Buick LeSabre Maintenance and Repair

louisiana1 · May 2010

I have a problem with my 98 Buick Lesabre. Last Friday my blower just stop working with no warnings @ all. It was working fine 2hrs prior. I put a brand new blower on it and the new one wouldn't come on. Since my old one was already off, i got it tested @ Autozone. It spent like a champ. I checked all fuses and all of them lit up. I even check the ones on the passenger side and under the hood, they all tested positive. Later, I got a resistor off a used Buick and hooked it up and the blower still wouldnt work. Next, I got an a/c switch off a used Buick and still nothing. The blower still wouldn't blow. I've taken it 2 several mechanics and they're dumbfounded, they can't find out whats the problem. Im just tired of spending money and my problem isnt being fix. I'm in desperate need of help. Can you help me

Brooksman · June 2010

We found if you whack the blower motor and it will start working, though after a while it quit all together. We ended up replacing it.

bob252 · June 2010

Hi, maybe a silly response, but did anyone check the ground to the motor? you can test the ground or use a wire from the negative post of the battery...

mddrj74 · July 2010

2000 Buick lesaber ,3.8Lt ,140,000mi

Hello, I have recently ran into a Problem that just bogels my mind. I drove my car all day mind you, went into a friends house and came back to the car (2000 Buick lesaber) and attempted to start it. It would not even turn over. No selections of the ignition switch would ingauge (key Pos 1,2,3). The lights illuminating the driver and Passenger door window and lock buttons are constantly on (have to unplug the battery) and the horn will stay ingauged if Pushed at all. The radio will turn itself all of the way u or down when battery is plug back in but, no power to it other than the tiny security light(on the head unit not dash). The power seats do move when battery is pluged in.I have no dash lights nothing other than the mentioned above.

WHAT I HAVE DONE:
Checked All grounds I know of.
Checked Battery
Checked fuses,fuse box ground studs
Removed ignition switch(Took it apart all contacts and wires are in pristine condition but what I observed was that the vehicle has the same problems with ignition switch removed so could that still be the problem?)
pass key 111 unit is installed factory but, the keys I have do not have chips in them, never have.(also security light it not blinking on dash)

Any and all suggestions and very welcome and thank all of you for taking your time to read and possibly help me out

mddrj74 · July 2010

UPDATE:
I was tinkering with the vehicle this morning and found out that if I have the ABS box is unpluged. My horn issue seems to go away(It staying inguaged that is).

Also if someone could please tell me where the (PCM) is located. My haynes manual says "under the right side of the dash"
If someone could PLEASE be more specific of where there located I would be very grateful.

(REASON) To check the ground. I was reading something that was saying that a loose ground to the (PCM) would create a problem like that.

If anyone has any suggestions of something I could try anything and thank you again.

:sick:

mddrj74 · July 2010

Can someone PLEASE tell me where to fine the (BCM). Also if anyone has any information on what my buick is going through I would be very grateful.

--THANKS AGAIN--

mddrj74 · July 2010

joshlin1932 · July 2010

I was driving along in my 2000 LeSabre enjoying the nice A/C here in this 98 degree Texas weather and all of sudden the blow stopped working. The control panel for the A/C is completely dean.

I have checked all fuses and all are OK. Can anyone tell me if there is a fuse link somewhere that I cannot locate. It has me HOT UNDER THE COLLAR! ">

srcitizen · August 2010

When I had my old 1989 Buick Century, my local mechanic was always careful to clean the throttle body. I've had my 1995 Buick LeSabre with the same V-6 engine for 7 years, and my new mechanic has never cleaned it. It runs good, except I've dropped from 19mpg around town to 13mpg. I wonder if the throttle body needs regular cleaning?

imidazol97 · August 2010

First, I doubt it's the same engine. The leSabre is a 3800 Series II, I believe. The Century was a 3300 IIRC.

Lots of short trips, high AC usage, alcohol in fuel, and other things can lead to lower gas mileage. The gunk settled on the inside of the upper intake and on the throttle body doesn't affect the gas mileage; it may affect the idle quality and may cause throttle sticking when first moved after engine cools and throttle body shrinks.

I'd get a 20 Oz bottle of Techron for fuel system cleaning (not the injector cleaner version).

When fuel is about a quarter or lower, add the Techron, then add fuel. Use a good brand. You may sense a change in the motor's response to accelerator after 10-20 miles.

