I have a question for anyone who may know.
I am looking at a sunfire that is for sale and it has a few problems.
when you start the car everything is fine. just a few seconds later some lights turn on the control monitor. the brake light turns on, the high beams flash on and off at a steady pace, and the anti theft flashes.
1st i tried moving the E break and the brake light went off. then shortly after it came back.
2nd i wiggled the light switches thinking they might have a bad connector.
none of this fixed the problem.
i looked under the steering column and noticed someone tried to install a after market alarm or car starter.
if someone messed up the wireing could it be an easy fix?
could someone have ruined the computer.
i just dont want to buy the car if the computer is shot. i could re-do the wiring no big deal.
How can i till if the computer is shot?
this is a 1997 sunfire with 143,000 miles
the brakes need replacing and the passenger seat belt does not come out. they are asking $1900.00
is this worth it?
by the way it is a 2.2L engine
if anyone has any ideas i would be greatly apprieciated.
thank you..
well, i only paid $500 for my 97 sunfire and it had around 130,000 on it, maybe a little less. it also had problems with the headlights, but was an easy fix, although you seem to have different symptoms than i did. it doesn't sound like your computer is shot. if the brakes need replacing then that's why the light is on. also if someone tried to install an alarm or whatever, you can just redo the wiring...buuuuut....before you go ahead and buy it you might want to find out if the timing chain and tensioner have been replaced, because they seem to start giving up around 130,000 miles. not hard to fix yourself, and parts are around $50. i'm not sure if i'd pay that much for the car, especially if you have to fix a bunch of stuff. i'd try to get them down to $900 at least....that extra grand seems outrageous unless they just put a grand into it, which it seems unlikely. but don't go on my opinion alone, see what others have to say.
Fallen I Am, Cursed And Destined To Burn -Dimmu Borgir
Sounds to me to be a project car. Its not worth $1900 with those issues, Are these wires underneath the dash are they cut up or taped together?. I will buy some heat shrink wrap over those bare wires, So that they are not shorting out. (If they are correctly tied together. Also sounds to me you got a problem with the ECU on this car isnt good.
Good Luck.
thanks guys.
anyone else have any idea what the car may be worth? or what you think of it?
For $2000, I'd expect something without a lot of pre-existing issues. Without knowing the extent of the problem, I wouldn't bother with it. For $500 bucks sure, but for $2000 and a set of brakes you should be able to say you've got a solid daily driver. I don't know if that's the case here.
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Well I went and bought the car. I got them down to $1,400. Once i got the car home i looked it over. I opened the hood and was looking around and behind the engine in the back i found a sensor that had a bare wire that was touching something a grounding out. i put some tape on it. now all the lights are off. everything with the electrical is fine.
ONLY problem i have left is that car pulls left went i push the breaks. If i let go of the wheel while driving the car pulls left too, but when i push the breaks though its a hard pull to them left.
Could this just need an alignment or could it be something else?
Thanks for your guys help.
Thats cool you got price knocked down some,1900 was way too much for car with those problems simple fix or not, was a gamble since nobody knew what it was until you found it. As for the breaks, warped rotors or unevenly worn pads possibly? Don't quote me on that, hard to tell without actually sitting in it and feeling pull or looking, but that would be my first guess if it is pulling hard.
maybe a control arm bushing...jack your car up and try to move the tire like you are trying to turn it (not spin)....i had a hard time since i'm a wimp. if it moves you might wanna pull the tire off and check the rear bushing. and if you get them replaced get some prothane
Fallen I Am, Cursed And Destined To Burn -Dimmu Borgir
Clean and lubricate the caliper sliders - if they're sticking that can cause the car to pull, as well as make the brakes behave strangely. Sometimes it's the opposite one from what you would expect. A sticking slider or caliper on the left may cause it to pull slightly that way when driving, but if a part is REALLY stuck on the right and it's preventing the brake from being applied properly, then the only brake doing anything would be the left side, which would definitely cause it to pull hard. Make sure you use a silicone or synthetic product designed specifically for that application though - other greases can wreck the seals on the sliders, causing more headaches down the road!
If a control arm bushing was bad enough to cause this, I would expect some noise to go along with it. If it didn't go through any kind of safety inspection to go on the road, then I would definitely take a good look at everything there - it's 11 years old now, and none of that stuff lasts forever unfortunately...
John S wrote:If a control arm bushing was bad enough to cause this, I would expect some noise to go along with it.
true...when i went over bumps and potholes i would hear and feel clunking. forgot all about that!
Fallen I Am, Cursed And Destined To Burn -Dimmu Borgir
Try rotating the tires see if it goes ok or pulls to the other side... then it is the tires.
