Hi MCF,
As you may or may not know, YelloJAC, my 02 SS, was in an accident on the Drivers side which crushed her PCM and harness connector. Whoever did the repairs did an Excellent job on the body, with a few paint discrepancies. But from all that I had to do to her you can tell that they were not mechanics or electricians. The new harness connector to the PCM was Butt connected into the wire harness. They connected all the wires wrong and it cost me $900. But the guys who did the reconnect apparently didn't know how to connect wires or use said Krimper. So since June 2012, I've been re-krimping new but connectors in, along with replacing the sensors they connect to.
My most recent problems P0742, P0121, P0121 and P0742 I think, O2 Ckt (Bank 1). Symptoms: Surging, 18 MPG, engine holding RPMs when I took my foot off the gas peddle, Hard shifts, going into 3rd for only a second then dropping to 2nd and staying there till I shifted to 4th, lack of power in all gears.... The list goes on. So I went for P0121 and P0122.
My logic was based on the back that when I hit a bump my RPMs would jump 500 then slowly settle down, unless I hit another bump. So I went in and cut out all the bad connections and tell connected them using the repair skills thought to me in Navy Electronics. Took the car out for about 10 miles, the CEL came back on with one code, 1 Code, for the Cooling Fan CKT, Fan #2, and my Temp was well above where the fan normally kicks on. But no TPS, O2 or TCC codes.
So in fixing those I must have pulled one of the Orange fan wires out of it's poor butt connector. Oh well, a little more wire work tomorrow. Fortunately I have the day off. And, I know the fans were working tomorrow.
At any rate, I am happy. Once I get the fans working again, I'll have no more CEL codes. And YelloJAC will be ready for a new TEP Basic 4T65eHD Trans and then NJ inspection in Apr.
2 years of work will have payed off. Then I can start making her Pretty, The JC way!
Thank for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

 

That sucks, but glad you can address the issue. I'm guessing some soldiering and heat shrink tubing??
I would be concerned about wire corroding out in the open with the butt connectors the other people have used. What a pain!!!
At least your efforts are fruiting results!!!

 

Hay Jason, Thanks for the vote of Confidence!
It's not that bad. As I have said in other post, as long as I can see progress, it's all good! I like working on cars. Mostly to see how much I can improve on what the manufacturer has done. Sometimes I wish that all the $$$ I have spent on YelloJAC had gone to just that. But thanks to all the difficulty, I have been able to connect with folks like yourself and learn even more about Auto Repair, especially on the newer cars. Before YelloJAC my newest car was my 98 Monte LS and she didn't have any problem till she was Totalled. And my base knowledge was on cars from the 60s, 70s and very early 80s. So this is increasing my knowledge and skills. Never Stop Learning! She is Running, and as long as she is, I can make her run right. And as long as there are folks like you, here on MCF I will always be learning!
You have a Great day!

 

I feel you on the wiring man, luckily iv never had to rewire my whooe car as myself (sounds like. Nightmare) But my training in electronics was on an old c-130E. That thing was a wiring nightmare, and anytime we have to change a fuel level sensor on 17's we have to rewire the whole thing. Needless to say I feel for you on the wiring. If someone before you didn't know what they were doing it makes it 10x harder than it would have been normally.

 

I got some Good News, and some Not So Good News: Good News; No More CEL! Fixing the wires for the TPS canceled out the TCC AND the O2 sensor. And I fixed the wire for the fan circuit that I Muffled up yesterday!
Not So good News; I have to replace the Right CV Axle this week. It's getting worse! I may have to barrow the $$$ from the Mrs. tomorrow.

Questions for you guys: under 30 MPG,when I take my foot off the gas, my RPMs drop to about 1150. But above 30 MPH the RPMs only drop to 1500 even if I put the trans in neutral. Is that normal it is there a problem that is not causing a CEL? I can see the RPMs drop down to that level at higher speeds, say 65 to 75 MPH, but at 31 MPH I would expect my coasting RPMs to be lower. As soon as my speed drops below 30 the RPMs drop to what I consider normal. But this is my first 3800 Series II.
So is this normal or are my instincts correct and this is something I need to look into?

 

Unless we have the same problem (and my transmission was just fixed so its unlikely) this is normal. just tested it out on the way home today. The higher rpms probably has something to do with our pressure adaptation system and the torque converter. But as far as I know thats absolutly normal. Now qustion for you. What were the symptoms of your cv joint going?

 

Sadly, I never really paid that close of attention....

 

Jason; I hate it when I stump you. But I still wanna be like you when I grow up!

David; I hope I explain this right.
These symptoms have been going on since I got the car, Apr 2012. I replaced the hub, strut and outer tie rod. Oh, wheels and tires. All this spring.
Symptoms: I don't know how to say it other than it feels like the right side of the car feels like it is being Humped by a Bull on speed. But only when my foot is on the gas and hardest btwn 33 and 39 MPH. If in that range and I coast, it stops. Foot on the gas, it starts again. The more gas I give, the worse it gets. Now it is starting to clunk. I wish I could run along side of the car to see exactly what's happening. When it's happening I've let go of the steering wheel and it does not wabble. And no pulsing in the brake peddle. Honestly, it make me feel like the Tire is going to come off!
Since I've changed all the parts that can wabble and fall off, and because it only happens when I am putting pressure on it via the gas peddle, and since I cured the P0742 code it's got to be the axle!

 

I like that. I like it so much, I'm quoting it in my signature for a short time!!

 

That sounds frustrating, I'll defer to your wisdom on that. However I will tell you that to me it sounds bizarre. Usually CV axles will have a grinding or a popping while turning, and the symptoms lessen when turning towards the damaged part. To me it really sounds like a spacing issue (especially if the steering wheel isnt jerking like crazy), like the wheel isn't seated on the hub and since you have replaced the wheel and the hub both and from the sound of it the salvager of this car was more interested in the cosmetic than the mechanical aspects. Have you tried rotating the Lug Nuts? It may sound silly but these just don't sound like worn CV joints to me. Is the popping pretty regular or speratic. I mean every break is different but checking the Lug nuts will at least rule one cheap thing out before you have to borrow money from the Mrs. (never good for a mans ego) If you rotate the nuts and it switches sides its spacing on the nuts (could be the wrong ones) Also just an after thought, when a had my hub replaced my caliper had a striped bolt and when he put it back on I drove it for about a mile and experienced very similar symptoms and only while on the gas. How is the braking performance on the car? pretty spot on or does it feel loose? Thoes are two possible problems outside of a CV.