Cadillac GM e-ghosts electric problems

the electrical ghost ...

i put toghether this info about 5 years ago.  it has been invaluable to those that read it and heed.
keep in mind, metal & oxidation and all this makes a lot of sense.
The article recommends any grease including Vaseline.  IMO, Di-electric, dielectric is by far,
the very best choice.   however, i been known to use any grease including WD40 when facing
a connector, oxidation  and bare metal.

Seems that electrical problems and such ghosts are abundant  in our American design electrical
systems (not just GM, but all of the big three), where CHEAP, non-gold-plated contacts are the
rule.  Here are some hints from marine people that surely know how to deal with moisture and
corrosion of electrical contacts that in our case would  rend seat, window, and electrical harnesses
to mention just a few, useless .   If you live in desert country like Arizona and never wash the car
with water, maybe you can skip this, otherwise it may apply.
 
4WD American trucks, such as the Ford Bronco came with waterproof  DIELECTRIC grease on
many of its electrical contacts since it was expected that such a vehicle would be exposed to
lots of moisture during its rough life.  Gold-plated would have been much better, but we got
what we got.  
 
How many owners resort to tarnex to remove such oxidation from switches and contacts? 
After you clean the contacts, you might want to consider  waterproofing the contacts.  
Ford has such a product, I dont know if GM has it.  Read below for additional solutions.
 
 
The following document in its entirety,  is available at
www.islandnet.com/robb/marine.html
and it is shareware.   
it was there in 2002 and i just checked - its there TODAY.

I have borrowed a couple of paragraphs.
copyright © 1990, 1996 by Robb Zuk, Salt Spring Island, Canada. All rights reserved.

quote:



**Wiring & Connections**
*  contact surfaces of mechanical connections are cleaned and coated with moisture resisting sealant before being put together.   no frayed or cracked insulation (check bilge and engine compartment)  
* 12 Volt system leaks less than 5 mA of current (test)  battery switch connections clean and sealed  for each **on**  position, voltage drop is less than 0.5 Volts in battery switch, while engine is cranking fuses have clean, tight, sealed contacts  
*  every electrical system is documented in diagrams or schematics
 
**contact surfaces of mechanical connections are clean and coated with moisture resisting sealant before being put together**
*   Note: Sealant does not need to conduct electricity. When you force two clean and sealed metal surfaces together with enough pressure, high spots in the metals press against each other and force the sealant aside. In this way, metal-to-metal contacts occur all across a connection, with *doughnuts*  of sealant surrounding each contact area. Use petroleum jelly (Vaseline), water resistant grease, or a specialty product such as Lanacote for sealant. When sealing light bulb bases, replaceable fuses and other friction connections, rock the connection back and forth a few times to create good metal to metal contact while squeezing the sealant aside.   Applying sealant to the exterior of existing connections will help prevent deterioration but may not last long.  By sealing the interior surfaces of a connection  before you put it together, you get a long lasting barrier to the moist marine environment.  
 
**conductors not kinked or bent sharply
   Sharp bends will fatigue metal which eventually can cause fracturing. (Loss of electrical flow)

other related quotes, names withheld

quote:


 My car occaisionally "flashes" at me... dash going dark; no effect on radio or car performance.  
 
About a year ago, the "flash" lasted a few minutes. I pulled in at a rest area and could not find
a fault. I started pulling and checking fuses (under the ashtray); all were good.
But when I restarted, the dash was back. I think a fuse was loose or not making good contact.
 
Since reseating all those fuses, I don't recall a "flash". Not certain if that's the answer, but it's a cheap check...

quote:


I had a simular problem on my 91'.  It would only miss every now and then.  After spending  for a tuneup etc. 
After being told it was probably a bad injector, it was acutally a bad connection, where someone had, had
the system apart before, causing a drop in amps, corrected that and also found loose ground connections. 
it fixed the miss, and I have also not seen a low AC reading now for about two weeks.  Bottom line correction
the ground probably fixed more than I had realized.  The bad electrical connection on the injector setup
cleared the rest.

quote:


Now about electrical connections. I started my Cadi to go to lunch the other day and got a low
oil pressure warning. Panic. Started it twice again and it went away on third start. Also noted no
rise in the Oil Pressure indication when I had the warning. I then recalled that I had noticed the
oil pressure jumping a couple of bars  over the past few months but nothing I considered serious.
Got under the car that night and removed and reinstalled the Oil Pressure sensor connector (no
small feat) a couple of times and all has been well since.

the Allanté has a battery behind the passenger seat and the wiring goes to a red box, a buss-bar enclosed, just behind the headlights and next to the water pump.  an important spot to check for a good connection.  dimming of headlights, dimming of dash lights, mal-functioning electrics are common problems that can easily start here.

this may also apply to other Cadillacs with  batteries under the back seat.