You might change gas stations and brand if you tend to frequent one particular station or brand. It's my opinion, not proven fact, that some get more alcohol in their fuel than others do. You might also try adding a fill of a name brand premium that claims extra good fuel cleaners to a tank that's got less than half full regular to give a better mix of cleaners in the gas. Mixing the two gives about a midgrade octane. These cars don't need 91-92 octane.

How are plugs and wires? Have plugs been changed in 40 K miles?

I'd suggest, if you do it yourself, taking out the MAF and gently cleaning it with a cleaner for MAFs sold at auto parts box stores (CRC is a company that makes the brand I have). Use an artist's brush hairs to wipe the two electrical wires that are very delicate.

The throttle body would need cleaned only if you have an uneven idle at times, or if when you start the car and go to mvoe the accelerator, it sticks until the first time you move it because the crud has thickened and is touching the throttle plate.

Have you taken the car on a normal speed highway drive and set the gas mileage readout and seen how well the mileage is doing? Using the gallons and the odometer to measure mileage is not as accurate.

My 98 and 03 will give 30-38 at 50-55 mph on level glacial plain roads out into the country. A slight increase in headwind or speed through the air reduces that. At 65 with no wind it will give 29-32.

Watch the coolant level in the reservoir. I believe your 95 through 2004 has upper intake and lower intake gaskets that may start seeping coolant. If it says Series II on the gray cover over the motor, then that's the case. If it had orange DexCool in it then it's more prone to seeps due to alleged interaction of DexCool with the nylon in the gasket.

Change your transmission fluid by draining and putting a new filter in if it hasn't been changed in 50-60K. I believe the original was supposed to go 100,000 miles under normal duty use, but I suggest the drain and fill earlier like 60K-70K. Do not let them sell you a flush where they run through a strong chemical and don't take the lower pan off. Just take off the lower pan, drain half the fluid which comes out, and add half new fluid. The cleaners in the new half fluid will not shock the things gooped in places like the flush will.

srcitizen · August 2010

This is just the kind of information I was looking for! The engine is the 3.8 liter version. I've been using the 87 octane gas, and sometimes I notice the gas pump says contains Ethanol. I never remember whether this is good for my engine or not. I think EXON gas is advertised to contain Techron, but I'll get a bottle to put in as you suggest. Please tell me that MAF is! The grey cover on the engine reads only "3800 Tuned Port Injection." No series mentioned.
I find it's been 2 years (13K miles) since I had the transmission serviced, and that was only a flush - guess it's time to get the fluid changed! I've had the car 7 years (56k miles!) and my maintenance record doesn't show the fluid/seal has ever been changed! 6 years and 43K on the plugs, and 6 years 38K on the wires - geez! I've got some things to try here. Thanks very much!

srcitizen · August 2010

rallyvee · August 2010

I'm not a mechanic, but I've taken my car to some mechanics, and they're stumped. I hope someone here can help me get SOME idea of what the problem is, so I can print out the info and maybe it will help a local mechanic understand what's going on.

My 96 Buick LeSabre Custom has about 80,000 miles on it. Just got a new fuel pump in late 2009, and everything was going well until I hit a HUGE pothole. Immediately afterward, the right rear power window stopped working, and I started having problems with a weird whining coming from UNDERNEATH the car.

Here's what's going on:

* The whining can't be heard under the hood. ONLY underneath the car, but it gets so loud you can hear it in the cabin. It sounds like somebody is using a drill, and it gets louder as the motor gets hotter.

* One mechanic thinks it's the fuel pump. Another said that's impossible, because once the sound gets started, it will also happen when I turn the key just enough to roll down the power windows, and the fuel pump isn't even doing anything. It lasts as long as I have the key in the on position. The ones who think it's the fuel pump won't even bother trying to fix our car--they say some fuel pumps are just noisy. (Like our fuel pump would suddenly make noise, rather than being noisy from day one?)

* The sound isn't always there. It seems to get louder, the warmer the engine gets, and goes away when the car is cool. I have to drive 20-30 miles for it to start (maybe less if it's a hot enough day).

* One mechanic thought it was the AC compressor, but that's impossible because the sound will occur even if you don't use the AC or vent fan at all. I learned that the hard way, by driving 30 miles into town on a hot day with the windows rolled down.

