Mr. Curious Posted November 22, 2004 Posted November 22, 2004 I'm on the brink of selling my SC400 simply 'cause it's being a stubborn little !Removed!, imho. Why? Because of 1 single little thing. I can deal with the rear speakers not working, the CD changer not working, and some console lights not working. But what I can't deal with is the most stubborn check engine light I have ever come across in my entire life. Not only does the check engine light come on, for some reason it also turns off my traction control; that won't do with winter coming soon. The check engine light doesn't stay on; it just feels like acting up whenever it damn well pleases... SURPRISE! Have I tried anything to fix this seemingly small problem? You'd better damn well believe it. Pulled a code 21 (main o2 sensor) and 28 (main o2 sensor and heater signal). Easy fix... or so I thought. Replaced both main o2 sensors to the tune of $200 and clear all codes. Check engine light reappears. I am now really *BLEEP*ed. I do some exhaust work and then discover that my cats are gutted. Well that explains a lot. I buy an o2 simulator (http://www.o2simulator.com/) to make those sub o2 sensors !Removed!. Get it all hooked up and everything checks out, so I clear all codes. I kid you not, 10 seconds into the test drive and my blinding orange outline of an engine filled with the letters C H E C K By now I'm screaming my head off with the usual shouts of profanity that wash over me when my "friend" appears. End rant... or whatever the hell you want to call it. Begin questions: What in the name of god is up with my car? Should I just sell the SC, then fork over a little extra $ to buy a '95 540i? I think I might be able to get $7500 out of my SC (I know mods don't add value, but I sold a '95 Integra for $5700 that was in DECENT condition and only had basic bolt ons ), and I've found a few 540i's that I can afford and have $ left over for the few mods I want to do (chip, wheels, and tires for about $1300): http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_...or=&cardist=140 http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_...or=&cardist=140 http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_...or=&cardist=164 http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?t...10&aff=national I figure that the first one is probably a lemon since it's cheap and being sold by a dealer. The second one isn't the right color, but the price and mileage is good enough to trump the others. Of course, there's always sales tax to screw you over when selling a car. I hope you guys can help me out one way or another.
SKperformance Posted November 22, 2004 Posted November 22, 2004 Well ,first you need a profeional technition to look at your car, throwing money at a problem doesn't help . You know the 0'2 sensors are good but you get a code. what year is the car?
Mr. Curious Posted November 22, 2004 Author Posted November 22, 2004 What is it exactly the help that you want? ← a hug will do. :P
Mr. Curious Posted November 22, 2004 Author Posted November 22, 2004 Well ,first you need a profeional technition to look at your car, throwing money at a problem doesn't help .You know the 0'2 sensors are good but you get a code. what year is the car? ← 92 ive already had a professional technician look at it and he said it could be anything, but the most likely cause is a vacuum leak.
Mr. Curious Posted November 22, 2004 Author Posted November 22, 2004 What codes do you have now? ← same codes, 21 and 28. checked em today, right before i started this thread. btw, this cheered me up. :D
JDOwen2 Posted November 23, 2004 Posted November 23, 2004 I have a manual for a 95, should be similar. Manual states (if resistance between terminals 1 + 2 of main heated oxygen sensor connector is 5.1 - 6.3 ohms at 68 degrees F) "check and repair harness or connector between main relay and main heated oxygen sensor, main heated oxygen sensor and ECM". From what I gather the ECU talks to the ABS/TRAC CU. If the ECU sees a trouble it's going to signal the ABS/TRAC to turn off. If you're lucky you have a dirty/loose connection.
Mr. Curious Posted November 23, 2004 Author Posted November 23, 2004 I have a manual for a 95, should be similar. Manual states (if resistance between terminals 1 + 2 of main heated oxygen sensor connector is 5.1 - 6.3 ohms at 68 degrees F) "check and repair harness or connector between main relay and main heated oxygen sensor, main heated oxygen sensor and ECM". From what I gather the ECU talks to the ABS/TRAC CU. If the ECU sees a trouble it's going to signal the ABS/TRAC to turn off. If you're lucky you have a dirty/loose connection. ← now that you mention it, the o2 <-> car harness on the passenger side was a !Removed! to unplug when i swapped out sensors. them !Removed! bout to get wd40'ed! :D thank you very much!
92Lex Posted November 23, 2004 Posted November 23, 2004 I have a manual for a 95, should be similar. Manual states (if resistance between terminals 1 + 2 of main heated oxygen sensor connector is 5.1 - 6.3 ohms at 68 degrees F) "check and repair harness or connector between main relay and main heated oxygen sensor, main heated oxygen sensor and ECM". From what I gather the ECU talks to the ABS/TRAC CU. If the ECU sees a trouble it's going to signal the ABS/TRAC to turn off. If you're lucky you have a dirty/loose connection. ← now that you mention it, the o2 <-> car harness on the passenger side was a !Removed! to unplug when i swapped out sensors. them !Removed! bout to get wd40'ed! :D thank you very much! ← FYI, just because you have a code for an O2 sensor you shouldn't condem the O2S as your problem. Usually a code related to an O2 sensor is just the computers way of saying "something doesn't make sense". For a 1992 vehicle you're probally not going to get a code if it's emissions related, the "computer" is more concerned looking for problems that could affect driveability. Howcome you replaced your O2S anyways? Did you or your mechanic diagnose and conclude that the O2S was as fault? Just don't rely solely on a code to tell you that your O2S is bad, it takes more then that to determine a malfuntioning sensor... (propane enrichment and a DSO to monitor crosscounts and voltage). As you already know bro, it's not much fun to take the shotgun approach.
