My 2000 Buick Regal LS Issues Thread..

Hello all! Just found this place, seems like a wealth of knowledge you guys got here! I've tried to just accumulate all my issues into one thread so I'm not starting all these different threads. Really only one or two issues are of a more "critical" nature. The others I just thought I'd list in case they're "easy fixes."

For what it's worth, I'm a degreed electrical engineer with 10 years experience. I don't have much *CAR* experience, but if it's something I can easily remove and touch up with solder, or replace a cap or resistor, then I'd be all over it. Otherwise, I trust my dealership...

Okay, on with my several problems... listed in order of severity:

1) Intermittently Cranks then dies....- always cranks, but when problem exists, won't stay on, just dies.

- NO codes are being set.

- this is my daily driver car, 145k miles, problem has happened about 7 times over the last 14 days. Crank at least twice a day (once to work, again to return home), sometimes more for lunchtime errands. So the "percentage" occurrence is low.

- when problem occurs, if I try to give it plenty of gas and rev it during crank, it will barely stay alive (500-1000 rpm).. Letting off the gas car will die again. When trying to give it lots of gas during crank like this, dark (I think?) smoke comes out the exhaust.

- sometimes when problem occurs even if I try to give it plenty of gas it doesn't respond, and just dies as if I was not depressing the gas.

- two of the times it has died, I have been driving. I do not recall if I was coasting or accelerating. More likely either coasting or very light application of gas.

- after each time that it has exhibited the problem during crank, leaving the car off for 5-15 minutes and trying again works fine. Problem may not show up again for multiple days.

- Out of curiosity, once when the car started normally as it should, I revved it up in park to see if the engine sounded weird. When it got up to around 4000 RPM, the engine feels like it's skipping a beat. A buddy of mine said that some cars have a safety mechanism that kicks in during high RPM when the engine is not under load, so I don't know if this is indicative of my problem or just a normal safety characteristic of the car.

- Aside from the above conditions, the car has been fantastic and completely trouble free for its entire life (I am the sole owner, purchased new in 2000).

Hopefully that is enough information that some of you folks that are tons smarter than I about cars can hopefully give me a few pointers. Most all of the care and maintenance has been done through a wonderful and competent dealership. The service person has indicated it could be the fuel pump, but is hesitant to spend my money without it being a more definitive diagnosis (which I appreciate!). He also mentioned something about a possible sensor gone bad, or possibly the ignition switch. But I don't have any trouble with the blinkers -- which he said would indicate an ignition switch problem. 2) Lowest air conditioning speed doesn't workDoesn't matter if AC is on/off, or what mode (bilev, max, vent, heater, etc) ... The first "air blower speed" position above OFF doesn't work. A/C light comes on (if AC is enabled), and air does flow (ever so slightly) when the car is MOVING.. I can also hear the compressor kicking on when the car isn't moving. But there's no forced air coming out of the vents...
3) Occasionally no interior dashboard backlights at night (can't see speedometer, odometer, OR radio display)Just what it says.. It's only happened about three times in the past month, and never before that. But when it happens, I can't see how fast I'm going, or even see the clock on the radio... I'm not terribly worried about any of it except the speedometer. It's always nice to know how fast you're really going... :)
4) Power to rearview mirror (auto-dim and under-mirror lights) occasionally out.Don't know if this is something I can easily fix or not. Don't want a new mirror, but if it's an easy solder-fix, I'd be all over it.
thanks in advance everyone!!!
..dane

the starting issues could be the crank shaft pos sensor. they get hard to start when that part begins to fail until eventualy it will not start at all, the cutting out you are experencing at high rpms is the rev limiter it protects the engine from red line and blowing up the engine

I would look at body grounds for your intermintent electrical problems sometimes there is a ground in the car near the driver door kick panel under the carpet

the starting issues could be the crank shaft pos sensor. they get hard to start when that part begins to fail until eventualy it will not start at all, the cutting out you are experencing at high rpms is the rev limiter it protects the engine from red line and blowing up the engine

I would look at body grounds for your intermintent electrical problems sometimes there is a ground in the car near the driver door kick panel under the carpet
Thanks for your reply

Would the crank shaft position sensor explain the black smoke when I try to rev it during problematic cranks?

Also, may I ask why you would not first suggest a bad fuel pump? Others have suggested I try that first. It's expensive too though, so I'm trying to gather more information. If you don't think it's the fuel pump, I'd love to hear your rationale!

thanks,
..dane

Welcome to AF.

#1 is most likely a bad MAF sensor. With the key off, unhook the MAF connector then start the car. After a short adjsutment period, if the car runs better and no longer starts/stalls, the MAF is bad. They can cause these symptoms without tripping a code, very common problem on all 3800's.

#2 is most likely a bad ignition switch/harness. The contacts where the switch/harness plugs into the vehicle harness get weak with age and start to arc, causing all sorts of random seeming electrical gremlins including everything you mentioned.

