Traded my BROKEN Zero Turn Mower for a 86GT w/ 92k miles

[Fierofool]

I used to install and service golf course pumping stations.  The control cabinets were loaded with relays and connections.  One of my steps was to clean all connections, including relay sockets.  I used non-conductive Electric Contact Cleaner aerosol.  You can get it at Advance Auto Parts.  Comes in a red can.  I used to spray 460V service connections without ever getting zapped. 

A word about the black junk on the Fiero relays.  It serves a good purpose in keeping foreign matter and water out of the connection.  It is a di-electric compound.  If you clean it out, be sure to fill the socket with more di-electric grease. 

[jwrape]

I used to install and service golf course pumping stations.  The control cabinets were loaded with relays and connections.  One of my steps was to clean all connections, including relay sockets.  I used non-conductive Electric Contact Cleaner aerosol.  You can get it at Advance Auto Parts.  Comes in a red can.  I used to spray 460V service connections without ever getting zapped. 

A word about the black junk on the Fiero relays.  It serves a good purpose in keeping foreign matter and water out of the connection.  It is a di-electric compound.  If you clean it out, be sure to fill the socket with more di-electric grease. 

Good information there. You guys are full of info.
I guess I will see you guys are the meeting at 1pm.

[jwrape]

I have had a High idle since I got the car. About 1400 rpms. Charlie mentioned that my IAC should be adjusted to a inch and a 1/8". It was at around a inch. So I wiggled it out to another 1/8". I re-installed it and now my idle is at 2000rpms. Also when I put it in gear it cuts off. The idle screw is all the way out and not affecting the idle. I guess I need to push the IAC back in, but I would like to figure out why it's idled up so far and wants to cut off when I put it into gear.

On another note, I put the new Kick down cable on my transmission but seem to be missing the clip that connects it to the Throttle body. Don't know what it looks like but I know the cable has a lead ball on the end and no way to connect to the linkage.

AND one more thing. I replaced my relay for the cooling fan and that didn't change anything. I then grounded the coolant switch and both fans came on, so I replace the coolant switch BUT the A/C being on still doesn't turn on the fans. So now I am sure it will click on when it hits the 235 degrees as it should but I would like to figure out why the A/C won't turn on the fan. It runs so much cooler when the fans on high.

[Fierofool]

The IAC has to readjust itself after the power is disconnected from it.  I have my manuals packed away in storage at the moment, but if you have a Haynes manual, it describes the process of resetting it.  The measured distance is from the base where the gasket sits (gasket removed) to the tip of the pintle.  

The so-called idle screw actually isn't to set the idle.  The idle is controlled by pre-programmed parameters in the ECM.  The screw on top of the throttle body is to set the opening of the throttle plate at idle.  I know some say they can adjust idle with that screw, but that's not what GM says it's for.

Check with Ashby at adfieros@aol.com.  He deals with a lot of automatics and probably has the part you need for the kickdown cable.

I don't remember, but have you verified your AC relay behind the the air filter is good?  The two relays there are for the fuel pump and AC.  They're identical and interchangeable.  It may also be that the climate control unit is bad.  I have a spare you can use for testing.

When you pull the car into gear, does it bang or thump loudly and stall?  If so, it may be that your TCC switch has failed.  Looking down at the transmission from the drivers side, you can see a connector slightly to the front of the transmission.  Unplug that connector.  If the problem goes away, the switch has failed.  It locks the torque converter into 4th gear at highway speeds.  The car is driveable without it disconnected, but MPG goes down.  

Edit:  Just went over to Pennocks and found this.     http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/116321.html

[jwrape]

The IAC has to readjust itself after the power is disconnected from it.  I have my manuals packed away in storage at the moment, but if you have a Haynes manual, it describes the process of resetting it.  The measured distance is from the base where the gasket sits (gasket removed) to the tip of the pintle.  

Yea, once I was measuring it I realized it was from the base gasket out to the tip. Measuring just the pin and spring didn't make any sense.
So you are saying I should let it run for a little bit and let it reset?