Mr. Curious Posted November 23, 2004 Author Posted November 23, 2004 FYI, just because you have a code for an O2 sensor you shouldn't condem the O2S as your problem. Usually a code related to an O2 sensor is just the computers way of saying "something doesn't make sense". For a 1992 vehicle you're probally not going to get a code if it's emissions related, the "computer" is more concerned looking for problems that could affect driveability. Howcome you replaced your O2S anyways? Did you or your mechanic diagnose and conclude that the O2S was as fault? Just don't rely solely on a code to tell you that your O2S is bad, it takes more then that to determine a malfuntioning sensor... (propane enrichment and a DSO to monitor crosscounts and voltage). As you already know bro, it's not much fun to take the shotgun approach. ← so youre basically saying it could be a vacuum leak? if so, ive already checked all of the intake and its fine and dandy.
Lex3486 Posted November 23, 2004 Posted November 23, 2004 DUDE! WHERE'D YOU FIND THAT SHIRT? I HAVE TO HAVE ONE! lol
92Lex Posted November 23, 2004 Posted November 23, 2004 The vacuum leak could be anywhere before the O2S...sh*t, it could even a small hole in the piping right before your O2S. Is your car in control of the air/fuel ratio? And yeah, where did you find that shirt?
Mr. Curious Posted November 24, 2004 Author Posted November 24, 2004 The vacuum leak could be anywhere before the O2S...sh*t, it could even a small hole in the piping right before your O2S. Is your car in control of the air/fuel ratio? And yeah, where did you find that shirt? ← i know there isnt any unwanted holes in the exhaust, because i can hear absolutely no ticking. the only gas is coming out through the mufflers. heres the link to the shirt: http://www.validityclothing.com/show_item....1&designid=2001 i think im going to go ahead and slap my sc up on ebay to see how much i can get out of her. im really starting to get the itch for a 540i and that gray one with only 92k is calling for me. :D
92Lex Posted November 24, 2004 Posted November 24, 2004 Really? You're gonna sell your car because of the CEL? How much do you want for it?
bartkat Posted November 24, 2004 Posted November 24, 2004 i think im going to go ahead and slap my sc up on ebay to see how much i can get out of her. Thanks for the warning. :D
Mr. Curious Posted November 24, 2004 Author Posted November 24, 2004 Really? You're gonna sell your car because of the CEL? How much do you want for it? ← ive just fallen in love with a BEAUTIFUL blue 97 328is that i found for a mind-numbingly good price and has just hit the market today. chances of me keeping the sc are growing slimmer. ive dealt with the cel for about a year now. i admit defeat. it wins. i lose. right now theres a 92 sc4 on ebay thats been on there for just a day and its already over $10k (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4506772480&category=6300&sspagename=WDVW <-aint that rediculous?). im not expecting anything crazy like that. im just going to try and sell it for the price i bought it for + 50% of the aftermarket mods i put into it. im not going to include the cost of repairs to figure up a selling price. my figure right now is an estimated $8k. i know it has a LOT more money than that put into it, but i like to somewhat follow the rule of thumb that "mods dont increase resale value." im also going to offer a free set of winter wheels and tires, free front bumper cover, free set of shocks, and a free pair of mufflers if the buyer wants any of these. thats what i did with my integra, thats what im going to do with my sc, and ill probably offer the buyer of any of my future cars to take any of the parts i dont need. lmao, i once traded a perfectly fine b18b1 block for $50 just to lower the price of a jrsc.
Mr. Curious Posted November 24, 2004 Author Posted November 24, 2004 forgot to mention this. im also including an extra gauge cluster and drivers side arm rest control panel. im also willing to deliver it up to 100mi free of charge.
Mr. Curious Posted November 26, 2004 Author Posted November 26, 2004 http://lexuslovers.com/gallery/hites ^you find some VERY low quality pics there. :P im planning on taking some pics with a digicam today so i can get higher quality pics up on ebay. probably gonna list it on there also today.
Mr. Curious Posted November 27, 2004 Author Posted November 27, 2004 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=4507678507 ^shes up for grabs! shame shes going for so cheap. i dropped the reserve from $8k to just $7500.
Mr. Curious Posted November 27, 2004 Author Posted November 27, 2004 Shouldn't you disclose everything? ← im working at about 200% to try and determine why the check engine light sometimes comes on and, if possible, fix it before the end of the auction.
Sadistic Posted November 27, 2004 Posted November 27, 2004 The Auction is up to $102.50 I'll give you 200! ;) Sorry to hear about you wanting to sell, but I can completely understand. It's extremely frustrating when you can't find out what's wrong with your car, no matter what you do. I can especially understand about the Bimmers. It was between a Bimmer and my SC when I bought mine. Goodluck man!
Mr. Curious Posted November 27, 2004 Author Posted November 27, 2004 The Auction is up to $102.50 I'll give you 200! ;) Sorry to hear about you wanting to sell, but I can completely understand. It's extremely frustrating when you can't find out what's wrong with your car, no matter what you do. I can especially understand about the Bimmers. It was between a Bimmer and my SC when I bought mine. Goodluck man! ← did you bid just $200? lol :P im really taking it in the !Removed! with this sale. i figure i need to find a car thats between the 2 extremes (featherweight, no torque; porker, torque monster) or ill just keep bouncing back and forth constantly losing more and more $. i wish i had a friend with an ebay account, so he could just up the bid to like $5k. still $2500 from the reserve, but it looks better. :P
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