Jump to content

All Activity

This stream auto-updates     

  1. Today
  2. Nick
    Hi All, I've put my Reatta up for sale - I have other projects that I need to focus on, so I unfortunately am unable to get the dashboard and lights figured out before selling. Here's the details: Short Story: 1988 Buick Reatta Mileage unknown (Dashboard not working) but I have service receipts from 2001 showing approximately 90K Repainted a couple months ago Reupholstered recently Starts, drives, stops Lockport, IL Nick - 630-240-1859 $3900 Long Story: I recently acquired this Reatta through a trade deal. The previous owner had it for about a year, and believes he got it from the 2nd owner. I found a stack of receipts in the car detailing all the service for the first 12 or 13 years of its life, and the last few receipts are dated 2001 and show the mileage around 90,000. The previous owner owns a body shop and painted the car just a couple months ago, and the paint is really beautiful. I noticed a couple fisheyes on the roof, but otherwise it's a very nice job. When I got the car, it was stubborn to start when cold and there was an oil leak that appeared to be coming from the intake manifold, so I replaced the manifold gasket. While doing that I replaced the injector o-rings and associated intake manifold gaskets like the throttle body, cleaned out the EGR valve, replaced the fuel pressure relief valve, installed a new thermostat and thermostat housing, installed a new upper radiator hose, and installed a new PCV valve. No oil under the car since this, but she's still stubborn to start when warm. Previous owner says he replaced the fuel pump, and I replaced the fuel pump relay, but still takes about five seconds of cranking to start cold. She starts right up when warm. Drives and handles very well, no suspension noise. I'm surprised by how much power these cars have, and how comfortable they are to drive. Car stops very well and brakes feel firm. No pulsing or grinding. CRT is functioning - radio works but the antenna is stuck in the up position. The dashboard is completely dead except for the ABS light when you first power the car on. There are also some other electrical issues, such as the headlights not opening (only the parking lights come on) and none of the courtesy lights come on, so I'm hesitant to send the dash out for a rebuild since I suspect the problem is power to the dash. Previous owner installed a new light switch to try and solve the dash and headlight issue. As you can see from the photos, someone applied a window tint and then the previous owner tried to remove it from the rear window. I got more of it off, but don't want to risk damaging the rear defrost to remove the rest. The tint on the side windows is flaking a bit at the edges but presentable. Previous owner said that the car had been reupholstered before his ownership. The seats look really good, but could use a good cleaning. Material (I assume it's vinyl, but it feels like leather) is very soft and comfortable. The top of the steering wheel has wear, and the very top of the instrument panel housing is discolored. All glass looks intact; I checked and didn't see any chips in the windshield. Surface rust underneath, but no real rot. I'm headed back out to my shop today and can take some undercarriage photos to add. I have a few spare parts, including a CRT control module, horn button, old light switch, and a few pieces I don't recognize. All in all, a nice car with all the hard work done - brand new paint and nicely upholstered seats. Work out the electrical gremlins and this is a good car to enjoy. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
  3. Nick
    Fuses and grounds are good. I'm going to stop here with the car because I have other projects that need to take precedence. I just put her up for sale on the AACA site. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it. Nick
  4. hal willis hal willis joined the community
  5. Yesterday
  6. ship
    Got the '91 Reatta's and '00 Eldorado's oil & filter changed along with their annual safety inspections yesterday (4/1) while the sun was out somewhat. Right now they both wait for the rain to let up hopefully by sometime Friday afternoon. Weather here has been cold and raw. Just want to get them out for some exercise around and about and down the highway with no stops anywhere in particular and no human contact by/toward me. Keep safe folks.
  7. Last week
  8. Ronnie
    Good idea! Here is some things to check. Wire Splice Repair
  9. DAVES89
    Just for grins I would take the seats out and remove the front carpet then check the wire connections on both the driver's and passenger's side. Your "gremlins" could start there.
  10. Ronnie
    Also check fuse #5 (Central Power Supply).
  11. Nick
    Wow, I never would have figured that the cruise control fuse would be linked to the IPC. Thanks! I'll check that and the grounds when I'm back at my shop tomorrow and keep you posted. Much appreciated. Nick
  12. Ronnie
    Have you checked fuse #8 (Cruise Control) with a meter to make sure it is good? The FSM shows that is the fuse that supplies power to the IPC. You might have a bad IPC but it's unusual for the idiot lights along the bottom not to work even when the IPC is bad. Before sending it out you might want to check the Grounds behind the battery to make sure they are clean and tight. The IPC and other electronics are grounded there. Ground Terminals & Junction Box Location
  13. Nick
    I actually tried that - no courtesy lights, no dash activity.
  14. Ronnie
    Try sliding the dimmer on the headlight switch all the way to the right and see if the IPC lights up or the interior lights come on.
  15. Nick
    Yes, that's working fine.
  16. Ronnie
    Is the CRT and touch screen working?
  17. Nick
