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New Owner of 85 Riviera. Help with Self-Leveling, Fusebox, Error code 14


Guest lmdaniel

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Guest lmdaniel

Recently purchased car as a project. Overall condition is about a 7 out of 10. After replacing about 30 foot of vacumn hose under hood, new plugs and wires, new thermostat, radiator pressure tested and new fuel it starts and runs like a champ.

Here are a few of the problem areas I am having:

Self leveling rear. Replaced shocks with new Monroe Air with AK16 kit. Compressor does not seem to run, but have seen posts about running hot wire to compressor from

battery. Which post on compressor do I connect the hot wire to. Thinking problem might be the activation switch on rear axle, but want to test compressor also. Black lead was

disconnected when acquired, but leveling light was active. Hooked up lead and light no longer working.

I have an old owners manual that shows the fuse box and a defination of each, but the picture is so bad, it is unusable. Where can I get a good picture? Dash lights do not work

and thinking it might be a fuse for them and maybe for the leveling compressor? Or maybe the light switch for the dash.

After engine runs for a few minutes, the check engine light comes on. After shutdown and restart, the light is gone. Doing a readout of the code plugin, it is showing a code 14 only. This is related to the coolant sensor. Not real sure where the sensor is at, but have noticed that there is an electronic piece towards the back of the engine where the water goes from the block to another possible switch and then to the heater core. When I first turn on the IGN switch, this electronic piece will vibrabate for about 10 seconds like it is trying to prime the water for the heater core?

Looking forward to learning all about my first Buick.

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Possibly the ride height sensor. It's attached to the frame and the left rear trailing arm.

Go into an auto parts store, tell them you have a code 14 that shows you need a coolant sensor. Buy it, take it home, and look for the exact same thing under the hood, replace it. You might have to find a shop that has a code reader that goes back to your year and have it reset. Once the code is stored they sometimes don't clear themselves.

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Guest merrillcrosbie

On the load leveling shocks...in 30 years I have had multiple fuses blow. There is a dedicated fuse for the compressor. Check that first. The one other failure I have had was the relay, which also plugs into the fuse box. That is a tougher problem. Mine failed about 10 years ago and finding another one was a real chore. Barry Smith was the ROA coordinator for this model year back then and he found a dealer for me with a NOS relay sitting on his shelf, but it cost me dearly. This relay was a $6 part new, but the dealer charged me $100 plus shipping.

Both the fuses and the relay failed when I had the trunk loaded for vacations, so the compressor was cycling constantly. The compressor itself never failed, just the fuse and the relay. Yes, you can run direct 12V to the compressor to make sure it works. I never did that to inflate the shocks. I just did it to troubleshoot what needed to be replaced.

On the fuse box and wiring diagram, I went to a public library 25 years ago and copied them from one of their repair manuals. Don't know if you could still do the same.

On the Code 14, see if this link is useful to you. It explains Code 14 and the possible solutions. http://www.freeautomechanic.com/diagnostictroblecodes5.html

Hope this is helpful.

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Guest lmdaniel

Thanks for the reply.

I myself think it is the height sensor, but wanted to also double check the air compressor just to make sure it is good.

From what I have read in the Haynes repair manual, on an ALDL system (12 wire code connector) a person can remove the ECM or ECM/BAT fuse for about 10 seconds to remove the code from ECM memory. Will try that to see if it clears. Sounds like a trip to the parts store to get a coolant sensor.

Thanks again

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Guest lmdaniel

Thanks for the reply.

Sounds like a trip to the library is in store for me. It would be great if they had something in an E-book to just copy and paste to a memory card. My problem with the fuse box is that the lettering is not that great so wanted a clearer picture if one was readily available.

That link looks like it might be a great help for current and possibly future issues.

Thanks again for the reply.

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