Buick Skylark

1996 Buick Skylark Electrical / Lighting Systems Won't Start When starting No pattern

My '96 Skylark 3.1, won't start at times. If all the dash lights come on it will start, but if only a few come on it will not start. It spins over but it seems that the juice is lost or broken before it will continue to run. we have replaced tumblers in the key switch, but it still acts kup. If you keep moving the switch back and forth, wait a little and eventully it will start and run fine.
Thanks for any help you might have.

Louie

Hi;
My next move would be the ignition switch. Sounds like the contacts are not making a good connection at times. Good Luck Les.

1996 Buick Skylark Brake System Sticking When braking Always

Right rear wheel locks up when braking. We have replaced the pads, drum, wheel cylinder, and springs. Is there an adjustment on the abs system?

Are you sure the shoes were put on correctly.The shoe with the shorter lining goes to the front.If its at the rear, the brake will grab.

I will have to double check, but the brakes have been replaced by me and a local mechanic with the same results. He stated that they could not figure out what was causing the problem but said the next step would be to replace the abs system which of course is expensive. I am sure the pads are correct but it has been awhile since I had the drum off.

Is he talking about the abs controller?

I have checked the pad placement and the shorter pad is in front. Yes I was talking about the abs controller. Is there an adjustment that controls the amount of pressure to each wheel? I know the controller outputs to each wheel. I have also read that a bad master cylinder can also cause brake sticking problems but I do not think this is the case since the controller controls output to each wheel. What next?

The abs controller is not something the 'backyard' mechanic shouls repair, unfortunatly.

Not the information I was looking for and it does not really answer my question or problem. I do not want to replace the controller unless it solves my problem. How do I find out if it is my problem??

First of all has the hose been replaced to the wheel that keeps locking up? The brake hose can collapse internally and act as a one way valve, restricting fluid and keeping the brake applied. Let me know if this is the problem.

The hose or brake line is metal as far as I can tell. The only place it is visible is the engine compartment and as it enters the rear wheel. The rest of the line is enclosed in the framing/chasis fo the vehicle and should be protected.

You should find a hose within a foot or two of the rear wheel. If you can't find it let me know.

The brake line for this wheel is a metal tube and it travels along the rear axel and disappears into the body(underside) of the vehicle. As far as I can tell it is covered all the way up to the engine compartment and then is exposed at the firewall and connects to the ABS/master cylinder system with a metal tube. I cannot see any rubber hose. Do you know if this tube a one piece or sections? It sounds like my next step is to try and replace this tube.??

I'm very sorry, I missed your reply.

There should be a brake hose- use the following link for a picture of the hose.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?parttype=228&ptset=A&searchfor=Hose%2c+Brake

I just checked for tech bulletins on the ABS and hydraulic brakes and there was nothing listed for this problem. This is assuming the ABS light does not come on while you are driving the car?

1996 Buick Skylark Chassis / Suspension & Steering   

My 1996 Buick skylark with 150,000 miles and a 3.1 liter v6 has a bad vibration through the steering wheel and through the vehicle when above 50 mph. As the throttle is leveled out anywhere above 50 the steering wheel vibrates violently and then calms to an annoying vibration. If the throttle is increased, such as going up a hill, it will vibrate violently again until the throttle is leveld. If the throttle is decreased it will vibrate violently until back under 50 or the throttle is leveled. The car runs fine and does not have any engine codes. The trans has 40,000 miles and I just replaced both half shafts, wheel/hub bearings, rotors, and struts. The vibration is still just as bad as if nothing had been replaced.

Did you also have Have your tires checked for damage or counter weight loss?
You will need to check Control Arm and the Bushings they can be bent or deformed from wear or cracked in a location where you cannot see it.
While you are at it you may want to check your engine mounts also for cracks or rips.
I hope this helps"

The tires are old but, appear to have a lot of life left in them. They are 60,000 mile tires with approx 35,000 miles on them. I just rotated them and insured that they were properly inflated. I did notice counter balances on all of them but, didn't note any missing. I would have expected the vibration to change somewhat when I rotated the tires but, there is no change what so ever. I have noticed when working on it that the engine seems to move quite a bit when it is throttled up, but I was not sure if that was normal. Thanks for your assistance.

Check the engine mounts by putting the car in reverse and drive to see how much the motor shifts.