The so-called idle screw actually isn't to set the idle.  The idle is controlled by pre-programmed parameters in the ECM.  The screw on top of the throttle body is to set the opening of the throttle plate at idle.  I know some say they can adjust idle with that screw, but that's not what GM says it's for.

Yes, that's what I figured as well, but I could see that the cap had been drilled out and I wanted to make sure it was not affecting the idle.

Check with Ashby at adfieros@aol.com.  He deals with a lot of automatics and probably has the part you need for the kickdown cable.

Gonna email him, thanks

I don't remember, but have you verified your AC relay behind the the air filter is good?  The two relays there are for the fuel pump and AC.  They're identical and interchangeable.  It may also be that the climate control unit is bad.  I have a spare you can use for testing.

I haven't verified that relay. I will get on that next. I didn't think about that. It should be the one on the left right?

When you pull the car into gear, does it bang or thump loudly and stall?  If so, it may be that your TCC switch has failed.  Looking down at the transmission from the drivers side, you can see a connector slightly to the front of the transmission.  Unplug that connector.  If the problem goes away, the switch has failed.  It locks the torque converter into 4th gear at highway speeds.  The car is driveable without it disconnected, but MPG goes down.  

Hmm, you might be on to something there. It does bump when I put it into gear, but I have always thought it was due to it idling at 1400-2000rpms, but I will disconnect it and see. I have not felt it drop into "4th" or Locked state before. So far I have gotten 24mpg on the hwy, but I am screaming at 70 mph at about 5000+rpms. I feel like I can blow up the car just driving down the highway

I am really mostly concerned about that idle. right now the lowest it will go is 2000 rpms. It came up after adjusting the IAC. I'm gonna take it back off and verify it's as closed to a inch and a 8th as possible. I am sure I measured it correctly but I would rather double check it.

And with it cutting off when I drop it into drive it makes it impossible to drive right now.

LOL, i kinda feel as if I should replace all the sensors and relays and just start there. :-)


Funny, I might be driving the Sport before I get the GT right.

[jwrape]

Well I finally got to work on the GT.
I pulled the IAC out and measured it. It was set to a 1", so I wiggled it out to just over a 1 1/8", the idle settled a little but still around 1400 rpms. I tried exactly 1 1/8", but it didn't change the idle enough so I pulled it out further.

I checked the timing. I went to loosen the clamp bolt and found it was already REALLY loose. So I checked it and found it was about 10 degree or more off. I set the timing to 10Degrees and it is running smoother and not skipping like it was and it seems to be running over all better.

I also checked the TCC on the tranny since the car would stall when going into gear. I pulled off the plug and found the plug was metled on one corner but not enough to affect it so I started it up and it still stalled. I replugged it back in and then it stopped stalling and now when driving I can tell it is locking the torque converter. So I guess I had a bad connection on that TCC plug.

I still have a high idle but it shifts into gear without stalling and I have the Torque converter locking now so I am a little lower rpm when cruising. The car runs better but still not perfect until the idle problem goes down.

The Check engine still comes on after driving for about 10 minutes. I will have to check the codes while the car is running.

[jwrape]

Oh I forgot to mention that too. I used a aluminum can to make a block off gasket for the Tube to the EGR Valve.. Didn't do anything that I could tell

[Fierofool]

When you set the timing, did you insert the jumper into the ALDL before starting it?  If no, your timing isn't correct.  Warm the car to running temp.  Set the timing on the average of cylinders 1 and 4 for best results.  When set, lock down the distributor, turn off the engine, remove the jumper from the ALDL, then restart.  The ECM will take over and your timing mark may not show at 10*.  Jumping the ALDL removes all sensor overrides from the operation.

If the SES light is still coming on after a short drive, it's still probably within the EGR system.  A metal gasket won't make a good seal so that could be the problem.  The EGR tube is a double ended thing, so it'd need to be blocked on the bottom of the manifold, too.  If there's a hole in it, that could be causing fast idle. 

When you check the codes, the car shouldn't be running.  Again, with ignition off, insert the jumper into the ALDL, then turn the ignition on without starting and it will display your set codes.  Turn the ignition off before removing the jumper.  Starting the engine with the jumper in place will only give you rapid flashes of the SES light.  You'll see that when you set the timing.