"The term "buss-bar" means a "common" connection, where wires all connected to the same circuit can come and go.   "Junction block" is another term often used to describe this function."

be sure to include the bolts and the threaded holes that hold these ground wires/ cables / terminals.
wire brush, scrape, spray with contact cleaner -  whatever works and then coat  per this thread.

E-Ghost gremlins and issues

quote:

ORIGINAL: rickyd

good morning.... well now that the season is starting to change, ( nights are cooler and wet, and big moister on car in the morn) boy my electrics are wacky! fuel gauge, instrument cluster, security light, auto dr unlock, temp gauge, all have issues............ can anyone pin -point what ground or connection this might be??? there is also a relay that sometimes will buzz after shut down..... it is the cvrss dampers relay....... a simple disconnect of the battery for a while will shut it off.   i just had it in for a service stability system dic info, that was poor grounds at g100 and g102............so anybody?............ill be standing by..........katzmans? you out there?  1999 sts
rickyd

quote:

ORIGINAL: lexs

Hey guys ive been having this problem with my 04 cts that every now an then when I turn on my right signal light the hazzard lights come on but only on the front not the back I brought it to the dealer an they have found nothing an I also checked the bulbs, I just would like to know if anyone else had this problem....

WORKAROUNDS ...

quote:

ORIGINAL: boya84

If you have not done any electrical work and this just started happening for no particular reason, you *could* just reboot the car....

One way is to disconnect the + and - cables from the battery and let it sit for 20 minutes or so...

But what the dealer service person showed me was to disconnect the + and - cables from the battery and touch the cables for a moment... then reconnect the correct + and - cables back to the battery.

When my driver side window button was making the rear left and right windows go up and down and the front passenger window button was making the rear windows do the same, I watched him do this "reboot" it and everything came back to normal...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Katzmans Caddy

After surfing around here's what I think you should do. Clear the codes. You have a record of them here so maybe you want to print them out. I am assumimg you know how to clear codes. Then disconnect neagtive battery terminal for 10 to 20 minutes. Reconnect and then do the GM driving cycle as explained below:

Complete driving cycle will perform diagnostics on all monitored systems and can usually be completed in less than fifteen minutes.
Performing a GM OBD-II Driving cycle:

    * Cold Start In order to be classified as a cold start the engine coolant temperature must be below 122̊F (50̊C) and within 11̊F (6̊C) of the ambient air temperature at startup. Do not leave the key on prior to the cold start or the heated oxygen sensor diagnostic may not run.
    * Idle The engine must be run for two and a half minutes with the air conditioner on and rear defroster on. The more electrical load you can apply the better. This will test the O2 heater, Passive Air, Purge "No Flow", Misfire and if closed loop is achieved, Fuel Trim.
    * Accelerate Turn off the air conditioner and all the other loads and apply half throttle until 55mph (88km/hr) is reached. During this time the Misfire, Fuel Trim, and Purge Flow diagnostics will be performed.
    * Hold Steady Speed Hold a steady speed of 55mph (88km/hr) for 3 minutes. During this time the O2 response, air Intrusive, EGR, Purge, Misfire, and Fuel Trim diagnostics will be performed.
    * Decelerate Let off the accelerator pedal. Do not shift, touch the brake or clutch. It is important to let the vehicle coast along gradually slowing down to 20 mph (32km/hr). During this time the EGR, Purge and Fuel Trim diagnostics will be performed.
    * Accelerate Accelerate at 3/4 throttle until 55-60mph (88-96 km/hr). This will perform the same diagnostics as in step 3.
    * Hold Steady Speed Hold a steady speed of 55mph (88km/hr) for five minutes. During this time, in addition to the diagnostics performed in step 4, the catalyst monitor diagnostics will be performed. If the catalyst is marginal or the battery has been disconnected, it may take 5 complete driving cycles to determine the state of the catalyst.
    * Decelerate This will perform the same diagnostics as in step 5. Again, don't press the clutch or brakes or shift gears.


