Hello all, I know most people here drive fuel injected cars daily, so thought I'd share some frustration with my wife's daily driver '95 Olds Aurora. Has anyone here ever worked on an Aurora or Caddy of same vintage? How about driven one? They are nice enough cars (similar engines and computers), but man when they go down, they go down hard. While I was driving my wife's Aurora, without warning it decided to stay stuck in 2nd gear. So naturally, I think there is a problem with the transmission. Oh, but the trouble is just beginning. I limp home and on my way the traction control light comes on, then the DIS display goes go all -------'s, then comes back and starts flashing, then all --------'s then the climate control display starts flashing. The check engine light never came on. I make it home and turn the car off. I go to disconnect the battery and find it is located under the backseat (yeah, surprised me too). I leave it disconnected for a while hoping to reset the computer and clear any codes set during the flip out session. Upon restarting the car, it immediately jumps up to an idle of about 2100 RPMs and the temp gauge no longer works, oh and all the other problems are still present :af: Most people tell me I should get it scanned by the dealer. But, the Service Engine Soon light never came on and I am afraid to drive it at this point to get it to the dealer, not to mention they will definitely screw me. This is why I hate newer cars, they are great until they flip out. But even so, I have never had a completely trouble free car develop so many problems simultaneously! Is it possessed?!?!? I think I will purchase a PCM (Powertrain Control Module) from a salvage yard and replace mine to see if that helps. I already found one for $45, so I can't complain there. Any ideas, please give me a shout :TU: -Chris
Take it to your local auto parts store, they can scan the computer for free! Trust me, it has trouble codes stored even if the check engine light did not come on. Will give you a heads-up on the problem. These newer cars are not so hard to fix, just have to learn all the sensors and switches and the computer usually can give you a great deal of help. My .02$ p
Id buy a scanner or find out how to get the trouble codes your self. It may still give codes, without the light flashing. The Aurora is the car that killed Olds. Not sure why? Course you may find out. hehehe Just kiddin
I'll throw out a guess that the computer has gone to crap, maybe the capacitors popped and leaked on the board.
I'd like to take it to an Autozone or similar place but that 2000+ RPM idle keeps me from putting it into gear for fear that the transmission will blow up (I don't know how fragile it is in these cars). I have heard from several people that simply taking one of these cars that has never had the tranny serviced to the dealer for a regular transmission service can lead to a $1000+ bill. Something about breaking loose debris and it getting jammed in some hard to reach sensor or something along those lines. I have heard this from several people. By the way, it is an OBDI car with an OBDII connector. It was kind of a strange year for emissions. Many people have told me the Autozone scanner has trouble communicating with the 95 in particular because of this. Anyone know how to read codes on this wierd set-up? -Chris
There are several sites dedicated to OBD I & II. They have tons of info on code readers, scanners etc. Sounds like a brain meltdown.
Chris, When the alternator takes a dump on these cars, it does what you just described. See if you can do a check on the voltage at the battery with the car running. BTW, the Olds Aurora is built on the same platform as the Riviera. And yes the battery is under the rear seat, and is really weird looking to boot.
Yep I forgot but yep autozone will scan any car for free. They do allot of services like that for free that a garage will charge for. 2000rpm isn't that bad for a launch on a trans. Have you tried to adjust the idle your self. Your not suppose to adjust the blade screw on a newer car but if it can't get enough air to do 2000rpm at idle, it should help. My 86 Firebird is like that. Your not suppose to adjust the blades but I have tweaked them myself before.
aurora the cost to repair/rebuild the tranny in an aurora will bowl u over . cost is $4000 + here in ontario .
My mom has one of these cars and what a nightmare! She's had a number of electrical problems between interioir lights not working to the rear struts staying fully inflated. If your alternator isn't putting out sufficient voltage it will do wacky things or it can even burn up a module. And there is a seperate module for every bell and whistle on the thing. I would take the alternator off and bring it to a rebuilder to have it bench tested. But when the car runs good it is such a pleasure to drive and it goes pretty damn good, too.
