Leaderboard

Radio was crackly, even after replacing the speakers, so it was time to do the radio capacitor replacement, per the How-to-Guides. A few pointers... 1) the company that made the capacitors referenced in the How-to-Guide no longer exists, so don't bother searching for it. 2) the capacitors on the circuit board are bi-polar, so you'll have to replace them with the less-common bi-polar capacitors. Most capacitors have a + and a - side, and only function properly when they are in the right orientation. But since the originals are bi-polar, there is no way to tell what the correct orientation would be. 1uF 50V bi-polar capacitors on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075K6SZPJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 3) Of my three '1990 coupes, only one has a radio module whose circuit board looks like the one in the how-to-guide. Apparently my other two are later replacements (one has a date sticker inside for 1993). They look identical on the outside, but the cooling fins are only on the outside, there are none inside, and the circuit layout is completely different. The Guide gives you a model number to check for before you start to disassemble yours, remember to check it! Happy soldering 🙂

As I stated on the Reatta AACA Forum it appears that a long time poster and a real friend of anyone interested in cars has passed. From what I was able to find out he was dealing with a cancer. He was a wounded decorated Viet Nam vet. I enjoyed his posts and always knew that Padgett got interested in any car problem I had it would get solved. He will be missed not just on this forum but many others. RIP Padgett...

I would get that wire off the headlight switch. All that power going through an almost overloaded switch that is a one year Reatta only is looking for trouble...

Never met the guy but it got to be a fun game trying to decipher his posts and acronyms. He is missed not only here but a wide variety of forums and organizations. RIP

My guess is the AC got low on freon the BCM locked out the compressor. That is a safety feature to prevent damage to the compressor. He probably didn't know how to get the compressor to kick in and tried to bypass the BCM and power the compressor with the fog lights to get the compressor to run. All he had to do was disconnect the battery for a few minutes and reconnect to get the compressor to run long enough to add freon but him or his mechanic might not have know that.

Do the simple things one at a time. Clean the Idle Air Control and the housing it fits into. Check the Mass Air Flow Sensor. Could be the Coil Pack/Ignition Control Module. This is why I have extra tested ones in the parts bin. I can swap them out [MAF Sensor and Ignition Module/Coil Pack] and then know what the problem isn't. Check the fuel pressure as Ronnie and 2seater think [You can rent a fuel pressure sensor for free from the chain parts houses]

I forgot the title about losing tach and rough running while sounds like the ICM. Maybe two issues. Spark testers will tell the tale if spark quits.

Same page, eh Ronnie🙂 Is this the headgasket story from Facebook? Pretty rare for a headgasket failure on a 3800 unless it was severely overheated and even then the short and stiff iron heads are pretty tough. Have you tried reading codes and using diagnostics yourself? You can't hurt it by experimenting while learning how to do it and the shop doesn't sound well versed in 30+ year old technology.

Got the new one installed this morning. So far the steering seems tighter and I haven't experienced the "jumping" the car would do when making a slight rurn [like going around a cure] at highway speeds. The repair shop stood behind it, all at no charge, replacement rack, labor and alignment.

I just checked that listing... I don't think there's anything more suspicious than that. Same town, knows they're hard to find, installed a set himself.

Dorman692-102 is a replacement unit for our cars. It is for a Cadillac and the resistance [at least for me] indicates you have 3 gallons less gas in your car then you actually have.

I now carry in my car the following; crank sensor, MAF sensor, Delco coil pack, alternator, serpentine belt, both the correct length and the bypass belt. Extra fuses and relays. In the parts bin I have almost too much stuff. More of the aforementioned trunk stock, EGR valve, brake pads, rotors, front/rear wheel bearings, wheel speed sensor, rack and pinion, struts/ strut mounts both front and rear, tie rods, ball joints, power steering pumps, Teves pump/motor, pressure switches, accumulator ball, freon, all the silver boxes, CRT, IPC, radio, temperature control module, blower control module, oil/air filters, spark plugs/wires, headlights/headlight motors, bulbs, all tested and ready to go. I'm sure there are more things I have but I don't like being down long as I like to think I can drive my car every day. Another item I am considering stocking is the drive shafts as I'm sure that will be another item to be discontinued. If I did stock those that would really ease my mind about parts being discontinued.