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3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

KZOO3800

KZOO3800

New member
1997 Buick LeSabre. Series II 3800 motor. 15X,000 miles. Same motor and trans as my Grand Prix. I am reclaiming this vehicle tomorrow from my friend. But I need advice to fix it.

Vehicle developed major transmission problems after a shop botched a brake job/caused a small fire underneath the car.

This '97 Buick LeSabre was last worked on by a shop , Michigan in October 2012 less than a week before I bought it. They fixed the brake lines but inadvertently set a brief fire somewhere under the front of the car with a blow torch. The car left the shop with only 3rd gear working.

My friend borrowed the car. He fixed "some wiring so that the transmission can be shifted between 2nd and 3rd gears". This is indeed true. I've driven it to verify this. 2nd and 3rd gears do engage manually. But, nothing else. No 1st and no OD (4th gear).

Is this "limp mode" a real thing? How would one get the car out of it?
 
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Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

how about you shorten that up, and get to the real problem, not to many guys are gonna read that wall of text, like im not.
 
Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

were they working near master cylinder to fix brake lines? maybe wiring harness for trans is messed up
 
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Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

S.Doggs is right! No more 12-pack-a-booze in-the-garage before I enter this forum. That's a mistake I and I will own it. Sorry guys. Initial post edited and I will keep this legit. Lets go. Here's the vital info:

I picked up the car and took it straight to my favorite parts shop for a dtc scan. Car is waiting for delivery to a trans shop at the moment. Still searching for the best in the area. All I can say is despite needing a LIM job the engine performs solidly. Surprisingly well really. Here's what I've got for OBDII codes:



The catalytic converter and its associated heated O2 sensor (downstream 02) are gone, removed by previous owner to save money on repair. No surprise here. It will idle high at start until you give it that first kick of throttle in any position. I assume it currently runs off a default PCM table. Let it run for 2 minutes and nail the throttle once and it seems to idle as close to normal as I would expect. No surge. Codes associated with the downstream 02 sensor are of no concern right now, it has been deleted with no PCM reprogram or dummy sensor.

Evap systems issues and associated code are most likely causing the faint "fuel vapor" smell. I can stand to either side of the passenger compartment and smell just a hint of fuel vapor. Fuel tank isn't leaking after over an hour of inspection under the car. Fuel cap is new. I doubt it's a leaking hose or canister in the EVAP system but that's my educated guess. If it is a wiring issue it is probably caused by very slowly pooling oil on the LIM shorting out the EVAP purge solenoid circuit. There's a vacuum line going straight to said solenoid as well, but isn't leaking vacuum from what I could see. I also know there's a vent in the EVAP canister that could be compromised if wiring could have been damaged in that circuit. I just don't know at the moment.

The real concern is the trans codes. The trans-position area of the gauge cluster: The gear position indicator is off-point: Either a little to the left or right. It's in the parking lot, I can snap a pic if this seems to be of any concern. I'm more concerned with the torque convertor codes and the 1-2/2-3 shift solenoid codes.

The rest is beyond the scope of my experience which is why I posted here.

This could very well be a wiring issue caused by the messy brake job, but my narrowed question to the forum is:

Are any of these codes appearing to cause one-another? I wouldn't have believed a wiring issue may cause all this stuff, but it happened the moment it left the shop. Thanks in advance for your help. You guys rock.
 
Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

Try foy's transmission and auto repair if you want to stay local.
915 Gibson st.
269-382-5255.
 
Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

So you have a major looking wiring issue. I'd bet they cooked part of the pcm/engine harness. Couple of ways to go at it. Go get another LeSloppy underhood harness at a JY or fix the one you have. Pretty sure you'll see the cooked wiring.
 


Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

Thanks bill. When the proper wiring is in place will the PCM reset the codes itself or will I have to have them cleared? Wondering what the final steps are.
 
Re: 3800 SII Claims of "Limp Mode" 2nd and 3rd" only manually available

unplug the battery for 30 minutes, it will clear the codes, if the cel comes back on, re scan it see what comes up.

or if you have your own scanner, you can clear the codes with the scanner.
 
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