The 2001 SS I got for $2000 had some lights on the dash lit. The "Trac Off" light, the "Brake" light, the "ABS" light, and the "Airbag" light were all on. I wasn't overly concerned because I know the situation with the wheel hubs and such in our cars. The air conditioning and the cruise control didn't work either.

First thing I did was add some freon to the ac and it got cooler, but still isn't as cool as it should be. By the next day after work it was blowing warm air again. The passenger side blows cooler than the driver side, but neither side is as cold as my other Monte was.

Last week, I was driving over lunch and the car got really hot. After work, I stopped and picked up a 180 degree thermostat and put it in that night. The next morning, I dropped the car off at the dealership for an oil change and to have one of the recalls taken care of. The next day, after I dropped the kids off at daycare, the "Low Coolant" message came on the message center. I went to work and then at lunch there was a puddle of coolant under the front of the car. I bought a new radiator after work and replaced it.

The day after that, over lunch, the car was losing massive amounts of coolant from the lower driver side of the car. After work, I took the wife's van and went to get a jug of coolant to put in the car to try and get it home. As I was pouring it in, my wife told me that it was running out just as fast as I was putting it in. By the time I got the car home it was HOT and the coolant was gone. Luckily, I live less than a mile from work, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Anyway, I took the air dam back off and saw that the coolant was leaking from the plug in the radiator. I took the plug out because I couldn't get it tightened up enough to stop the leak, and noticed that the threads on the plug were boogered up. They looked like they weren't cut right when it was made. So, I took the plug out of the old radiator and tried it in the new one. It tightened up fine and there has not been a single drop of coolant leaking at all. Finally I got that issue fixed.

Tonight I took the car to O'reilly and scanned the ABS code. I knew it had to be the speed sensor on one of the hubs, but I wanted to know which one. The scan said that it was the right front speed sensor circuit. I pulled the tire off and pulled the plug on the sensor. I used some electrical contact cleaner on the harness. Then I decided to check the wires on the harness, and I found a broken wire. It had gotten pinched and cut. I spliced it back together and wrapped it in electrical tape, and then routed it a little more safely. Got in and hit the key and all the lights are off now except for the airbag light. The airbag light is intermittent, so I'm thinking it's a broken wire or a loose connection as well. I'm going to try and find the cause of the light this weekend.

I'm just glad that I am making some progress.

 

Wow sounds like a lot of work you've put into it. Should be a long lasting car though all said and done. When I had my LS (prior salvage title) I bought it with everything redone correctly (except the flaking paint on the bumper) anyway the airbag light was on obviously even though the airbags had been replaced. When I took it to my mechanic he told me someone at GM would have to turn it off because it was on since the airbag modules serial number didn't match that of the original. I took it to a GM dealership and they wanted $400 to turn it off. YEAH RIGHT lol I passed on that. Probably a liottle off topic but thought I'd share.

 

$400?! That's insane. I'm hoping I can just find a frayed wire or something.

I took the car out for a ride this evening and as soon as I turned the wheel the ABS lights all came back on. I wasn't really thrilled with the way the plug fit into the sensor. They just don't "click" together. I could pull them apart without lifting up on the latch type thing that is supposed to hold them together. The connector almost looks like it got hot at one point. Part of it almost looked melted. I'm not too impressed with the design work on the wheel speed sensors. Anyway, I stopped the car and slid under the front and pushed the connector and the sensor together a little more and the lights went back off. But, as soon as I turned the wheel, they came back on. I think I am going to try and find a new connector in a junkyard tomorrow.

 

I hope it's just a bad/faulty connector. Good luck on finding one at a junk yard. Keep us updated & good luck 4-Sure

 

Thanks Space.

Here's where I'm at now. I haven't replaced the harness or anything yet, but I can get the lights off. If I turn the wheel all the way to the right, it's fine. As soon as the wheels are brought back to the left the lights come on. I'm still thinking it's the harness connection. I took the wires completely out of the loom and cannot see any damage.

 

It was insane which is why I lived with it. I felt like he was jerking my chain because he thought I was just a young punk. I will admit I dress like it partially but I work for everything I have so to be treated like that was upsetting. I was going to take it to a different dealership but then I'd decided to trade it for a truck so I just left it. I hope theres a way you can DYI and for sure let us know if you fix it. Just to mention also mine was a different situation, it was a prior salvage so the airbags and unit had been replaced so the serial numbers did not match was the problem with mine.

 

Here's an update...

I got a cruise control unit from a parts car. I put it on today and it fixed the cruise. That makes me very happy.

The only thing left to fix is the passenger side wheel hub. I have managed to get all the lights on the dash fixed. The only one that comes on now is the ABS light because of the hub.

After that is done it will be time to finish my top swap and then it will be time for paint.

Before next summer, I will have to get the ac system serviced. I want to get it vacuumed out and recharged.