The wife's cars tach isn't working?

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pdq67
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The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by pdq67 »

2004 Buick La Sabre with 18,000+ miles on it. She doesn't drive it much at all and I don't drive period, its her car!

Anyway, she had a Dr's appointment so I went to back it out of the garage and the SOB was stone cold dead!

My Son removed his truck's battery since we couldn't reach it with jumper cables and we jumped it and it started right off.

Is there some reason the tach doesn't work now? I have no idea if it worked before or even if it didn't, when it quit??

I don't know anything about her car is why I ask, it's not a Chevy is all..

Is there a possible reset for it??



I'm also getting concerned about her tires being so old but having such low mileage on them??

pdq67
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by Geoff2 »

Keep the car.......sell the wife......
LOL
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by midnightbluS10 »

I imagine they're the same shitty clusters used in the other Buicks around that time. More than likely, there's an issue inside the cluster. I replaced my mom's cluster in her '02 Buick multiple times when she had one.


You say it's not a Chevy, except it actually is. Just with Buick sheet metal. Nothing about it is Buick specific except the name, sheetmetal, and interior, I believe. All the electronics and power train stuff is pure Chevy.
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bigjoe1 wrote:By the way, I had a long talk with Harold(Brookshire) last year at the PRI show. We met at the airport and he told me everything he knew about everything.It was a nice visit. JOE SHERMAN RACING
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

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I know there is a used car salesman in this group.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by BOOT »

18k on an 2004 wow. Tires if they don't show any rot or have flat spots I'd use em, might be a bit hard n slicker than newer softer tires. I got a set on one car I bought in 2002 that are in good shape with less than 20k but I'm not gonna do any high speed passes with em LOL. I just replaced a set on my mothers 2013 equinox with only 24k, noticed they were dry rotted when I went to rotate them. Stealership wouldn't help me out on them any even tho she got all the extended warranty's but local tire place prorated them because they were a dealer for that brand. If they were the next size larger section width they'd been in a recall for the dry rot, guess they should of checked more sizes.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by rebelrouser »

Any newer car with a ECM in it will drain the battery, the keep alive memory always draws a little power. I put a battery minder on my vehicles when they are going to sit. Unhook both battery cables and hold them together for ten seconds and rehook to battery and see if resets the dash and makes the tach works. If it does not, find a shop that has a decent scan tool, you should be able to use the functional test menu to do a gauge check on the dash to see if its the dash itself bad. If it sits a lot look for mice eating the wires, fixed plenty of those issues.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by Truckedup »

If Buick's are like GM trucks, the cluster has shit the bed...The little stepper motors that move the gauge needles burn out.Sometimes the tach is the first to go ..Internet search will tell you millions of them failed...Pull the cluster and send it off to one of the many small one man businesses that replace all the gauge motors for about 100 bucks..I picked a place on Ebay, Sent the cluster and it was back in 4 days looking and functioning like new...
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by pdq67 »

rebelrouser wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:56 am Any newer car with a ECM in it will drain the battery, the keep alive memory always draws a little power. I put a battery minder on my vehicles when they are going to sit. Unhook both battery cables and hold them together for ten seconds and rehook to battery and see if resets the dash and makes the tach works. If it does not, find a shop that has a decent scan tool, you should be able to use the functional test menu to do a gauge check on the dash to see if its the dash itself bad. If it sits a lot look for mice eating the wires, fixed plenty of those issues.
Thanks rebelrouser,

I will try the battery cable, "touch", 1st and see what happens. I can't see anything really wrong with it due to it sitting and all the electric, "tattle-tail", crap on it draining the battery while sitting.

About the tires, I will watch them close from here on out.

We traded in our old, "like new", '89 Astro Van for a car. She and our Son bought a 2003(?) Olds Alero 4-dr loaded and she hated it because it rode hard due to what I call it's, "touring suspension", under it! I loved the way it drove and rode!! Great road car.

I got about 1/2 pissed off and told her that ALL old folks drive a Buick for a smooth ride!

Well they traded the Alero in for the Buick and now it seldom get's driven. I try to let my Daughter and her family take it for a vacation trip to try to keep it drivable.

Thanks everybody, I will try to keep you informed as to how this turns out.

