Jim

The two most common parts to go bad in the '88-89 Reattas is the headlight switch and the CRT/touch screen. When the CRTs go bad most of the time they will be intermittently black and sometimes come back on. I have both rebuilt headlight switches and tested good used CRTs.

I have both front and rear good used or reconditioned sensors.

Sounds like a good deal. I read the part about the timing cover getting cracked and had never heard of this before but about two months ago I sent a timing cover to Germany because the fellow putting his back together did the same thing.

Sorry Padgett, I disagree. Having tested and sold many many pressure switches and pumps in all the years I have found only one bad relay. Most common the PSW but now with age I am finding more pump/motors are going bad. I have both of them available in good tested condition.

I really don't care as this is a parts car but am curious about what could be wrong. The other day I started up a parts car I have with only 80,000 miles on it. Bad transmission but engine always seemed OK. When I started it up lots and lots and lots of white smoke came from the exhaust. I drove it down the road about a quarter mile and when I got back the smoke stopped. I then used the car for testing headlight switches and then parked it. The next day I went to start it and it started REALLY hard and when it did lots of white smoke again. Again after running for a few minutes the smoke quit. I am sure it is water/anti freeze getting in the cylinders but how? Any thoughts.

I do have that line and sell them for $ 40.

Another problem I discovered was corrosion where the screws go through the coils to hold them to the module. These have to be clean as the screws provide the ground to make the coils work. Jim

Padgett, Your email went to my junk box for some reason. I am sure I have the molding and will send you an email. Jim

I have been selling Reatta parts for 25+ years and always learning something new. '88 heater programmers are different from the '89-91s. Yesterday I was using an '88 parts car to test programmers from other Reatta parts cars and the original one in the '88 tested good. The two I took from a couple of '90s would not change the air direction from floor to defrosters. Seemed strange that two of them would not test OK. I then got an '89 parts car and tested all of them again. Now the two I took from '90s worked in the '89 but the one from the '88 would not change air direction. I am guessing over the years I may have thrown away some good programmers thinking they were no good when in fact I may have been testing '88s in a '90 car or vise versa. This morning I compared the wiring diagrams in the shop manuals from '88 and '89 and see there is a difference in wiring. One example, the ppl wire from the BCM going to the programmer, inside the programmer it goes to resistance 5V battery in the '88 but to resistance ground in the later programmers.

On occasion someone will hit something lightly and the bumper will go in, because the supports compress and not come back out. Recently I had this situation on my sisters car. In the past I have suggested that the only was was to remove the bumper but found an easy way. I jacked up the car and removed the wheel. I then removed the small piece of inner fender attached to the end of the bumper cover and then inserted a steel bar about 30 inches long. This bar fit nicely into the back side of the aluminum bumper. I then took a piece of wood to support the end out near the wheel and then hit the end of the rod with a large hammer and the bumper went right back out. Three quarters of the way on the first hit and the second right back to where is should be. I was amazed how easy it was. If a person does not have a steel bar I am sure a wood 2X2 would also word as it doesn't take much of a hit to get the bumper supports to go back to the original position. On the rear, in the past I have made a hook and slid it between the bumper and the filler panel and pulled the bumper back out but this method might also work in the rear by simply removing the inner panel.

That is fine with me. I also have another tip I just discovered and will post it here and if you want can put it on your site. Jim

Here is some info on the brakes. I have all the parts you need to fix the car. Most likely the pressure switch or pump/motor If the yellow light is on but the red light is off that means the ABS is not working but the brakes will still be working and have power assist. If the red light is on the pressure is low in the accumulator. When the key is turned on the pressure switch sees low pressure and turns on the pump/motor building up 2600 pounds of pressure in the accumulator. The pressure switch sees this high pressure and shuts off the pump. Even with a totally shot accumulator the pump should still run and build up the pressure. In this condition because there is no nitrogen in the accumulator, when you step on the brake pedal once, the red light would probably come back on. If, when the key is on the red light stays on, and you have a hard pedal that means the pump/motor is not starting. The relay could be bad but most likely it is a bad pressure switch or pump/motor. If you remove the connector on the pressure switch, which is located above the pump/motor and in front of the accumulator ( black ball ) and look inside and see any brake fluid seeping next to the terminals, you have a bad pressure switch. As the cars get older I am seeing more and more pump motors go bad. Sometimes tapping on the motor with the key on will start the motor. If this happens, you need to replace the motor/pump however the pressure switch can still be bad and not showing any leakage near the pins and tapping on the motor or pressure switch will start the pump. You can test the pump by disconnecting the two wire connector and applying battery to the red wire terminal and ground to the black and see if the pump runs. You can also strip back a little bit of the insulation, leaving the connector on the motor and apply battery and ground to see if the pump runs. If it does not the pump/motor is bad, if it does the pressure switch is bad. Procedure for testing an accumulator. Turn on the key and have the radio and anything else off that makes noise. Wait for the red and yellow lights to go out and a few seconds later you will hear the pump stop running. Rapidly pump the brake pedal about 4 times and see it the red light comes on. If it does, wait for the pump to build up pressure again and the light will go out. Wait again for the pump to stop running and then pump the brake pedal 3 times to see if the red light comes on. The purpose here is to see how many pumps it takes to get the red light to come on. The higher the number the better the accumulator. A new one will be about 7 pumps and a shot one would be one pump. The following is a couple of notes I have saved on my computer. If the brake fluid has not been changed in your car in the last five years it should be changed to get all the moisture out of the fluid. This is very important as moisture can cause problems in the valve body and major problems if it does. I would first get on the new pump and have the system working and then change all the fluid. Initially you can cut the hose on the end of the pump as mentioned in step 3 below but at that time simply plug the hose so the fluid does not come out of the reservoir. 1. It is HIGHLY recommended that all the fluid in the whole system be changed with new fluid to eliminate any built up moisture in the system. 2. Any time the brake hydraulic system is to be opened the brake pedal should be pumped 25 times with the key off to bleed off the 2600 pounds of pressure in the accumulator. 3. Siphon out as much of the old fluid as possible from the reservoir and refill with clean fluid to the top. Another good way is to cut the rubber hose that comes from the reservoir right where it attaches to the ABS pump and let all the fluid in the reservoir run out. Then remove the piece of hose still attached to the pump and reinstall the rubber hose. It is long enough to do this. I like to cut it rather than try and remove it because the hose sticks really hard to the plastic fitting and you might break the fitting trying to take the hose off. Doing it this way you get all the fluid out of the reservoir before putting in new clean fluid. 4. When doing the rear wheels only let out about a half of a cup and then refill the reservoir. This is to make sure you don't take out too much and get air into the system. 5. To bleed the front brakes have the key off and bleed in a conventional method. Have someone pump the pedal a few times and hold it down while the other person opens the front bleeders. 6. To bleed the rear brakes A. Turn on the key and allow the system to pressurize B. Have an assistant slightly depress the pedal and hold it. C. Open each rear bleeder, one at a time, and hold open until clear fluid comes out. (The pump and motor will do the bleeding) When you are done there are high and low marks on the reservoir and after the system pump and motor has run and the lights are out the level should be at the low mark. When you have pumped the brakes with the key off 25 times the level will be at the high mark.

