scott209

1990 Buick Reatta convertible for sale. 119,000 miles. Black with slate grey leather interior. Powered by 3.8 v6, automatic with overdrive. I’ve owned the car for 18 years and I’m selling because I’m losing my garage where it lives when not being driven. No rust. Most importantly everything works. I am a tinkerer. AC, cruise control, all the Reatta gremlins have been fixed. This car is a pleasure to drive. Very comfortable. Amazingly quiet with top up. If you are looking for a stylish convertible to be able to enjoy and not be plagued with check engine lights and things not working, then this is the car for you. Factory owner’s manual and service manual, bra and car cover included. Located in Bend, OR 541-647-4992

Howard, Good to see your cheery face above the wheel.

I live in Oregon so my convertible is my summer car. For the past 6 weeks I've been performing some extensive maintenance work on my new toy, a 1987 Westfalia Syncro. The Reatta is my daily driver this summer.

Awhile back, someone posted the name of a good spray penetrating lubricant. Does anyone remember? Thanks, Scott

Every Monday morning it's back to the workweek grind. I ease into it slowly by pursing some of my favorite websites. This one is number one on the list. I've owned my Reatta for 14 years. This site was invaluable it diagnosing all the issues it had. I live in Bend, Oregon. I have one of three Reattas here. Mine is the only convertible. I enjoy its uniqueness. When spring comes and the snow melts away, the cover comes off the Reatta and my enjoyment of the car lasts all summer. Fall arrives, the air cools and on that fateful day when I know it's time for the Reatta to get put to bed for the winter, I take it out, blast the Beach Boys, "Summers Gone" and go for one last spin through the the hills. Thanks for this site being here. Scott Shaw

I am looking for the black knob that goes on the vent director. Scott

How hard is it to remove the steering wheel and how do you disarm the airbag? Scott

Been away for a week and just read your post. What is the smoke test?

The reason for this post started several months ago. When at a full stop, sometimes the engine will stall just as I come off idle. I checked the values for the idle air controller through internal diagnostics which were normal. I pulled a couple of spark plugs and they are firing cleanly. It idles around 800 rpm. this issue makes me nervous because it usually does it when I want to pull quickly into traffic. Thoughts?

What should the idle speed be on a 1990 and how do you set it?

After two hundred miles, the miss has returned. I still get 5.6 volts between A-B connectors of the cam sensor plug. I have replaced the ICM with a new one, replaced cam sensor, and checked the wiring for shorts, swopped ECM. The scenario is: Service engine light will be on, car runs fine. Light wil go out, car runs fine for awhile, engine will stumble, light goes on, code E041, car runs fine for days more. Repeat scenario. Suggestions? Thanks Scott Shaw

I used the FSM to diagnosis the problem. Voltage between the A-B connectors was running at 5.6 which indicated a bad coil pack. I replaced all three of the Delco packs and the car has run fine ever sincel. Scott

My 1990 developed a miss over the weekend. Very intermittant. One minute it will miss and then be perfectly fine for many miles. Occurs when just warmed up or after completely warmed up. It threw the dredded E 041 code. I had this code 8 years ago. I used the glue the magnet fix then.That time it ran fine and the check engine light never went off. This time the light goes off and on. I already did the Pagett ICM fix. Any suggestions? Scott Shaw

I have a 1990 convertible. My IPC has been working intermittently. I have pulled it, the BCM and ECM and sprayed the contacts with electronic cleaner which has had no effect. The panel will come on when I push the test button. It gives a B336 code. Do I need to send in the IPC? If yes, where? Thanks, Scott

It flunked Ronnie's accumulator test. Thanks everyone for your input. Scott

I have a '90 convertible. Last night the panel lights went out. What was left on the screen was in red electrical problem and where the mileage usually is said error. Where should I start looking. Scott

On the way home from a long drive, the brake warning light kicked on. After I brake the light goes off and then returns in 30 seconds. Does this indicate a place to start looking for the problem? Brakes still work fine. Scott

I had this problem. After going through the FSM, the one fault remaining that could cause the problem was a short from the transmission gear indicator to the BMC. Sure enough that was it. But that fix caused my tonneau release button to not work which required me to find a new hot source for it. Ah, fix one thing, screw up another. Scott

Richard, For the front speakers, the dark colors are positive. In the rear, Yellow is driver, rear neg; brn in driver rear pos; lt blue is pass, rear neg; dk blue is pos. I got this infor from a local car audio shop. They might be a good source for further info. Scott

Many local auto part shops can have them tested.

There are many things that can go wrong with the cruise control. I don't know if you've done this yet but first check for error messages. On my car it indicated the park neutral switch wasn't working but at the time I didn't realize how this would affect the cruise control. Next follow all the suggestions in the FSM. This will lead you to the problem. A systematic approach is cheaper than throwing parts at the problem. Scott

I think a car's future value is directly proportional to the number of kids who dreamed about owning that car when they were in high school. When cars first became popular such as Model Ts and As, the kids in school couldn't afford them but when they came of age they started to buy and restore them. Those cars were popular for a long time and their prices showed it. Now with that generation edging towards no longer being able to drive, the prices of those cars are dropping. In the 60s when I was in school it was the muscle cars that we dreamed about. Now look at the prices those cars are getting because my generation, well some of us, can afford to live their high school dreams.Unfortunately I don't think there were a lot of kids in the late 80s who dreamed about driving a middle-aged man's car(the perception of Buicks). And so I don't think Reattes are going to skyrocket in price. I drive mine with the top down and a big smile on my face knowingly that I belong to an elite sect who can appreciate a fine automobile while hoping there are others out there with similar values to help our cars maintain their value. Scott

In my youth I felt that Buicks were driven by middle age guys. When I finally accepted the fact that I was middle aged I decided to do it in style. I bought my ragtop Reatta last year at the ripe old age of 53. Scott

If you are asking about updating to the Delco unit check out www.padgett.performanceresearch.us/cars/coils/htm. Scott

It's located in 2 places: lower corner of windshield on the driver's side and inside the trunk lid. Scott