    Hi All, Finished my intake manifold replacement project, and now would like to get the digital dash figured out. Before I send it out for repair, I'd like to see if I can eliminate any other possibilities. This is a 1988. When I bought the car, the dash had already been pulled by the previous owner, who was pretty mechanically capable. He said he'd heard that the power for the dash was routed through the headlight switch, so be replaced the switch. That didn't do the job, and he traded the car to me before he could troubleshoot any further. Today I plugged the dash in to see exactly what it was doing. Short answer is a lot of nothing. Only one light comes on - the ABS indicator, for a few seconds when you first turn the ignition on, and then nothing. When I hold down the "test" button, the only lights that come on are the Defrost/Rear Defrost indicators on those buttons. Nothing else I can see. Turn signals work but no indicators on the dashboard. Side note - when I hit the button for the headlights, only the parking lights come on, and the headlights don't pop up. No interior dash lights come on when I hit the headlight switch. When I hit the foglight switch on the center console, the dash buttons illuminate, but the digital dash shows nothing. Finally, no courtesy lights come on - nothing when I open the door, nothing when I hit the switches on the rearview mirror. All the fuses look good. I've tried unplugging'/plugging the body module and the CRT control module, nothing changes. So, I'm hesitant to send the dash out for repair because it seems like there's a separate electrical issue. Any thoughts? Thanks, Nick
  18. Nick
    Forgot to say thanks - I found the insert rings and installed the gaskets, and today fired her up. No leaks!
  19. DAVES89
    For Reatta lacrosse and anyone else interested what I did was real simple. I went out to the local You Pick yard and grabbed another cassette deck. I opened the back of the You Pick deck and took out the speaker connector with the short pigtail attached. I then splice it into a extension phono plug giving me 2' -3' more wire. I then removed the cassette deck from my Reatta, unplugged the car's speaker harness [leaving the power connection in place] and then plugged the car's stereo harness into my fabricated lead with the You Pick connector. Run the lead back through the cassette deck opening and under the console [you only have to remove the shifter plate] and feed it to the ash tray. Drill a 1/2" hole in the ash tray, insert a rubber grommet for protection of any rough edges in the ash tray and feed the lead through the grommet. I just curl the lead in the tray and surrounding area under the ash tray lid. You should use zip ties or electrical tape to keep the phono lead from getting tangled in the shift mechanism. After plugging the lead into your device [for me my MP3 player] you can just go to the "radio" page select "play" and wait for the clicking to stop [about 10 seconds] unless your cassette deck isn't broke and you will have your device playing through the factory system. I didn't want to get into cutting up any original harness so this way keeps everything simple and easily restored to original by simply removing my fabricated harness. For additional base I added a powered sub woofer and tapped into the just the rear speakers for a little low end "kick" and have been very pleased with the sound.
  20. Ronnie
    Sorry, I've never done that. Daves89 knows a lot more about it than me.
  21. DAVES89
    Okay I'll respond to your e mail with a price and payment terms. But what did you do to the factory original wiring and the cassette deck and radio? You may need a replacement stereo harness as well, or can you repair it back to original?
  22. Reatta lacrosse
    Yes of course whatever the total price I can pay ASAP. Pay pal, Venmo , cash app whatever works
  23. DAVES89
    Just so we are clear on this, it's not for free. There is a part price and shipping as well.
  24. Reatta lacrosse
    Perfect I’ll take it no worries let me me know when you are able to thanks Hey Ronnie thanks so I want to Add the aux to the radio. I’ve heard to splice the tape audio can any one tell me what color or what is the best easiest way to add a aux cable to my stock stereo Took everything out now am stuck
  25. DAVES89
    I think I have an extra MP 3 lead laying around. It is plug and play. What you do is pull out your existing cassette lead [leaving the power plug, plugged in and plug it into the MP3 lead. Then just use the radio page to turn on the cassette deck and hit play. You must have a broken cassette tape in the player. If you have a broken cassette player it will click for about 10 seconds and then play whatever you have the MP3 lead plugged into. If interested I can be reached at; lemke1044@aol.com However I am in Texas on vacation and won't be back until mid April.
  26. Ronnie
    I can't help with parts but I just want to say welcome to the forum!
  27. Reatta lacrosse started following 1989 Buick reatta in sf Bay Area I need help
  28. Reatta lacrosse
    Hey everyone my name is Chris this is my first time on here I have a 1989 Buick reatta I need help and parts if any one can help. i would love to find a working cassette player I would love to get the aux cable for my can’t figure out how to do it. Is there any reatta owners left in the sf Bay Area please let me know let’s hang out talk whatever thanks!!
  29. Reatta lacrosse Reatta lacrosse joined the community
  30. Kendaddy Kendaddy joined the community
  31. ship
    Ronnie...thanks for bringing the manual over to the forum. I've always been leery of using mine, but now I can repair it if it fails while trying it out.
  32. Ronnie
    Are you interested in trying to repair it yourself? If so Click here to view the Cassette Deck Repair Manual. The manual is in PDF format.
  1. Load more activity
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt


×
×
  • Create New...