Wife's Aurora Chris Why don't you do yourself a favor and check your battery cables for corrosion, Also see if they are getting warm. If the battery for those cars is under the rear seat I would assume that it gets over looked as compared to a battery thats under the hood . Also I would check any grounds,like if there are any from the motor to the body etc.etc. Sometimes something stupid like a crappy ground will send the E.C.M. off the deepend. I would check the easy things first because a scanner doesn't pick up everything. Another thing to look at is any electrical connectors that might look crummy - check for good contact or corrosion Good Luck
Chris, My 94 Caddy has that same between-generation OBD system. I could press the "off" and "auto" on the airconditioning and it displays data on the digital dash. Of course this thing has an alphanumeric display and all it can say is "code:1234" . Oh fer crying out loud you mean this stupid car cant just scroll out "my komboobleator is defective" ?? ou: Anyway I hope you have better success deciphering the codes meaning. It seemed that since it was between OBD generations, the numbers just never matched up with the manual's codes. I'll say one thing.. my multimeter told me what the computer couldn't: I had one dead coil. stupid computers... Still if your car has a similar information display you should try pushing those two buttons at the same time and see if your car will display the codes for you. Sorry I can't help but I know what you are going through
Thanks for all the replies. The battery is less than a year old in this car and the cables look great (amazing how clean everything stays when it is under the back seat As for checking grounds, this thing has so many electrical gizmos that it could take a while. I think the first thing I will do is buy a factory service manual. I don't even know where the main computer is in this thing. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Tomorrow I am going to try to get it to the dealer to see if they can diagnose it for me to at least see what I am in for. I know I will get screwed, but I am just tired of looking at it sit there. The strangest thing is I have not had a hint of trouble until now, and everything blew up all at once. Why do newer cars have their transmissions controlled by these fragile computers anyway? My Buick's th350 shifts so smoothly, why did they ever move away from all mechanical transmissions? Who thought, "hey, we should have this flimsy piece of silicon control the whole car and bury it deep in the dash"? Oh, of course, the bean counters who know they can sell these fragile "computers" for big $$. I saw a newly rebuilt BOP th350 transmission in the paper this week for $300, I guess the bean counters saw that coming. I have heard that it costs anywhere from $1000 - $2000 to rebuild one of these transmissions, and that is in American Dollars. On top of that, if that $10 "hard to reach" sensor on the inner, top side of the tranny takes a dump it turns out to be an expensive replacement (i.e. $1000) because they have to take the tranny apart. -Chris
That was my guess. Note, I said "guess." (He he.)If you get a used comuter and still have the same problems try another one. Most bone yards will give you a 30-day replacement guarantee. Another note; keep in mind that the codes give you the "system" affected, NOT necessarily the "part." (i.e. EGR code=Check EGR system and all related parts, DO NOT just change the EGR valve.) There are code readers available at your neighborhood parts store for a reasonable price, say under $100, but you still may need the dealership to use their scanner as the "store bought reader" may not get you all the info you need. Good luck. Let us all know how things turn out.
Those ECMs often fail. The ECM also regulates the alternator. You already have a used one, I would get a rebuilt one from GM. It is next to the battery. HTH John
I don't see anything resembling an ECM near the battery, just a ton of relays and fuses, oh and about a million wires. Well, I guess we'll see what the dealer says, I have an appointment Friday so I hope the car gets there ok. I will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks, Chris
Chris, i have a scanner, if you want to come up. kinda sounds like a charging/battery problem to me. i can check to see if there are any codes. sometimes trans. codes are present w/o eng. light being lit. sounds like speed sensor problem. no shifting, traction control light on. but that wouldn't explain the other problems. is the battery a delco? i think they are the only brand you can get for the GM under the seat models. they are notorious for leaking acid from the pos. terminal. is that the reason for it being replaced a year ago? if so some wires near the battery may have corroded from contact with battery acid. Paul
I hear ya on the tranny. Just saying a 2000prm launch is sort of mild but... What other cars are built like that one??? what others use that engine and trans? how is the replacement parts market for those cars? After its fix it may be a good time to replace it.
