Hello all, thanks for the cool forum! Good stuff here.

Ok I just traded and got a 1994 V6 Camaro. I have a few isssues that I could use help with. Thanks in advanced.

1) The ABS INOP, LOW TRAC and BRAKE lights are on. The ABS INOP is ALWAYS on, and the low trac and brake come on randomly, and always together. I did a search on this - my back lights all work, as does my cruise control. There is 17 inch wheels on there, but all 4 are teh same size (though, the front two are different tires than the back two - different tread). Any ideas?

2) When I'm stopped at a light / etc - there is a vibration if it is in Drive. If I put it in N or Park, it'll go away for the most part. What might that be?

3) My fan switch doesn't seem to do anything until it's on the highest setting, then it's FULL BLAST air. The other two settings seem to do nothing.

4) The oil guage - where is normal oil pressure? If I'm idling, it's about 60, when I drive it goes up to the top, 80 I believe. If I get on it, it goes even higher (past the last #) - is that normal?

5) My gas guage is just crazy. It shows full all the time, unless I stop the car (and turn it off), then it goes to what I assume is the real ammount?

6) The temp guage seems low. Generally in past cars it's been about dead middle. This ones is like 1/4 of the way up. Normal?

I think that's it. Thanks again guys!

Z

 

1. Possible wheel speed sensor is faulted.
2. Not sure. Does it drive fine otherwise?
3. Fan motor I believe.
4. Mine sits about 60 while cruising, a little less when warm and idling.
5. Not sure what it actually goes to when vehicle is off. Fuel level sending unit may be bad.
6. Sounds normal.

 

1. Check the manufacturers specs on both front and rear tires to make sure outer diameter is the same. Different brands aren't always the same, even though they're the same "size".
4. Possible bad oil sending unit in the block, readings that high aren't normal.

 

1. My car does the same thing, I agree with Stan. It's probably either a different sized wheel or you have a bad speed sensor. Your local mechanic should be able to look at it for you.

2. My friend's 240SX did the exact same thing. Have someone who knows what they're doing check the wiring harness for breaks. If that isn't the problem then check for bad plugs and wires.

3. Might be a short in your electrical system.

4. That's pretty high, not really serious, but you might want to get that checked out.

5. What are you complaining about? You always have a full tank of gas :P Seriously though, your gas needle is going to drop when you turn the car off regardless.

6. With all the things that are wrong/different with your car it sound like one of the people who owned it before you was a wannabe electrician and fried a few things. What he probably was either put in a lower temp thermostat or he set it so that the fans come on at a lower temp. Our cars (4th Gen. V6's) usually sit just under the halfway mark on the temp gauge unless someone has done some modification.

 

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate it. A few more questions if you all don't mind.

Update on #4 (oil gauge) I noticed once it got warmed up, that cruising was around 60, and then if I was accellerating it would go up to 80. Is that a bit more normal?

Also, at about 60 mph things get "floaty"...that is, it seems like the car is drifting a bit, maybe like there is play in the wheel and the car is moving back and forth over the road very subtly. I noticed the guy has the same 2 tires up front (tread is weak on those) and two different tires in the back, could that be the cause of this feeling?

 

Yeah, our cars idle at about 60 and you're pressure will rise when you accelerate. Are the bigger tires on the front or the back? I have bigger tires in the back and that's what causes my "brake" and "ABS INOP" light to come on, so that right there might solve your 1st problem. As for the wandering feeling, I'm not really sure what to tell you, but I doubt different sized tires would do that.

 

Does the brake light/lowtrac/abs inop cause any weird handling or braking issues or is it just a minor annoyance?

 

Only thing those should affect would be your brakes. Instead of pulsing like they would if ABS was working, they will now lock up if mashed to hard.