[very rare no start condition]

Yes, happened to me a couple of times over the 25 years of owning my Reatta. Both times it was the same thing, a failing/failed fuel pump relay. There is a backup fuel pump switch operated by engine oil pressure. When you crank the engine, it eventually builds up sufficient oil pressure to close the backup switch. The relay in question is located on the firewall (set of 3 relays on my '89). It is the rightmost relay on my Reatta. I keep one of those relays on hand in the car as I know that sooner or later, it will happen again. This may or may not be your Reatta's problem, but it is worth checking before digging deeper.

David T.

[Taillight haze]

Having the Reatta in long term storage for about 10 years and only recently having brought her out of storage and back to life is the main reason I had not discovered this site before now. I simply could NOT bring myself to part with her and I KNEW sooner or later, that the unique nature of the Reatta would make her a collectors item (yea, I know we are all more or less waiting for that status still). I remember my parents saying that they wish to high heavens that they had NEVER sold the Model A that they owned as newly weds (I was a late in life addition to the family), so I hung onto her for all these years.

David T

[Taillight haze]

First off, while new to this forum, I am NOT new to the Reatta. I bought mine in fall 1988 (produced in Oct 1988) and I have kept it all these years. She was a daily driver until 2002 when I properly put her into enclosed long term hibernation. I am now in the process of returning her to her former glory and I have to say that putting her back into use is like finding a favorite old childhood toy. I am taking the Reatta out more often than my C5 vette. Other than having to replace the AC compressor/accumulator/orifice (compressor failed before putting into storage) and a new battery (old one removed before storage), she does not seem to be any worse for the long term storage.

But, back to the thread subject. The absolute BEST product I have ever found for cleaning and restoring the plastic lenses (tail, front) as well as cleaning/polishing paint, is actually a product I ran across years ago from the aviation industry and then again with restoring the mirror gloss to weathered Airstream exteriors. I tried it on paint and was amazed (it clearly is labeled for paint a well as metal). Then I tried it on weathered plastic lenses and could not believe how quickly it cut thru the haze and even after the visible haze seemed to be gone, it continued to remove more haze until the plastic was completely transparent. The product is put out by the NuVite Chemical Compounds Corporation. They make a progression of compounds but the one that works perfectly for restoring plastic lenses is NuShine II Cream Polish - Grade: S Final Finish.

It only takes a VERY, VERY small amount and some elbow grease. No swirl marks, no scratches, nothing except crystal clean transparency. I keep applying a small amount to a clean area on a soft cotton rag (white preferably as then you can see when you have removed all the haze), until the cloth color after working into the plastic is white, not any shade of yuk. Then I apply a layer of Nu Finish polish (stuff in the orange bottle available at wally world) as a protectant.

Here is the website.

Nuvite Chemical Compounds Corporation - Metal Polishing NuShine II System

It is NOT cheap ($53.50 for a one pound jar), but it goes a LONG way and you will be using that jar for years.

David T.

[Another AC Question]

Steve, per the GM 1989 Reatta/Riveria service manual, Code 447 sets, and I quote, "Code B447 will set if the low side temperature drops much too quickly during compressor engagement or the low refrigerant pressure switch opens during compressor engagement". Since you have indicated that your unit takes time to begin producing cold air, we can pretty much rule out the low side temperature dropping as the cause of code B447. As Harry pointed out, 55# suction side at 85 degrees is too high and certainly would contraindicate actual low refrigerant as 55# would indicate too much refrigerant which reduces the cooling capability of the unit.

The code 447 is likely either a failing low pressure switch, a bad connection to the switch, or bad wiring between the switch and the BCM.

Since the code B447 sets well after a period of operation, this may be a COLD associated situation since the low pressure switch gets VERY cold during operation as it sets immediately after the metering orifice which is the COLDEST point in the system just at the entry to the evaporator.

The low pressure switch, as well as the high pressure switch are located under the removable plastic cover just below the windshield under the hood at the left side of the area. The leftmost pressure switch (looking from the front of the Reatta) is the low pressure switch. Between it and the high pressure switch about 6 inches to the right is a tube housing the refrigerant orifice tube which meters the high pressure refrigerant into the evaporator at a much lower pressure.

You can remove the connector from the low pressure switch and SHORT the connections in the connector. Since your system does engage the compressor initially, we know that the BCM is supply the 12V power to the low pressure switch, so no need to go down that trouble shooting tree.

If shorting the terminal in the low pressure switch results in the AC running properly (ie it does NOT shut down or set any codes), then I would first try shooting some contact cleaner into the low pressure switch as well as the connector and mating and unmating several times to ensure that what you are experiencing is not a temp related intermittent connection (the low pressure switch get VERY COLD).

If the conditions continues after cleaning the contacts, then replace the low pressure switch and REGARDLESS, you need to remove some of the R12 (legally it MUST be captured and reclaimed). The suction (low) pressure side should be in the mid to upper 30s under idle conditions.

FYI, I just did a complete retrofit of compressor (had failed), accumulator and orifice along with moving to R134a, so all of this very fresh to me.

David Tidmore