My car tried to kill me this morning

[GottaHavePride]

I'm glad it waited until today. So yesterday morning I took it to the shop. The A/C was low on refrigerant (according to the car) and the Service Engine light was on. so I asked them to recharge the A/C (and try to spot the leak, since they just worked on the A/C a month ago) and figure out what the light was for.

so they tell me the A/C was actually fine, the computer's just getting a false reading. And the engine light was because an air diverter in the exhaust system stopped working. The guy at the shop recommended not replacing it, since it's a $600 part that isn't all that vital. OK, whatever. Took my car back and drove up for Wichita Jazz Festival (I was playing) then drove back last night for a gig with my latin band (I may start a separate thread about this...)

anyway, I get up this morning and head for campus (three rehearsals today). So as I'm heading towards the light to turn ono Highway 9, I notice my car is coasting fast. Very fast. In fact, accelerating from 35 to about 45 without my foot on the gas - and no, it wasn't downhill. So I step on the brakes and notice my car is not slowing as fast as it should be. So I start leaning on the brakes and flip the computer over to check the engine. It's going about 1900 rpm with me standing on the brakes. 1900 rpm is about what my car needs to cruise at 55 mph.

About that time I thought "Oh hell. There's a car already stopped at the light." I throw the car in neutral and start to steer around the car at the light. As soon as the car hits neutral the engine jumps up to about 3800 rpm. Kind of freaking me out, because the car stops in its tracks (I was still standing on the brakes) and the engine is roaring like a sports car.

I don't think I'll be driving the car much until I can have it towed to the shop on Monday. I'm glad I have AAA. I think I'll name my car Christine.

[nmsoonergirl]

You make me glad that no one in my family has enough money to ever give me a Cadillac....

[GottaHavePride]

It's old! It ran fine for the first 50,000 miles I had it... Now that it hit 120,000 miles it has become disgruntled.

[sanantoniosooner]

Caddy's are like the old farts that drive most of them.

[oumartin]

I'm sensing a murder for hire

[Flagstaffsooner]

You make me glad that no one in my family has enough money to ever give me a Cadillac....Old flatbed Ford in Dene' land.

[MamaMia]

I don't think I'll be driving the car much until I can have it towed to the shop on Monday. I'm glad I have AAA. I think I'll name my car Christine.
You really should'nt drive it at all. :eek:

[proud gonzo]

GHP should have bought me a Chauffeur's hat for my birthday. :D

[GottaHavePride]

You really should'nt drive it at all. :eek:

By "not much" I meant "I'm leaving it in the street along with the piece of crap cars the crazy people across the street have until I can deal with it". ;)

[proud gonzo]

i bet if i went over and painted funny pictures all over their car they'd never notice.

[Al Gore]

Paint the beaver on it........

[BajaOklahoma]

GHP, I emailed a copy of your post to my son. Here is his reply.

Flip the computer over to check the engine? What does that mean?
Anyway, sounds to me like the throttle stuck, whether something under the dash by the pedal broke, the spring broke on the throttle body or the throttle
plate itself was stuck. Having more infor on the car, what kind of car, size of motor, miles, etc would help. I doubt the A/C having a leak/low charge would
have anything at all to do with the RPM's racing up.
Also check to see if the floormat is stuck on the accelerator, yes, you would be suprised how many cars come in with that "problem". More info would help
though. Did the RPM's drop after stopping and did it drive normal or did this continue on past this point?

[ultimatesooner1]

:) do what she said

[GottaHavePride]

It's a 1990 Caddy El Dorado. "Flip the computer over": No gauges, just a computer info center, so you hit the "engine data" button and you can cycle through the rpm, coolant temp, and a few other readings. Normally I leave it showing date/time/outside temp, so I had to hit some buttons to get to some relevant information.

Anyway - no floormats; those disappeared a while back. The first incident (this morning) the rpm increased after I put the car in neutral and stopped it, because it wasn't being slowed down by being in gear anymore. When I drove it home this afternoon (2 blocks) it didn't act up as badly, but it's still idling about 1000 rpm higher than normal and, as PG put it, my car "sounds like a lawnmower."

[GottaHavePride]

And and as to driving after I stopped it: this morning it seemed like the transmission didn't disengage when I stepped on the brakes - the engine was still pushing the car forward while I was standing on the brakes. This afternoon it acted more normally - I didn't have to fight to stop the car, but the engine is sill running way faster than it needs to be running.

[Scott D]

sounds like the accelerator is sticking due to gunkage....probably needs the nice little pricy acid bath they give it.