#1 update--

Well it finally acted up for the dealer, and they believe it to be the MAF sensor. They've replaced it and its back at home. Started fine all three times today. Good luck so far. We'll see if it lasts several weeks to be sure...

cheers,
..dane

In post 4, my response should read #2, 3 and 4 are most likely a bad ignition switch. Sorry for the omission.

In post 4, my response should read #2, 3 and 4 are most likely a bad ignition switch. Sorry for the omission.
I don't think that is the case.. when the rear-view mirror acts up, tapping the mirror brings it back to proper operation. I think it's a bad solder joint in the mirror or maybe a cable harness going bad. The air conditioning blower speed issue is only on the slowest setting. All other fan speeds work fine. As for the backlight to the console, though, I have no idea. It's just completely out (only occasionally). I would have thought it was a bad console, but the radio lights don't come over, which is clearly not part of the dashboard console. It's as if the PWM circuit (or whatever they use for dimming) has a bad solder joint.

But since the MAF sensor has been replaced, the car has been starting and running fine. It's been not quite a week yet, but so far so good..

thanks,
..dane

I know, it's been a while. Sorry for the delay. The MAF was in fact the problem and after it was replaced, the car's continued running well ever since.

An update on a few things, plus some new things:

2) Lowest air conditioning speed doesn't workStill a problem. Not very concerned about it though. Doesn't bother me.
3) Occasionally no interior dashboard backlights at night (can't see speedometer, odometer, OR radio display)Well, this is now swapped- the dashboard backlights are only occasionally ON. :) Quite rarely, in fact. About once every month or so for about 30seconds to 5 minutes, then they'll go out again. Of course during the day it's a moot point. But once the sun goes down, you're outta luck.

Additionally, the odometer has completely gone out. It's been getting fainter and fainter over the course of YEARS. Apparently a bad engineering design and they over-drove the VFD filament voltage (I know a thing or two about VFDs), causing it to burn out way too early.

A friend mentioned that there are available little devices that plug into the vehicle diagnostic connector that can display speed and mileage information. Does anybody know what these are or where I can get one?
4) Power to rearview mirror (auto-dim and under-mirror lights) occasionally out.Well, the mirror itself actually just finally fell off the other week. But the "fluid" inside the mirror is I guess settling or something, it looks all weird. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement auto-dim rear-view mirror? If it's not too expensive, I'll just get a new one. If it is, then I can live with the old one.
5) Anti-lock brake dash light always onThis is more of an FYI for anyone else searching the net.. My ABS controller has gone bad. The dealership indicated that either it will engage when not necessary (which doesn't hurt anything), or it won't engage when it is necessary (wheels could lock up), or it could work fine. It's intermittent. I'm already a careful driver so I've chosen to just accept it and not fiddle with it. Too expensive to replace (dealership wanted many many hundreds of dollars).
6) Fuel gauge no longer works.This I would like to fix, but the dealership wanted $400 for the job. Said something about having to drop the fuel tank to replace the sensor. Is this something a reasonable person could do by themselves? Does anyone have a visual guide on how to do this, and how much a sensor costs?
So to sum up, I don't know when I need gas (just fill up every few days), and I don't know how far I've driven (just get oil changed every few months). The "conveniences" of the car are falling apart quite humorously, while the "core" of the car (engine, transmission, wheels, axles, seats, steering, etc) are all still running quite perfectly. Still love the car, it's an awesomely powerful and a very smooth ride, and still handles nimbly. I have no plans on getting rid of it anytime soon. Most of the issues I have accepted and live with on my daily commutes. At this point my main concern is getting the fuel sensor fixed and getting a device to read current speed and mileage.

If anybody can help me out with these items, I'd really appreciate it! :)

thanks,
..dane

#2.....probably your resistor block

#3....would be checking the headlight/dimmer switch circuit...

#4....try junkyard for a replacement.

#5....was this a GM dealer? Did they give you the ABS codes?

#6.....that why I question whether it's a GM dealership.....should not have to drop the gas tank...open trunk....remove carpetting.....should find an aluminum cover between spare and rear seat....you access the tank through that cover.....what you need is a new fuel sending unit......don't have to buy the whole fuel pump module, just the sending unit....

#2.....probably your resistor block

#3....would be checking the headlight/dimmer switch circuit...

#4....try junkyard for a replacement.

#5....was this a GM dealer? Did they give you the ABS codes?

#6.....that why I question whether it's a GM dealership.....should not have to drop the gas tank...open trunk....remove carpetting.....should find an aluminum cover between spare and rear seat....you access the tank through that cover.....what you need is a new fuel sending unit......don't have to buy the whole fuel pump module, just the sending unit....

#2- Guessing I have to pull it out to fix that.. are there visual instructions somewhere? not interested in pulling the entire console out (if that's what it involves). But I am an electrical engineer by trade, so if that's all it is, I could probably pretty easily fix that myself.

