all the vacuum lines which the car is running and listen for a change in the idle indicating carb cleaner is getting in and being burned.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
RB
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You might have a crankshaft position sensor going out. These cause random quick stalls usually with quick restarts.
You might have a fuel pump that is wearing out. That causes low pressure at times. Often symptoms are worse when temps are hot or when pump has been running for a long time perhaps with low fuel level in the tank so there's less splash cooling. Your pump _might_ be replaceable through an access hole in the trunk. I do not know how that year Park Avenue is built.
Diagnosis based on code readers is dangerous because it may become expensive--like guessing at parts to fix.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If you read the owner manual, it may give short codes for which fuse does what. You might pick up on a fuse that includes items that aren't working. More than one fuse can be involved with operating a specific part of the car.
Be aware some cars use networks which talk to other controls. So a controller in a driver's door tells other doors what to do. I don't know your year and I don't know Park Avenues as well as LeSabres. You might have a damaged cable under the driver's seat that's involved in the networking from door to door.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I already said that.
If your battery is under the back seat, you have fuse boxes back there
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
It's a pretty common problem unfortunately with the BPAs. You need to fix the climate control display.
You can either replace the climate controller with one from the dealer (I think they charge between $100-175 for the part - but that's just a wild guess), replace it yourself with one from eBay that someone has rebuilt ($50-100), send your's to someone to have it fixed ($50-60, there is a guy on ebay that does this, goes by the name: digital_dash_solutions and probably more like him. his is the first name I saw when I did a search),
or...
if you're a DIY'r, just pull out that controller display, disassemble it, and solder the loose resister's on the board inside it. It takes maybe 10-15 minutes to remove it from your car, 5 mins to disassemble it, 10-15 minutes to resolder the joints, then put it back together. Takes maybe an hour, and .25 worth of solder to fix it yourself. Let me know if you want more detail provided. I've got to do that on my wife's car today, and I could take some pics.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Hope this works. Let me know if it doesn't and I'll try again.
I posted some pics, and hopefully you can view some pics of the experience here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/575054682kozIbZ
It took me about 12 minutes to remove it, and the only tools needed were a screwdriver for prying and 7mm socket for removing 3 screws.
I'm hoping that my 98 LeSabre is very much the same.
I remember the other write up was for a Regal several years back and that forum went dead. The resistors in that case were rectangular solids instead of typical cylindrical resistors. And there were many more than 4 to touch up the solder joints.
Again thanks for the write up.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
We've also done my dad's '00 and '01 BPAs. Probably did mine first and that must have been 4-5 years ago.
Exactly how did that break down parts vs labor?
He must be quoting you MSRP for the part. Here's the price from gmpartsdirect.com for an original GM part:
Dash control unit, park avenue, main control 97-04 MSRP $1,077.32, Your price $560.21
Shipping would probably be between $10 and $20.
That's the way of the world nowadays. They don't fix TVs and computers, they replace components. Same with this unit. It's too bad, because it is easily repaired.
Can you ask the dealer if you can get the $560 price?
Is there a local ham radio club or operator who might take on the task?
Know any family, friends, or mechanics who do freelance work?
I am not skilled with a soldering iron, but I've done a couple repairs. You could probably pick up a very nice soldering iron for $100-$150 or even get by with a $15 model from HomeDepot or RadioShack. Then search youtube.com for someone showing how to solder and give it a shot yourself.
Many years ago I got a nail in the edge of my tire. Not in the main tread, but kind of in the corner along the sidewall. The local tire repair place said it couldn't be fixed because of the location. Tire was trash. groan... I always buy Michelins. A friend showed me the little tar-like covered rope flat repair kits and said to try to repair it myself, "because what have you got to lose?" So I tried it and that tire never lost air for the next couple years.
Here's another example, this tire caught a huge bolt on the way home. Surely this couldn't be patched... Well, what did I have to lose? I plugged it with the rubberized rope and it's been fine since. http://community.webshots.com/album/575079387LPRNSt
The point of the story is... what have you got to lose trying to repair it yourself? If you fix it yourself, you reward yourself with $1150 for something you WANT to spend it on. If you don't fix it... you have to pay someone. You're no worse off.
Or you adjust the temp by feel. Hotter or Colder... Defrost or Heat or AC or Vent.
Or next time you drive to FL, stop in ATL for a visit.
Soldering really is simple. 1) heat soldering iron by plugging it in. 2) touch solder to tip of iron and watch a bit of solder melt onto the tip. 3) touch one of the bad solder joints with soldering iron and hold it until wire gets hot 4) hold a piece of solder wire to the joint until it melts onto it. 5) remove soldering iron tip from wire and let it cool down. * do not touch soldering iron tip or hot solder or you will get burned * You don't want to melt solder all over the board, just enough to look like the other joints. You want to solder on the green side of the board.
Sorry about being so long winded. I'd hate to see someone pay $1169 to fix something that IMO GM should take responsibility for. EVERY control I've seen has needed to be repaired. I think there is a QA issue, either with the design or with GM's manufacturer. :lemon:
I like GM. I love PAs. But I think $1077 for that part is a bit excessive. :mad:
Repair places on Ebay and other places specialize in repairing these and giving fast turnaround.
Or you can buy a replacement used from a recycling yard.
car-parts.com
Choose year, car model, then look for heater control. They separate it as with levers or without levers. You can sort by distance from where you are or by price by clicking on the top of column.
I see prices of $200 typical. Used part may have same problem as yours since it's a heater deterioration in the solder joints.
Have a used one put in. Send your original off to be repaired, or do it yourself, and then put the original one back in.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,