Later,

pdq67

PS., I will say that my corn-popper, commuter car 2000 Accent 's OEM battery went over 9 years because I figure that it had ZERO drainage when it sat. I never have had a battery last that long!! I never turned the radio on or the A/C... No clock either..
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by sanfordandson »

rebelrouser wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:56 am Any newer car with a ECM in it will drain the battery, the keep alive memory always draws a little power. I put a battery minder on my vehicles when they are going to sit. Unhook both battery cables and hold them together for ten seconds and rehook to battery and see if resets the dash and makes the tach works. If it does not, find a shop that has a decent scan tool, you should be able to use the functional test menu to do a gauge check on the dash to see if its the dash itself bad. If it sits a lot look for mice eating the wires, fixed plenty of those issues.
Most new vehicles have upwards or 20 or more modules on them.

Once they all shut down draw is typically only 15-40 milliamps.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by JoePorting »

It just needs a new battery. Old batteries will suck the electrical system down to where stuff stops working.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by Roundybout »

if it doesn't get driven much and sits for awhile you're not doing the battery any favors.
Get a battery minder. I prefer the ones you install hardwired with a plug. You'll tend to use it as it's easier to connect/disconnect.

2005 terraza and my battery died and it was like the car came out of a coma after being drained. Transmission shifted funny, the idle was erratic and the gas gauge didn't work. It honestly took a few hours driving until it sorted itself out. On mine the BCM controls power to everything. It shuts everything down after 10 mins and draws very little I assume for presets and memory related to the ECM and such. I'd do a quick check there too.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by novadude »

Truckedup wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:26 pm If Buick's are like GM trucks, the cluster has shit the bed...The little stepper motors that move the gauge needles burn out.Sometimes the tach is the first to go ..Internet search will tell you millions of them failed...Pull the cluster and send it off to one of the many small one man businesses that replace all the gauge motors for about 100 bucks..I picked a place on Ebay, Sent the cluster and it was back in 4 days looking and functioning like new...
I had this stepper motor issue with a 2004 Impala gage (I forget which one). I chose the el-cheapo way out and soldered in a new stepper motor at home. Stepper motors were available on ebay, and I found a "how to" on the interwebs.

Try the battery first, as tearing apart the dash and dealing with soldered pins on the cluster wasn't fun.
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by novadude »

BOOT wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:08 am 18k on an 2004 wow. Tires if they don't show any rot or have flat spots I'd use em, might be a bit hard n slicker than newer softer tires. I got a set on one car I bought in 2002 that are in good shape with less than 20k but I'm not gonna do any high speed passes with em LOL. I just replaced a set on my mothers 2013 equinox with only 24k, noticed they were dry rotted when I went to rotate them. Stealership wouldn't help me out on them any even tho she got all the extended warranty's but local tire place prorated them because they were a dealer for that brand. If they were the next size larger section width they'd been in a recall for the dry rot, guess they should of checked more sizes.
I'd replace the tires. A 2004 Buick probably has inexpensive 15" tires, and tire manufactures say 10 years is the limit, period. The problem is they tend to deteriorate from the inside out. Seen a BFG radial T/A that was 12 years old have the whole tread delaminate and the tire looked perfect on the outside. Did more damage than a set of tires would have cost.

Now back to speedtalk.... It would probably also run better with a tunnel ram and 2x4s, and you definitely need a much bigger cam and better heads. :lol:
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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by pdq67 »

JoePorting wrote: Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:43 pm It just needs a new battery. Old batteries will suck the electrical system down to where stuff stops working.
It basically is a new battery. Probably less than 18 months old?

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Re: The wife's cars tach isn't working?

Post by pdq67 »

novadude wrote: Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:58 pm
BOOT wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 4:08 am 18k on an 2004 wow. Tires if they don't show any rot or have flat spots I'd use em, might be a bit hard n slicker than newer softer tires. I got a set on one car I bought in 2002 that are in good shape with less than 20k but I'm not gonna do any high speed passes with em LOL. I just replaced a set on my mothers 2013 equinox with only 24k, noticed they were dry rotted when I went to rotate them. Stealership wouldn't help me out on them any even tho she got all the extended warranty's but local tire place prorated them because they were a dealer for that brand. If they were the next size larger section width they'd been in a recall for the dry rot, guess they should of checked more sizes.
I'd replace the tires. A 2004 Buick probably has inexpensive 15" tires, and tire manufactures say 10 years is the limit, period. The problem is they tend to deteriorate from the inside out. Seen a BFG radial T/A that was 12 years old have the whole tread delaminate and the tire looked perfect on the outside. Did more damage than a set of tires would have cost.

Now back to speedtalk.... It would probably also run better with a tunnel ram and 2x4s, and you definitely need a much bigger cam and better heads. :lol:
Right, if it was rear wheel drive and had a 455/TH400 in it!! It would be a, "Q-Ship!", like the old, early '70's Dueuce and a quarter's were..

He, He!!

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