I'm a new member, searching for helpful info on my RS.


I just picked this car up yesterday for 2g. This is my 1st car ever, though I have had many trucks, mostly diesel.

Car needs attention, but when I checked it out ( drove it several miles, hard there, easy back ) it ran fine. Tonight I took my kid for a ride and the service engine light came on when I launched it. when I get home I let her idle a bit and light stays on.
Kill it, crank it back up and its off.

I have ready one sticky on TBI and many of the links in the sticky, bout not finding what I want.

I have a few serious questions.
1. how do I plug into/check out the computer for error codes?
2. where is the list of the codes meanings?
3. can I clear/reset computer?


another light that is on is the air bag light, so any basic trouble shooting tips for that would be nice.

I'm impatient, I want to get this stuff fixed asap, and don't really have the eyes to read pages upon pages to find what I want
Any helpful info, LINKS is most appreciated so I can get to the good info without reading scores of junk threads.

Thanks,
paul

 

Ok, I was told the car was a 350 ( crate motor ) but wanted to make sure.
I searched to find out how to tell the difference, and I could NOT get into a position where I could see the actual block code, but I did find
GM 5.7, so I guess it is a 350 after all, I think the car came with a 305.

I will read the swap threads later to see if this could be my service light's root cause.

I found myself some hood insulation today and mounted it, looks rough, but good enough.

the fan I noticed makes a horrible noise at times, when I hit the brakes mostly.
I took a look and it is mounted solid up top, but down low its loose, and zip tied to what looks to be the trans cooler lines?

The lower part of the fan, is lower than the bottom of the radiator

also noticed one of the a/c hoses is not hooked up

Lots to do

also, does anyone have the ability to decode the vin #? to see if its a true rs, clone, original options, ect.?

Thanks,
Paul

 

What year is the car? have you checked out your RPO codes(if you have them)? They are either under your center console lid, or on the locking lid in the trunk. those tell you all the original options that came with the car.
If it says 5.7 then yep you've got a 350. I'm not aware of any 350 that came with TBI so it's either a swap, or I'm behind on my 3rd gen knowledge, which is also possible.
To check the codes, you need to jumper the A and B terminals on your diagnostics connector. It's located under the panel that's below the steering wheel. there is I believe 4 torx screws holding that panel on. Once you have it off, Just bend a paper clip and put the two points into the A and B terminals. Your SES light will start flashing and cooling fan(s) will come on. This means your car is now in diagnostic mode.
When the light comes on, it should flash code 12(flash *pause* flashflash). This is just saying the computer is functioning properly. It's gonna flash 12 three times, then it will start flashing any trouble codes. each code will flash 3 times, then move onto the next one. once all codes have flashed, it will restart with 12.
Don't have the list right now, but it is on here. Just search for codes list or something like that, or just post what codes you find and someone will help you out.
Finally, to reset computer, just unplug the battery for I believe 5 min or so. Plug back in and codes are gone.

 

Thanks for the info, I was hoping to work on the car this weekend, but may be going out of town for some work.

Today I decided to flush the radiator and install new thermostat.
It had a 180 thermo, I installed a 170, that may help it run cooler.

also the thermostat housing I don't think is stock. Its a larger diam than stock I think, cuz I bought a new hose from intake to radiator and it is much harder to fit over the housing, like its stretched and I don't trust it. also flushed the system.

also the fan is like 1-2" away from radiator, shouldn't it be mounted flush?

Thanks,
paul