* The sound increases, as the heat increases. So I can use the AC at night (when it's warm and humid), and there's no sound at all. However, if I drive during the day, the sound will start. If I use the vent fan, it will be louder. If I use the AC, that apparently really makes the car hot, because the whining gets intolerable. But the important fact that these local mechanics ignore is that I can use the AC with no problems during cooler weather, and the sound will also occur on a hot day without using the vent/AC at all, so it can't be a problem with the AC.

I'm disabled, and my elderly mother has health problems, and I'm very worried that we're going to get stranded between our rural hometown and the city where we have to do all our shopping. Neither of us could tolerate being stranded in the heat, waiting for AAA, so I've had to do all our shopping at night. We can't even make it to our doctor appointments, because we can't travel until dark.

So if anybody has any clue as to what this could be, it would really help. I'd rather just arrange to drive the car up in the evening, get a rental car, and leave the Buick at the mechanics, as I'm concerned about getting stranded during the day. But the car won't make the noise unless it's driven 20-30 miles, which no mechanic has time to do--so they can't hear the noise for themselves. I thought that maybe if you folks had some ideas, I could print them out, and maybe that would help a mechanic pinpoint the problem.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

imidazol97 · August 2010

The fuel pump turns on when you turn the key to ON, even if you don't start the car. BUT it quits running after 2-3 seconds, unless the motor is started.

Has someone looked at the underside of the car to see what was hit or twisted when you hit the pothole?

Does the whining speed up and down with the speed of the car? Or is it a constant?

Does the whining speed up or down with the speed of the motor in different gears?

Have you driven the car until it's hot and doing the noise and then stopped at the dealer to have them listen to the noise after the car is making it?

rallyvee · August 2010

To answer your questions....

When the car is making noise, I can turn the key to on, but the sound does not go off after a few seconds. It keeps making noise for as long as I leave it in the on position.

Nobody has looked at the underside of the car, much to my frustration. It's just, "You have a noisy fuel pump, that's all." Yet it was never noisy until I hit that pothole. IMHO these mechanics I've seen so far are just lazy, but that's another story.

The whining doesn't change with the speed of the car; it's constant. (Also, it has an automatic transmission, if that makes any difference.) The only thing is that it gets louder as time goes on. Unless I drive at night, when it's cooler outside, in which case the noise never starts at all--even when I use the AC.

Yes, I've taken the car to a mechanic when I was in the city, and the noise was really bad. They said it was the fuel pump, ran some test on it that cost about $16 (IIRC, they tested for fuel pressure, but I could be wrong), then said everything was fine. Uh...yeah. Right. LOL.

I have some further info that might be of help: I just had the fuel pump replaced in December 2009, because it just stopped working, leaving us stranded in a parking lot. I've seen videos on YouTube where a failing fuel pump sounds a lot like the noise under my car...like this video, except that the sound doesn't go up and down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcgCGpC1dfc

I hope this follow-up info is helpful, and thanks for your reply.

imidazol97 · August 2010

Your link doesn't go to a fuel pump, instead it gives a dune buggy doing a hill climb!

What happens when you turn the key to OFF. Does the sound quit?

I'm suspecting you might have a problem with the heater blower motor. It might be something rubbing on the fins of the squirrel cage that actually spins the air and forces it down the duct to go through the heater system. That is one thing that would be ON when the engine is NOT running.

The fuel pump should shut off when the engine is OFF. You can listen to your fuel pump but turning the key ON with the heater and accessories all turned off. You'll hear the fuel pump run for about 2 seconds. It will not continuously run unless there's a defect in the relay that operates it. It only runs to prime the pressure in the system. Everytime you turn the key back to ON it will run 2 seconds. After the engine cranks, the oil pressure switch turns on the fuel pump and keeps it running.

If your car has the option for self-leveling rear suspension, you have an air pump that puts pressure into the rear struts. It should run only when the pressure drops and the suspension goes low. When the key it turned to ON without starting the car, wait up to 40 seconds and you'll hear that pump start and run about 5 seconds to prime the air pressure. On your car I think, think, it's located under the right rear fender of the car. Have someone turn the key ON and go back by the fender and listen. It's a low, rough, cheap air pump sound. It sounds like a $10 compressor from Harbor Freight that plugs into the lighter plug to put air into my tires.