I agree with 89reattajim, when they only go partially and make a grinding sound the motor or regulator is bad. When you have the assembly out of the door you can inspect the teeth on the large arc shaped gear for wear. If the teeth look good your motor is bad. These motors are cheap and available at most auto parts stores. Same motor fit many GM cars.

A follow up. I see you are in Canada. Definitely get those parts and save yourself some shipping if you should ever need them in the future. Jim

Barney hit the nail on the head. Don't bother with the whole system but absolutely get the pump/motor, pressure switch and accumulator. The accumulator will probably be not too good but the pressure switches and pump/motors are getting hard to find and are identical to the '89-90 Reattas. "88 pumps were different and only fit '88s but again the pressure switches are good to have a spare and who knows, maybe the accumulator will be OK. There is a test to check on how good an accumulator is.

I rebuild headlight switches and very often they fall apart. I then send a new switch and folks tell me the taillights do not work. I am pretty sure it is fuse 11 ( from memory ) that blows. Check your fuses, particularly fuse 11.

I have a nice one available. I can be reached at reattas60@gmail.com

The Riviera cables are the same BUT these cables are almost impossible to find in good condition. The problem is the plastic end, at the transmission, gets brittle and almost always breaks when taking it off the lever ball. I recently removed two. The first one broke when removing it. The second one I heated up to soften the plastic and it still broke. I did then remove a cable from a third parts car, with the lever still attached, and sent it out with the instructions NOT to take the cable off the lever but use the lever along with the cable. The customer gave the cable with my instructions to his GM dealer mechanic who did not follow the instructions and removed the cable from the lever and of course it broke. I am pretty sure I do have another good cable available and will come with the lever. Oscar, I will send you an email. Jim

I may have a complete radio assembly available but will have to check. I know I do have good radio module available. I can be reached via EMAIL at reattas60@gmail.com

If you cannot find a new one I do have a tested good used combination motor and regulator available. If interested send me an EMAIL at reattas60@gmail.com and specify your zip code and the side you need. Jim

Many years ago, and I still have them, I wired up two harnesses, one for testing the inverter along with the headlight switch module and the wiper switch module. A second harness to test the inverter, and console pieces. I have tested good, both console and dash inverters available. If anyone needs one please send me an EMAIL at reattas60@gmail.com On a side related topic the dash tops and dash top panels are getting REALLY brittle. Recently someone wanted the panel so i deliberately damaged the dash so I could push up the panel from underneath rather than try and pry it up. Trying to pry it up with a screw drive there is an excellent chance you will both damage the dash, like I did intentionally, or damage the panel. Jim

Padgett, I didn't see the post you are referring to but I have several of he modules, tested and in good working order, for a lot less than you paid for a new one. Send the one back to Amazon and i can save you some money. Jim

Alan, Email me your address and I will send you some, no charge. Jim

ROJ is VERY good. I wish I would have read Padgetts article before going to the junk yard would have saved me some time. Actually I went back there today and got another assembly from a '93 Pontiac

In another post there was some discussion about using the Delco later coils and module. A fellow wanted just the Delco module and the plate under the module and I emailed back. I then tested one unit I had on the shelf and found I had one bad coil. I went to the local junk yard and picked up a coil and another complete module, coils and mounting plate. Got it home and found it was NG. About this time Barney and I were talking on the phone and he mentioned he wondered what year Delco units would work so I looked on line and found all the way up to 2005. With this info I went back to the junk yard and proceeded to remove a unit from a '99. Part way into the removal I discovered the coils and module were the same BUT they did not have the mounting place underneath but the bolts going through the coils and module went directly into the large mounting casting without the "adapter" plate. I then found a '93 Buick and got all the parts I needed. The bottom line is if you want to upgrade to the Delco unit you need to get an early '90s. I do know '93 works, not sure about '94 but all the '95s I looked at were the later design without the aluminum adapter plate.