After that check the codes again, hopefully the gremlins will be gone.

KAM RESET ?

quote:

ORIGINAL: rickyd

as far as i know the tech 2 was doing what it is suppose to do.  .....the sts was having a gremlin attack, and not talking to tech 2 at times.   ....the tech 2 wanted to reset when it didn't receive from sts.    .... i hope this makes sence to you slowroll.    ...you have been most patient with this.
rickyd

quote:

ORIGINAL: slowroll

KAM - KEEP ALIVE MEMORY - This code is set when module loses battery voltage, that only should go away when battery is disconnected. Loss of battery voltage can cause concerns as can ignition voltage they both power module. KAM codes can also be set by weak battery or starter with high current draw can can battery voltage to drop low enough to set code. It like when you start your car and lose your clock and  radio presets. Presets and clock are stored in KAM

quote:

ORIGINAL: rickyd

quote:

ORIGINAL: slowroll

At this point more questions than answers.You stated your little friends were out if force, what was happening with car. U codes should be stored. Do you have factory books or alldata ?

what happens with car:   security light on, traction light on, then one or both back off... gas gauge to E.... then back, then to E, and will rest there for a while, then back...gauge cluster will go out, or not come on at start, then when its ready, come  on.....when on, at times back lights will brighten, and go back as if i'm adjusting with the knob.... dr back lights off.......then on.......radio amp, not radio, will kick out for a couple seconds, then back.
when i put in park, doors will not unlock, or lock when shift to drive, sometimes.........when shut car off,  radio, interior kights, dr locks, windows, will not respond for a while, then will.......   i also get on the DIC.... at times,"battery volt high", "engine temp too hot, idle engine", "speed limited to 90"......."service stability sys"......  ( no joke, sometimes it will say "speed limited to 92, or 0..)

as far as u codes:   on every module....abs,amp,ddm,dim,ipc,ipm,irc,pcm, and so on......     when i ran codes last night,abs,amp,ddm, came up, THEN codes quit. had to run second time.... all modules came up with many u codes in each........(sort of what happen with tech 2)

i just got, cdrom from autorepairinfo.com...... automotive repair manual for 1999 cadillac seville sts

IM HAVING TROUBLE GETTING REAR SEAT BACK OFF TO GET TO "RIM"......... PLZ ADVISE
TOTALLY TOOK APART  REAR SEAT FUSE BOX, ALL WAS AS CLEAN AS NEW.........
GROUND 100, AND 103......HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO....?????? TUFF......YOUR THOUGHTS ON THOSE TWO BEING E-GHOSTS  PROBLEM?.... I THINK 103 IS A BUZZ, I CANT GET TO IT EASILY, THOUGH IF YOU THINK I SHOULD, I WILL.

TX SLOWROLL
rickyd

quote:


3 HOURS LATER FROM ^..... 32 DEGREES HERE IN N.E. PA....    DID CODE SCAN ON BOARD
ABS...C1252, 53, U1056
AMP... DID NOT SHOW UP IN SCAN!!!!!
DDM...U1255, 1064,65,66
DIM...U1255,1065,66
IPC...B1652,1982,1652
IPM...DID NOT SHOW UP IN SCAN!!!!!
IRC...U1129, 1064,65, 1160, 1016........IN THAT ORDER
PCM...P0603
RFA...NO CODES.....DID SHOW THOUGH
RIM...U1300, 1255, 1064, 1160, 1065, 1016, 1096........IN THAT ORDER
SDM...B1163, U1301, 1096, 1040
VTD...NO CODES......DID SHOW
MSM...B1850, 1900, 2375, U1160, 1016
PHN... NO PHN DATA
TTM...U1160
RSS...C1712,16,17,36,37,38,60,61,62,83,84,85

AFTER CLEARING CODES, TOOK 11 MI DRIVE......RAN CODES AGAIN.....ALL MODULES CAME UP, INCLUDING AMP, AND IPM, ALL SHOWING NO CODES...........               

NOW, IS THIS SOMETHING WE CAN SINK OUR TEETH IN?    DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE SENCE TO YOU?   LETS HOPE!


TOOK ANOTHER RUN TO STORE 4 HR LATER FROM ^.... 4.5 MI.....CHECK CODES, AND ONLY ONE CODE, DDM-U 1255, AND ALL MODULES CAME UP.   DRIVER DOOR MODULE??   WHAT SAY YOU?
rickyd