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Being deef I just feel if the pump is running. if not a sharp rap with a socket wrench can sometimes work miracles.

If you can make it run, don't let it run too long. That little pump can build a tremendous amount of pressure without the pressure switch to shut the motor off. Continuous running without shutting off might damage the pump, accumulator ball or something else.

Sometimes when people are trying to sell their Reatta they post photos of it while it's wet to make the paint look shinier. I can't tell much difference in my Reatta between wet and dry in the photos I took this morning after washing and drying it. I think mine looks shinier dry. Completely wet after washing Completely Dry Back in the garage asleep 🙂

Buick Reatta Service Highlights This is probably the best Reatta video I've seen. I learned a lot about my car I didn't know by watching it. The first part tells about how the Reattas were built. The second half gives a lot of technical tips that I didn't know about. The video is kind of long but you have to watch the entire video to get the most out of it.

Looks like a coat of many colors! Glad to see all the work and care going into it.

Agree - dry is shinier. Major difference between wet and dry is the wetness of the concrete!

Thanks, I just want to make sure that the pump runs.

The short answer is yes, you should be able to hear the pump if it is running. The symptom listed is a little confusing where it mentions having 12v going to the pump but later you mention wanting to jump power directly? Just two weeks ago I had a failure of the pump to run and it turned out to be the 5amp fuse located under the dash to the right of the steering column. The fuse is in a harness along with an 5amp ABS fuse which protect the activation side of both relays.

Trouble shoot the lights first, the codes can be "creative".

The symptoms you are describing are usually caused by the brake pump not running. It could be as simple as a bad fuse, a bad relay, or possibly something more serious. Anytime the red brake light comes on the yellow ABS light will come on so once the red light goes out the yellow light probably will to.

Here is is the correct way to do it: How To Flush & Bleed Brakes on a Reatta

I called the local Oshkosh, WI Buick dealer today for giggles to see if they could order some common service items for me. When I started by saying it was a 1990 Reatta, at first he was confused. He then commented 'Those are more difficult to find parts for than a Pontiac Fiero'. LOL... I then commented mine was a convertible with 24k miles on it, to which I heard 'NO WAY'. Funny story of the day... Cheers! Steve

I had a similar experience with my local Buick dealer when I stopped in to order a drivers side door handle. A long time employee remembered that they had a Reatta in the show room and "had to practically give it away" due to its high (for the era) sticker price. However, the younger of the employee staff had to go to the parking lot to see what a Reatta was. They were amazed. Bottom line, I had to get the door handle from Jim Finn who handles used parts. The Buick dealer was of no help.

The black car was back on the road today and came to the cottage. It is multi colored now with a claret hood and right fender and the red headlight covers from the red car mentioned above in the junkyard post🤔 Paint may come later. We looked over the red car and found the brake pump wouldn’t run, so the issues started to come into focus. It may have been getting intermittent but finally failed. We found no power on the switching wire for the brake pump relay which traced back to the 5amp fuse in the harness under the dash. It was blown and replacing the fuse got the pump to kick in. All appeared normal but two replacement relays from the donor car failed in short order for no apparent reason? Maybe years of outdoor storage? In any case, a plain relay like used in relay centers is in place and functioning fine. The brakes no longer exhibit any odd behavior but it does appear the ABS has failed in some manner. Replacing the brake module in the trunk did nothing so that will wait for the future, maybe 🤔 At this point, the assumption is two things were in the process of failure simultaneously causing the peculiar symptoms. We still have an electrical fault warning on the ipc but everything important seems to work just fine, including the a/c. The car runs and drives great and went home for summer duty wearing relatively new snow tires😖

2seater, I had a similar problem with my brakes that I thought was caused by the pump overheating. Doesn't seem like you should have the same problem in the frigid north but the pump may be running continuously for some reason causing it to overheat. Below is what I wrote about it last year. There should be a topic with more details about it somewhere here on the forum but I couldn't find it. I remember it well so if you have any questions feel free to ask.