Temp Question and flashing ride control light

Jacob_Royer

SCCoA Member
1:
Is it normal on a hot as* day for your temp gauge to hang metween the M and the A ? it just seemed alot hotter than it runs on a cooler day i dunno maybe i just don't know the car yet.. It never got any hotter than that but i just wondered..

2: What does a flashing ride control light (in the normal switch position) indicate and how can i fix it??



Thanks
 
These birds tend to run a little warm unless you "enhance" the cooling system. My '92SC temp guage has always seemed to read around the "M" (I don't think my '92 guage reads "NORMAL", just "NORM"). I haven't ever checked the actual temp with one of those fancy temperature readers, so I don't know for sure how warm it gets, but the fan kicks on like it should when the guage starts to move beyond "M" and it drops down to "O" for a few minutes. I've changed thermostats, used "Water-Wetter", put on the larger air deflector (from a Pontiac Grand-AM), and it always seems to run in the same range. I don't think any of the stock guages are particularly accurate on these cars. Anyway, I've got around 225K (original owner) miles on my SC and it still runs strong.
The flashing "Firm Ride" light is an indication of a problem with one of the shock actuators. It could be a bad shock, or just the actuator itself is "sticking". If you count the number of flashes, it will point you to which shock is triggering the code. (I can't remember which number relates to each shock). Try popping the actuators off the top of the shock and spraying some WD-40 or PB Blaster into the "actuator pin" on the shock. Use a set of needle nose pliers and gently turn the pin to free it up if it is stuck.
 
When my car was new, temperature was never an issue.
Perhaps the condenser has absorbed years of debris and bugs, thereby blocking air flow to rad. (provided everthing else is up to par)
 
sail7seas said:
When my car was new, temperature was never an issue.
Perhaps the condenser has absorbed years of debris and bugs, thereby blocking air flow to rad. (provided everthing else is up to par)

Re: Flashing "FIRM" Light
I've found that this sometimes works as well:
You should hear some clicking sounds when you turn the key to "on" without starting the car. Or the firm ride light will blink 1, 2, 3, or 4 times. Count the clicks, or blinks. I believe that the order goes from the driver's side rear, to the passenger's side rear, to the passenger's side front, to the driver's side front. In other words if you get 2 clicks it would be passenger's side rear. Now I could be wrong on the order, but it might not matter in this case. On my car, and most cases, it's the fronts that give the problem. So if you get 3-4 clicks, it's one of the fronts, and the fix is so simple, that you might as well do both, or even all four.
If you start with the fronts, here's what to do. Shut the key off, and go to the shock towers. Remove the black plastic cover, and you will see the ride control actuator. Squeeze the clips on the top to remove it. Look in the small cylindrical tube you have just exposed. Inside you will see a small blade like part. Make a mental not on it's position, relative to the underside of the actuator. Take some WD40 and spray a shot over, and around the small blade. Then take a pair of needle nose pliers and gently rotate the blade like a half turn right, and a half turn left. If it's the one that is giving the problem. the blade will not turn easily at first. DO NOT FORCE IT. If it won't turn at first, let the WD40 penetrate for 10-15 minutes, and try again until you can turn the blade back & forth so it turns easily. Try to get the blade back to where it was when you took the actuator off, and replace the actuator. This can be a pain, cause it has to be lined up perfectly for the actuator to be snapped back on.
So it can't hurt to do both fronts or all four. This should rectify the problem. If it does not, then it could be an actuator, or as Fred said, the shock it's self.
BTW- Sometimes the problem can be cleared up by rocking the firm ride switch back & forth a few times also
 
Alright thanks for the information i will try that out... I have tried rocking the switch back and forth already because i picked that up in another thread i came across. Sorry for the same questions you've already probably heard a million times... I will try the actuator thing out this weekend seems when it flashes that it flashes 3 times so i will check out the front first.. Is it just me or do these cars run much better in the cool evening hours then they do when its 90+ outside? Its fast anyway but driving it home last night (i work nights) man she was strong when i'd open it up seemed that i actually got more boost with cooler outside temps.. Are the I/C fans worth it? I've seen them advertised and they seem like a good idea.



JStudrawa said:
Re: Flashing "FIRM" Light
I've found that this sometimes works as well:
You should hear some clicking sounds when you turn the key to "on" without starting the car. Or the firm ride light will blink 1, 2, 3, or 4 times. Count the clicks, or blinks. I believe that the order goes from the driver's side rear, to the passenger's side rear, to the passenger's side front, to the driver's side front. In other words if you get 2 clicks it would be passenger's side rear. Now I could be wrong on the order, but it might not matter in this case. On my car, and most cases, it's the fronts that give the problem. So if you get 3-4 clicks, it's one of the fronts, and the fix is so simple, that you might as well do both, or even all four.
If you start with the fronts, here's what to do. Shut the key off, and go to the shock towers. Remove the black plastic cover, and you will see the ride control actuator. Squeeze the clips on the top to remove it. Look in the small cylindrical tube you have just exposed. Inside you will see a small blade like part. Make a mental not on it's position, relative to the underside of the actuator. Take some WD40 and spray a shot over, and around the small blade. Then take a pair of needle nose pliers and gently rotate the blade like a half turn right, and a half turn left. If it's the one that is giving the problem. the blade will not turn easily at first. DO NOT FORCE IT. If it won't turn at first, let the WD40 penetrate for 10-15 minutes, and try again until you can turn the blade back & forth so it turns easily. Try to get the blade back to where it was when you took the actuator off, and replace the actuator. This can be a pain, cause it has to be lined up perfectly for the actuator to be snapped back on.
So it can't hurt to do both fronts or all four. This should rectify the problem. If it does not, then it could be an actuator, or as Fred said, the shock it's self.
BTW- Sometimes the problem can be cleared up by rocking the firm ride switch back & forth a few times also
 
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