1994 Buick Skylark Engine   

3100 engine. Scanner code says all 3 egr solenoids are bad. replaced unit. Service light still comes on with same error for the 3 solenoids. Thought since the electrical diagram had the 3 solenoids and the canister evap solenoid in the same matrix that it may be the culprit. No luck. Did find the O2 sensor connector had a bit of insulation rubbed off on one wire, so replaced that before I installed evap solenoid.

Symptoms: After a few minutes of driving and ONLY above 50MPH, svc eng light comes on. Vehicle passed e-check with high NOx. Noticed oil coming out of bottom of digital egr recently. Carbon buildup in intake?

Am not familiar with quad drivers for the ecm/pcm, but scanner said two failed...any way of tracing what these drivers are controlling?

TIA,
Steve

Quad drivers are complicated as they control several things, it is almost a generic code.

Which actual trouble code numbers are you receiving? Is this vehicle OBD1 or OBD2 (partially)?

There were no specific codes for the quad drivers via my scanner, just that quad drivers 1 and 4 were bad. The thinking here on my end is that there may be a possibility that the egr solenoid problem I am having, which throws the codes for solenoid 1, 2, and 3, may be affected by the quad drivers being bad in the pcm, or a result thereof. I am working with the aldl connector, I believe the vehicle computer is obd 1.

With the quad drivers, I feel I can assume one of two things; 1st the components that may be run by the drivers are bad, or the drivers themselves are bad on the pcm. Is this a good assumption?

Thanks for the response!

Steve

Yes, you are correct.

Do you have the actual trouble code numbers?

The only codes that appear consistently are for all three egr solenoids. The scanner said that all three were bad. 75, 76, 77

Okay, at this point you should check the wiring from the solenoid back the computer. You may have a computer problem but the wiring is more likely.

1993 Buick Skylark Heating / Cooling System  Happens always 

The fuse for my a/c keeps blowing. I cant figure out why. I have traced every wire possible and now i just keep replacing fuses. Any ideas whats going on?

Hello, Two things come to mind. The blower fan motor may be drawing too many amps, or otherwise defective/shorted internally.
The second possibility is the A/C compressor clutch coil may be drawing too many amps, or the diode may have failed that is in-line near the clutch coil connector.

Unplug the blower motor and turn the system on. Does the fuse remain good? Plug in the blower motor and then disconnect the compressor clutch coil connector. Turn the system on. Does the fuse remain good?

If you have an OHM Meter you can check the clutch coil resistance. It should be 3.5-5.0 ohms. If you have an AMMETER you can test the blower motor amp draw. When on high speed with the engine running it should be less than 20 amps after running more than one minute clocked time.

Thoughts?,

Roger

1992 Buick Skylark All Part Groups Leaking Happens always Always

cars leakes when it rains. The floor has a puddle of water on the passenger side. I had dirt and leaves blown but it did solve the problem

Hi,
You didnt say whether your passenger side window is rolling up all the way, but if it does? Your problem is definitely a weatherstripping problem, could be in the car door or the windshield, rear window?. Test by pouring water over the left side of car and check for leaks inside.

The leak is coming from the right- passenger side and it comes in from under the glove dept area.
just the floor on that side gets wet- no where else

Thanks

ok, as long as you have determined that its not actual fluids leaking from the car, it sounds like the weather stripping around the fire wall is leaking. try spraying water on the hood and around bottom of windshield to determine better where the leak might be coming from, sometimes debris pulls up the rubber seals, so you might luck out and be able to clean it a bit more and have it stop leaking, it is also possible the door rubber is torn. and water leaks down from there. With out seeing this I can only give you my best guesses. but am more than willing to answer back, good luck

Not sure how the answer ended up being from you..? but Ill repeat it incase you are waiting for an email. Jan 17/04 10:14AM: "ok, as long as you have determined that its not actual fluids leaking from the car, it sounds like the weather stripping around the fire wall is leaking. try spraying water on the hood and around bottom of windshield to determine better where the leak might be coming from, sometimes debris pulls up the rubber seals, so you might luck out and be able to clean it a bit more and have it stop leaking, it is also possible the door rubber is torn. and water leaks down from there. With out seeing this I can only give you my best guesses. but am more than willing to answer back, good luck"