On the heater blower..., it is under the hood on the firewall behind the engine. Some owners have said the plastic around that area gets brittle from time and severe heat. You might have had that plastic deteriorate causing something to rub the fan blower. The blower is held in by 5 screws. It is difficult to reach behind the motor to take it out to check. Messing with the screws and taking it out may crack that plastic as well. Some folks have used varied nonflammable things to repair damage on that plastic region

louisiana1 · August 2010

joshlin1932 · August 2010

I keep getting Code P0401. It has new air filter, new EGR valve, new solenoid, the air flow passage has been cleaned from the filter to the intake manifold. I sure do need some suggestions if any of you guys have any.

don357 · August 2010

Hello LeSabre Folks!
I have a 2003 LeSabre with 136K, a one week old NEW battery. Went to emissions and needed to do a "drive cycle" to reset computer (OBD II). Finally found out that I needed to do this with 1/4 to 3/4 full gas tank. While reducing gas in the tank, the wife has 3 idiot lights all come on: ABS, Brakes, Traction Off. Went to Autozone and there are NO CODES. Read the Owner's Manual and it says all three are related, go get service. Is there anything else I can check before we go to local mechanic or Dealer?
Thanks for your suggestions!
Don357

imidazol97 · August 2010

One thing to check is the ground strap on the battery where it connects to the floor pan of the car. Loosen and twist it to get a good bright metal connection. Check for other places and contacts the battery cables go to under the rear seat and be sure they are tight. Be careful on the positives not to short to ground.

Check same in the fuse box under the hood.

Your lights may be due to a connection on the wheel speed sensors. You might remove each and snap back on to get a good connection. All three of those require input from the 4 wheel sensors.

Myself on my own car, I would remove the ground cable for a few minutes. Then reconnect. That should clear the memories. Then you can start the normal idle for a while and then drive procedure. The pollution controls check for system integrity (no leaks) when the tank registers between 1/4 and 3/4 and the engine is started in a luke warm temp with the coolant between certain temps--not full cold and not full warmed up. That may be the reset you're looking for. That info is from the 1998 leSabre manual. I suspect the parameters for the 2003 are similar.

don357 · August 2010

Thanks! Will check that out before head to dealer. Where would I look for the wheel sensors, that seems easy enough but not sure where to look?
In the fuse block under the hood, we took each fuse out manually and reset it in place with the engine off, key off. I am pretty confidant that those fuses are good and have a good connection. We did not do that to the fuses under the back seat.

Still not sure the "Drive Cycle" is related to the new problem with the 3 idiot lights coming on?!?!?

imidazol97 · August 2010

The wheel speed sensors are on the inside of the wheels on the car, difficult to reach without jacking up each wheel and using safety support to crawl under. Or take the tire off and then it's much more easily visible. A garage can lift the car and check all four at once.

There's a possibility that a ground causes strange lights to come on and off.

ALSO a bad battery giving lower voltage than it should can do thing funny with the lights. Such as a cell shorted out dropping voltage by 2.1 volts.

I read elsewhere leaving battery disconnected for 30 minutes and more can do a "Hard" reset in electronics. I don't know if there's any benefit for you or not.

I'd check the battery itself for proper voltage under cranking load--you DIC readout for voltage may show this while you're cranking. It shouldn't drop below 9.5 or 9 or something in that range.

http://www.google.com/images?q=wheel%20sensor%20connection&rls=com.microsoft:en-- us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

don357 · August 2010

don357 · August 2010

Thanks, will hit the garage and take the tires off and see if any sensor looks bad or has obvious problem. Hopefully they can check for the codes. The battery went kaput last week and I replaced it with a nice big fresh new one. will check the volts under cranking just in case. Nervous to disconnect battery since this started the chain reaction... needed emissions, battery dies, put in new battery, go to emissions, OBD II isn't ready, drive it, find out I need to drive it with less than a full tank of gas and not empty either, now I have these idiout lights come on... what next???!!!!

otislee08 · September 2010

My 97 Lesabre has some problems with the brakes being very slow. I have to push all the way down just to slow. When taking off from stop, it acts like it might die and lunges. Also when parked the rpm revs from normal to a little over 1K. Thinking maybe vacuum problems, but not sure. does anyone know what i should be looking for and where? Thanks!

imidazol97 · September 2010

Sounds like a vacuum problem.