[GottaHavePride]

Well, I'll find out Monday. Stupid Oklahoma and stuff not being open on the weekend... ;)

[Scott D]

Well, I'll find out Monday. Stupid Oklahoma and stuff not being open on the weekend... ;)

look at the bright side, at least you weren't travelling halfway across the country on a friday afternoon when your car broke down on the freeway outside of Terre Haute and you get a tow after 6pm so not only are the mechanics all closed, but they are closed until Monday morning, so you're stuck in Larry Bird's collegiate ****hole of a town for an entire weekend.

[BajaOklahoma]

I sent my son the updated info. He doesn't/didn't work on GM products, but the basic issue should be the same. And he knows transmissions - that's what he did for the last two years.

[Okla-homey]

I say its the flux capacitor. In the springtime, those babies can sometimes exceed 9.3 gigawatts and this sort of thing is the result. Also, have them check out the discumbobulator valve. If it's stuck open, there's your trouble.

[BajaOklahoma]

It was on early this morning. I saw part of it too.

[BajaOklahoma]

Here you go GHP. Maybe this will help. Or not.

That sounds like the torque convertor on the transmission is at 100% lockup all the time. It should only be 100% when cruising down the highway, not
accelerating (i.e. cruise control or just enough throttle to maintain your speed). It should be 0% lockup while slowing down/stopped. If the car is
surging forward while on the brakes and stopped, that could be your issue.
I was not a Cadillac tech, but the basics of engines and transmissions are the same.
This could be an issue of multiple concerns as well. Sometimes one concern will cause another (or just happen at the same time), especially on older and/or higher mile cars. You may also have a concern with the throttle plate (or another part of the accelerator system) sticking. Throttle bodies can warp over time, and just a slight warpage to the body can cause the plate to stick. With the vehicle off, go under the hood and move the throttle cable back and forth. When you release the cable, the spring should snap the throttle plate back to a closed position.
Again, I was not a Caddy tech, so I'm not sure how easy it is to get to the throttle body. They like to dress up the engines of caddys a lot with plastic covers that hide everything. Hopefully that helps some. It is so hard to diagnose something over a computer.

[GottaHavePride]

OK, I'll make sure to check those out.

[proud gonzo]

Again, I was not a Caddy tech, so I'm not sure how easy it is to get to the throttle body. They like to dress up the engines of caddys a lot with plastic covers that hide everything. Hopefully that helps some. It is so hard to diagnose something over a computer.
without even knowing what you're talking about i can tell you it'll be really frickin hard to get to. The car is retarded.

[C&CDean]

When I read stuff like this I think "dang, this is the type of situation that makes me happy I was a pot smoking, pill popping, 9th grade dropout who liked working on cars instead of a uber-nerd, trombone playing mensa boy with a brain the size of Dallas."

I'm gonna go with the throttle linkage. Always check the simple stuff first. Don't let some schmo at the shop (somebody like Homey maybe) sell you some "free wheeling clutch grease" or tell you your "T.R. double E" needs to be replaced.

The transmission/torque converter won't make your RPM stay up like that even in neutral/idle mode. Your problem is simple, grasshoppah.

[proud gonzo]

headlight fluid.

it neads headlight fluid.

[GottaHavePride]

I think it's low on elbow grease, too.

[proud gonzo]

edit: wrong thread :O

[RacerX]

Well the girls would turn the color
Of the avacado when he would drive
Down their street in his El Dorado
He could walk down you street
And girls could not resist his stare
Pablo Picasso never got called an *******
Not like you
Alright

[GottaHavePride]

Update: throttle body was gunked up with carbon deposits AND the ISC motor had gone bad, whatever an ISC motor is. $490

Oh, and the A/C needs (according to them) $2,000 worth of work. New compressor, new condensor, etc. etc. We told them to **** that, since the parent's house and one car just got beat up by hail - I can drive with my windows down.

[SoonerInKCMO]

Idle Speed Control motor.

[Osce0la]

Oh, and the A/C needs (according to them) $2,000 worth of work. New compressor, new condensor, etc. etc. We told them to **** that, since the parent's house and one car just got beat up by hail - I can drive with my windows down.
Is this the same people that just said the a/c was fine except for that one non-vital thing?

[GottaHavePride]

Is this the same people that just said the a/c was fine except for that one non-vital thing?

Well, Friday they said it was fine, just getting a false reading somewhere. Today they tell me it needs $1900 worth of work. Considering that's probably 1/3 the value of the car right now, we'll probably just not mess with the A/C and maybe I'll be able to trade it in by the end of the summer.

[yermom]

Well, Friday they said it was fine, just getting a false reading somewhere. Today they tell me it needs $1900 worth of work. Considering that's probably 1/3 the value of the car right now, we'll probably just not mess with the A/C and maybe I'll be able to trade it in by the end of the summer.

might as well keep it then :D

[GottaHavePride]

Nah, I want it gone because of the 15 mpg in-town and burning $3 per gallon premium.

[proud gonzo]

not to mention the whole TRYING TO KILL YOU thing