[jwrape]

When you set the timing, did you insert the jumper into the ALDL before starting it?  If no, your timing isn't correct.  Warm the car to running temp.  Set the timing on the average of cylinders 1 and 4 for best results.  When set, lock down the distributor, turn off the engine, remove the jumper from the ALDL, then restart.  The ECM will take over and your timing mark may not show at 10*.  Jumping the ALDL removes all sensor overrides from the operation.

If the SES light is still coming on after a short drive, it's still probably within the EGR system.  A metal gasket won't make a good seal so that could be the problem.  The EGR tube is a double ended thing, so it'd need to be blocked on the bottom of the manifold, too.  If there's a hole in it, that could be causing fast idle.  

When you check the codes, the car shouldn't be running.  Again, with ignition off, insert the jumper into the ALDL, then turn the ignition on without starting and it will display your set codes.  Turn the ignition off before removing the jumper.  Starting the engine with the jumper in place will only give you rapid flashes of the SES light.  You'll see that when you set the timing.

Yes, I used a Jumper to set the timing. I watched that Youtube video of how to set the timing on the V6. :-)
 I had originally thought you had to have the engine off, but then after setting the timing with it running I figured i could still get the codes, especially when the CEL comes on after it's running. But I will do it without the engine on . I assume the codes are stored even if the CEL isn't on at the time.

I will check the entire tube the next time I get to work on  it. I drove it to work today and it ran good. Other than the idle it's doing good.

I haven't had a chance to check the A/C relay yet but the Temp Switch is working. :-)

[jwrape]

So yesterday I figured out that even though I replaced the Fan switch with a new one it still doesn't come on at 235. I ended up just grounding the plug to the car and leaving it on to run around 195. I would guess it needs a new pigtail BUT the old one looks perfectly fine.
Once I ground it, it works so i know the rest of the circuit is good.

[Raydar]

When you replaced the fan switch did you use teflon tape on the threads. It will sometimes insulate the threads and stopt the ground connection from being made.
Better to use plumber's joing compound.
Also, there's a circuit trace on the top of the A/C control head that will burn through, causing the fan to not come on with the A/C. Once you look at it, it will be very apparent where the trace has burned. If you can solder, the trace can be replaced by a piece of wire.

[jwrape]

When you replaced the fan switch did you use teflon tape on the threads. It will sometimes insulate the threads and stopt the ground connection from being made.
Better to use plumber's joing compound.
Also, there's a circuit trace on the top of the A/C control head that will burn through, causing the fan to not come on with the A/C. Once you look at it, it will be very apparent where the trace has burned. If you can solder, the trace can be replaced by a piece of wire.

OH!!!! I used tape. That's it I bet. I will fix that.

Trace? Where is it? A/C Control Head. Is that the control face in the dash?

[jwrape]

Took the Interior apart and cut down the shifter. Looks great although I don't have a pic right now. It was a pretty easy mod. I also figured that the previous owner was a smoker when i found ashes all in the cracks of the console and a Butt under the shifter plate.
I then wiped all the dash down with Armor-all and blacked my speaker vents to look new. Really helps liven up the interior when it's clean and black instead of purple. :-)


also got under the car for the first time. It doesn't look too bad at all. Has a SLOW leak out of the front seal. Drips just a little.
I received a new to me A/C compressor and was looking to install it and find that the bracket has been Cut and Broken off. It has the front one bolt hole but the rear is completely broken off and there is a cut mark from a grinder on it. Also the A/C lines are totally gone.
So I'm gonna need a Bracket and the A/C lines to put that back together.

I found these two plugs under the car, I assume they are both for the A/C compressor although one looks like a Fan switch pig tail.


And Last I found this on the back firewall to the trunk beside the coffee can. It has two vacuum lines missing from it. Don't know what it does but the electrical  plug is connected but not vacuum lines. What is it???

[Donster]

Cruise Control?

\D

[jwrape]

Cruise Control?

\D

Is there supposed to be vacuum connected there? The Cruise works perfectly. Don't know what's supposed to be plugged up there.