Could be a cracked, dried out vacuum hose. Could be the upper intake manifold housing cracked. Could be the seal around the bottom of the upper intake or the throttle body area leaking. Could be an engine mechanical problem with the intake valves.

How many miles on the car? That would be a fact to include when asking for someone to hypothesize what may be wrong.

Could be the EGR is not closing and is letting exhaust gases into the intake when the car can't handle it. Try tapping on the EGR with the wooden end of a hammer hoping to let the pintle close better if that's the problem.

Could be spark plugs or wires. Could be the spark module. Could be an ignition coil

orangeup · September 2010

I'm going to guess its a broken front sway bar. I broke mine last saturday on my 1997 Buick LaSabre. I heard a pop as my daughter took a left turn quite fast. After that, every time I turned left or right it had that "clunking" noise. It also produced that noise on rough parking lots and on dirt roads. At first I did not know what it was. Since I just replaced the transmission I thought something was wrong with it, but not so. The Sway bar keep your car straight by absorbing the torque energy generated by the turning action. The sway bar absorbs a lot of force and they can break due to metal fatique over time. The pipe is thick walled but not solid. A dealer one is $170 plus $32 for the two link kits that hook it to the wheel mechanisms on both side. The bar runs behind the transmission, so you'll need a good jack and solid jackstands. Not difficult to do. Maybe you have just a broken link on the left or right side and you get away even cheaper. It's not unheard off, in fact a lot of clunking car probably have this issue. A friend of mine provided the needed hint to find it. It was broken right behind the link. It wasn't easy to spot untill you know what your looking for.

You can drive the car without it but it was designed to be driven with it. The handling in corners will be seriously degraded and it might be dangerous if you drop a wheel off the road and jerk back the other way. The (anti) sway bar will try to stop your car from flipping over, so without it your taking a serious risk, not to mention the potential liability. After I replaced mine the car handles very nice and is a pleasure to drive again.

Good luck and let me know what you find.

billnmd2006 · September 2010

bob252 · October 2010

Hi, I hope Imadozol is reading, you have always been very acurate with these cars.althogh my car is an Olds LSS they are obviously the same. I posted saturday and can't find my post, so I will try again, as there is no info im my owners manual. Is this relay in the maxifuse center, or on the right side kick panel? and if you can tell this old man from right to left if in the maxi ctr. which of the four is it? or, inside the car from the top to the bottom. I got a code stating the relay is bad, and the fans don't turn on even when my "Inovia" reader is connected.Another thing the mice really love this car, as one commited suicide in it recently by getting itself decapitated by the control arm for the blend door, I found him by way of the beautiful fragrance, again thanks Bob. Or anyone else that can help so I can fix it before it creates another problem.

imidazol97 · October 2010

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0f9de9/202#MSG202

Here is the link to your post.

I did respond with a picture.

bob252 · October 2010

Hi Imadoz stated the vacuum problem did you look at the hose from the booster unit where the master cyl. is? since it is a 97, then it could be the place to start as that hose is realy cheap, other than that what he advised you to do is where you have to start, also you did not mention whether or not that the brake pedal pressure is very hard??? if so there is no vacuum or the diaphram has some liquid or contamination in it from the things he was referring to. Hope this helps. Bob.

otislee08 · October 2010

i10dopezone · October 2010

i drive a limited 95 lesabre and it only gets about 13mpg, does anyone have a clue 2 y it gets such bad mpg? It also leaks out about a quart of oil every 3 days, i have replaced both front and back valve covergaskets and i have changed the oil pan gasket, could someone please send some insite on to y it would be leaking so much oil?

bob252 · October 2010

2 questios from you #1 gas mileage: are you getting any ck eng lights? is the car shifting all four gears,city driving etc. too many areas here for a proper response for this one, my 95 would give me no less than 17 in the bitter cold winter here in New England and 22-25 in normal weather (mixed suburban driving) and it had 250,000 miles on it when I sent it to a new home. as for #2 the oil problem, well I discovered on that car, that the oil pressure sending unit had a slow leak, it is real easy to fix and very cheap as well $9 at AutoZone. Look for the oil filter at the right side (passenger) of the car, it is right above the filter, look for oil around there that will tell you it is the problem. If you can safetly run the car with the wheel turned to the extreme left you'll se the very slow drip. Also another telltale is that when it rains out you can look for that little drip on the ground, it will have that Rainbow type of sheen, a dead givaway. Hope this helps Bob. good luck.

imidazol97 · October 2010

How does it run?