#3- hmmm, sounds easy enough. I'm guessing I need to invest in a repair manual at this point. I have no idea where that's located.

#4- yes, currently looking on eBay .. :)

#5- yes, but I did not ask for the code. they said the ABS controller was faulty and would need replacement (many many hundreds of dollars).

#6- What?!? You mean I just need one of these? (http://www.ebay.com/itm/170693428531) :banghead:

thanks!
..dane

Wait, let me ask one more thing -- the headlights work fine all day and all night- it's just the interior dash lights that I'm having trouble with. Do I still need to look into the steering column dimmer switch, or just the dashboard dimmer switch?

thanks!
..dane

EDIT: I made another reply before this one, for some reason that one got delayed for "moderator approval." humph. Oh well. it'll show up eventually.

My bad....dashboard dimmer switch....:runaround:

since my other post never appeared, I'll repeat it:

#2- Like one of these (http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Blower-Motor-Resistor-BWD_18260178-P_861_R)? Or do I need a whole new control (like this one (http://www.conquestauto.com/v/vspfiles/photos/10308120-2.jpg))? Are there any visual instructions on how to remove the A/C control (manual, dual-zone style, not automatic style)? Do I need to remove the entire dash cover? That does NOT sound fun.

#3- I took out the dashboard dimmer this morning and took it apart. pieces flew everywhere (didn't realize there were springs in there!). Found all the parts, set them aside. Saw some really nasty black looking junk on one of the contacts- took an exacto blade and carefully scraped it all off (neither alcohol nor contact cleaner would get it off). Figured out where the springs and brass tops went (they give the resistance stops in pulling the knob out (two stops) as well as the interior "all on" switch click/stop), reassembled everything, reinstalled, and could see the radio display intensity varying up and down- YAY! Too bright to see if the rest of the dash will light up or not. Will know that tonight.

When I was going to reconnect the vehicle connector, I noticed that the plastic around the pin that was all black was somewhat melted. It was a corner pin all by itself. Not sure what happened there, or if it will happen again. Wish I knew the pinout, maybe that's the power to the dash/console lighting?


#4- yeah, just started looking on eBay...

#5- yes, but they did not give me the codes. Nor did I ask for them.

#6- you mean all I need is this (http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/WC/2668-01144883.html)? --- Looking at this website (http://redhouseon7th.com/redhouse/howto/2010BuickFuelLevelSensor/index.html), it seems like I might should go ahead and replace the whole pump. it's got about 167k miles on it. Trying to get some of these things fixed so I can get another 200k out of it..

thanks!
..dane

1) I got the same problem, crank but no start when the engine is hot after a long drive. But the reason was that the fuel pump was failing, not the MAF sensor.

4) Try to find an Intrigue mirror with compass. It is usually about $50 on eBay. The two cars use the same wiring harness for the mirror so it's plug and play. Here is mine taken from an 99 Intrigue:
44177

6) Given your mileage, it may be a better idea to replace the whole pump than just the gage. It's not a hard job and took me about half an hour to replace the pump.

I have a working dash dimmer and a restored odometer display with trip odometer, so I am going to hold off a little while and then replace the whole pump. Biggest question is whether the $90 pump that I have seen recommended elsewhere is just as good as the $250 pumps I have also seen. Obviously the $90 pump sounds better to my wallet. :)

I have also been doing some research and noticed that many folks have the ABS light that comes on and it too turns out to just be an electrical/wiring issue, with some exposed wires near the wheel that need to be spliced and repaired. I'm going to be looking into that in the coming months as well. I just need to get something to lift up the car a bit first so I can get up under there to have a look.

Got a mirror ordered off eBay. Currently looking for the driver-side exterior mirror. Mine is leaking now and getting difficult to look through. Wondering if I can get the chromatic/auto-dim off eBay for a reasonable price.. Will be looking soon..

Just ordered a passenger side mirror for my wife's Toyota Sienna- don't know yet if they make one for my buick.

Will investigate the A/C speed knob soon also.

thanks!
..dane

#3 I had a similar problem with the odometer on a 2001 Buick Regal LS. The odometer would not display. The link below fixed my problem. Note, I only had to replace 4 resistors.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=962378&highlight=odometer+gauge

hello i have a 2000 regal ls and the gas gauge seems to just be noding back and forth, one sec its saying im on empty and then im on half of tank. can anyone help me with this issue and how i can get it fixed? is this an easy fix? about how much does this cost with out going to a shop? and one more thing i went to get a oil change and couldnt get the milege on the car because there was no visual of the numbers anywear in the car, and even the spot were you see the park, drive, neutral is to be is not on, is that a fuse blown?

You have two seperate problems.....your LED display is a cluster problem.....

The fuel gage is another problem......the usual fix is to pull the f/p module(this is accessible through a cover plate in the trunk), and replace the level sensor....