If the plugs or wires were missing badly, you would comment about how the car is rough at times due to the miss.

My one suggestion would be check the fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose as soon as you shut the car off. Pull the hose off and see if there's any liquid gasoline in the hose? The fuel pressure regulators develope a leak around the diaphragm and suck raw gasoline into the intake manifold. There was a recall on these long ago for certain years.

i10dopezone · November 2010

i10dopezone · November 2010

on my 95 lesabre i recently took thhe the lowerintake off and need to replace the gaskets, i was wondering wuts the best way to clean the the inside of he enine if the there is a grim build up and the best way to clean the area to put the gaskets on

cdobyns · January 2011

I have an older '93 Buick LeSabre, which is generally in pretty good shape mechanically. Last week I drove it to work and when I went to drive home that night, the car started normally, but when I turned on the headlights, the dashboard light lit up briefly and then went out. I managed to get home okay, although I later discovered that my tail lights/brake lights were no lit (although I think the actually brake lights were illuminating when braking).

Of some diagnostic significance, was that when I shut off the vehicle and got out of the car, the warning chime was sounding, as it would if you had left your keys in the ignition or left the headlights on (and yes, I had my keys and the lights were off).

I pulled the fuse for the tail lights from the under dash fuse block, but the fuse was still intact. I pulled a number of other fuses (but not all . . .), and didn't see any of those fuses blown. I'll admit that I'm confused about what's going here. I would have guessed the problem was fuse-related, but now I'm not sure. Now I'm wondering if this is some control relay that has failed - which I'm probably capable of testing, although I can't say that I know where the relays are housed. Any next steps or further diagnostics others would suggest?

scanman1 · January 2011

Find the tailamp fuse and see if power is on it with headlamps on. If not you possibily have a bad headlite switch

cdobyns · January 2011

Your reply is coincidental since last night I did get a window of good weather which allowed me to confirm that only the tail lights and the dashboard lighting group cluster seem to be affected by this electrical problem. Headlights, parking lights, brake lights and turn signal indicators all appear to working normally. So, the only downside is the inability to drive the car at night so that nobody runs into the back of me, although conceivably you could drive with your foot lightly on the brake to keep the brake lights illuminated - although that's clearly not a realistic long-term solution (I suppose . . .).

Since I already confirmed that the fuse for the tail lights is not blown and since the dashboard (and tail lights) illuminate when you toggle the headlights on, and since I seem to recall that the dashboard lights did come on briefly when I activated the headlights, the night the lights (dashboard/tail lights) failed. I too wonder if some component behind the headlight On/Off switch has failed and could be replaced (or maybe just hot-wired into the headlight circuit), since the wiring circuit to the tail lights and dashboard must have there terminus right there also (since they all turn on together). Good logic in isolating what is shaping up to be the likely cause. Will give this another look over the weekend and try to report back. Thanks!

cdobyns · January 2011

cockneyrebel · March 2011

rallyvee · May 2011

rallyvee · May 2011

I'm following up my initial post, in case somebody else would be searching for help on this issue.

Turns out that it was the fuel pump, after all. The mechanic installed a Carter pump, and I've since learned a lot of people have problems with them. I got another fuel pump put in, and haven't had any whining sounds since.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

rallyvee · May 2011

Yesterday, I drove 30 miles on highways, then parked the car for about 10 minutes when I got into the city. When I started it again, it sounded as if there was another motor running alongside the engine. At first, I thought someone had started their car near mine, but when I opened the door, the noise was coming from my car. It sounded like the engine was idling way too fast.

Then I started smelling something burning.

I turned the engine off, and I heard the normal sound of it going off as it should. However, this other sound--what I'd thought was someone else's motor--kept running. I opened the hood to see what was happening, and some smoke was coming out of the engine. The smoke was coming out the right side of the large plastic cover on the main part of the motor. I really thought the car was going to catch on fire.

After a few minutes, it finally did stop, though it smelled like burning rubber, and it was still smoking for a little while.

I called AAA, and they towed my car to a mechanic. He thought it was something electrical, so he ran some tests, all of which came out OK. He started the car, took it for a drive, and it's behaving perfectly...so far. He's going to run more tests, but right now, he's baffled, because he can't recreate what happened to me.

Someone else I talked to mentioned that this might have something to do with the throttle, and I mentioned that to him.

The only things I've been doing differently of late are that I have been using the cruise control, and I have forgotten to put any sort of engine cleaner into the gas tank for several months now.

Anybody have any idea what this might be? If you have any follow-up questions, please ask, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

Thanks!

Kirstie_H · May 2011

Since this model is no longer in production and we have a fairly limited number of LeSabre owners in this forum, you might have better luck posting in our answers section here:
http://answers.edmunds.com

We often find members with mechanical expertise who pop in and answer questions there.

imidazol97 · May 2011

I could picture a starter remaining engaged even though it's supposed to release the gear on the flywheel when the engine speeds up. But driving 30 miles with the starter spinning at a very high speed would have added lots of noise and would have ruined the starter, in my opinion.

I don't believe an alternator can turn into a motor so that it was driving the engine. I had the older style generators used in the 60s-70s turn into one, but that was inherent in the design.

If the starter were turning the motor continually in START mode, the speed would have been perhaps 300 rpm, about half of the normal idle. The starter is under the front of the motor, below the hot exhaust manifolds. Smoke from it might have been coming up from below and appear to be coming out under the "beauty cover" on top of the engine.

If the alternator were providing power to keep the engine turning over, the belt probably would be hot. It's on the passenger side. Was the smoke from the belt area?

The problem is not the throttle. Your car is fuel injected. When the key goes OFF, the injectors quit and the spark plugs quit. NO gasoline is squirted into the intake. Something else is causing the motor to keep turning.

rallyvee · May 2011

@kirstie_h -- Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

@imidazol97
One thing I apparently didn't make clear (sorry) is that I didn't drive 30 miles with that noise in my motor. There were no unusual noises at all, while I was driving the 30 miles, so I had no idea anything was wrong. It was after I reached the city, and parked for 10 min., that the noise began when I started the engine. The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like there were 2 engines in my car at once. I didn't attempt to drive at all.

The engine itself went off immediately when I turned off the key. This...whatever it was...kept running, then finally stopped after the smoking.

I wish I knew if the smoke were from the belt area--part of the problem is that the cover hides much of the engine, so I couldn't see where it was coming from. The other problem is that it was a windy day, so the smoke was being pushed downwind. It very well could have been from the passenger side of the engine, as that's the direction the wind was blowing from.

I took it to a mechanic, spent 2 days running various tests, test-driving the car, etc., but the car has worked perfectly ever since. He's at a loss to explain this--the only thing he found unusual is that I was 2 quarts low on oil--unusual, because neither he nor I have seen the car leaking.

It's really bizarre, isn't it?

Thanks so much for your help--if any of this info gives you some idea of what happened, I'm still pretty nervous that this might happen again at some point.

imidazol97 · May 2011

>that the noise began when I started the engine. The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like there were 2 engines in my car at once. I didn't attempt to drive at all.

I now understand the engine quit turning when you turned the key OFF. But the extra noise continued. Assuming the key was completely OFF, that eliminates the blower motor and fan blades with it; that would be a noise you could isolate source as coming from the air intakes under the windshield or the firewall.

So my thinking is the started motor remained engaged. What would have happened is the engine started which speeds the starter's own gear faster than the starter motor is turning; that disengages the small gear from the flywheel.

However, the starter motor may have continued to turn instead of being turned off. The electrical connection stayed connected. EITHER the ignition switch (not the key assembly, the switch which down on top of the steering column under the dash) didn't disconnect when the key was rotated back from START OR the relay which is engaged by the ignition switch stuck ON and kept the starter turning. There is a relay under the dash that's hard to get to that's part of the antitheft system. AND the starter itself has a relay as part of the solenoid. I do not know if that relay should have disconnected if the Bendix system disengages from the flywheel or not. It's possible the problem is within the starter's solenoid parts.

A starter being fed the current would continue to spin with a high speed sound of a strong motor. Depending on the style and wear it might make more noise. It would overheat even though it's not working to turn the engine. It's not engineered to self cool while turning with no resistance. So it would overheat.

If it happens again, try turning the key to START and see if that makes a difference.

I suspect

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