Need help with tons of problems!

[1995E]

Hi everyone,

I am at 84K miles now and I have a bunch of error codes:
Here is a list of them:
https://gist.github.com/jamesguan/9a3d8af23c7bd8ce6c8ce6a3551c4768

For those who don't have access to github: https://pastebin.com/raw/ijb1Y3S9

Below is a list of issues and I'm wondering if anyone can toss me their 2 cents on the issues:

Code: P0306 - cylinder 6 misfire detected
The one I am most concerned about is the misfire code for cylinder 6. I am guessing I should.

I've been driving with the airbag light and now, the engine light also came on. It only came up when I accelerated hard on the highway to pass. The engine light would flash and then it would disappear. One time while driving, the I had some kind of thump 2 times, about 1/4th of a second between each other and rocked the whole car as if some kind of bind happened. Accelerated hard again one time and same thing happened, engine struggled and then CEL came on and stayed on.

I am going to try to replace the spark plugs first to see if that helps but I'm unsure how else to approach this problem.

Code: B1212 - Driver Seatbelt Buckle Pretensioner Deployment Control:
I think others have ran into this issue? I'm not sure where the pretensioner is. I would assume it's in the pillar where the seat belt comes from, I fiddled around with it, but the code is still present. Took it into the dealership once for this issue and they "fixed" it. It has come back after 2 years and the airbag light has been staying on.

Code: B1081 - Left Temperature Damper Motor
Sometimes my HVAC blows cold on the driver side, and I guess this is probably why. Has anyone ran into this issue before and replaced the part?

Code: B137F - Steering Wheel Left Switch Pack
Not sure what this issue is. My left steering wheel buttons seem to work, but it's a code nonetheless.

Rubbing/popping noise when turning the steering wheel from the center point
So when I turn the steering wheel left to right/vice versa, it always makes a pop noises at around 0 degrees of turn on the steering wheel. I also get a lot of popping noises going over bumps and I'm not sure if it's related. I tried to listen for the sound but it seems the pop travels through to both wheels. You can actually feel the pop when holding the actual wheels and having someone turning the steering wheel left and right. Not sure what it is.

Oil Coated Engine mount?:
I also noticed the engine mount has black oil near it. I checked a month ago and the engine mount was still clean. Not sure if that had something to do with the binding or check engine light. Is the mount itself the source of the oil? I don't see any oil leak coming from the engine itself.

I guess it's time to trade in? I want to at least make it to 10 years or 300K miles with this car though!

 

[blwnsmoke]

Only thing I can help with (not really helping) is anytime your CEL blinks you are supposed to shut down immediately. Blinking means the issue can result in engine damage.

Which makes sense since you went WOT and that was when it happened. Possible injector???

I know the dealers charge quite a bit but it isn't something I'd want to mess with personally.

 

[sheltonfilms]

That's probably a hydraulic motor mount. It has chamber that adds extra dampening just like a shock absorber. And just like a shock when it leaks its time to replace.

For the cylinder 6 misfire it could be a bad spark plug or a spark plug coil boot with a hole in it allowing the the spark to ground out to the head/valve cover. Cylinder 6 is the front bank far right cylinder. When it's running see if you can hear a click sound like a relay from this area. If you do its arcing through the boot. If not try swapping cylinder 6 and cylinder 4 (middle front) spark plugs and see if the code comes back as P0304, this means its the plug. You can also do the same thing with with the coils.

 

[XDM45]

I had the misfire code in my impala and it ended up being low compression in cylinder 2.

 

[thefranchise713]

I've seen more FMC plugs need replacement earlier than the recommended 100k interval than not. Cyl 6 probably is just gapped a bit more to the rest to where it's out of spec. If it were my car, I'd change them all.

Code: B137F - Steering Wheel Left Switch Pack -- which module returned this code? SCCM?

 

[thefranchise713]

Also, reading the GITHUB link--I see a low voltage code there, what's the story with that?

 

[1995E]

Only thing I can help with (not really helping) is anytime your CEL blinks you are supposed to shut down immediately. Blinking means the issue can result in engine damage.

Which makes sense since you went WOT and that was when it happened. Possible injector???

I know the dealers charge quite a bit but it isn't something I'd want to mess with personally.

That's probably a hydraulic motor mount. It has chamber that adds extra dampening just like a shock absorber. And just like a shock when it leaks its time to replace.

For the cylinder 6 misfire it could be a bad spark plug or a spark plug coil boot with a hole in it allowing the the spark to ground out to the head/valve cover. Cylinder 6 is the front bank far right cylinder. When it's running see if you can hear a click sound like a relay from this area. If you do its arcing through the boot. If not try swapping cylinder 6 and cylinder 4 (middle front) spark plugs and see if the code comes back as P0304, this means its the plug. You can also do the same thing with with the coils.

Thanks for the tips, I'll use some injector cleaner to see if that will help. I'll probably replace the spark plugs too and check for compression while I'm at it. The misfires were really strong as it rocked the whole car so I hope there was not significant damage.Engine is running fine though.

As for the motor mount, do you think it'd be difficult to change? I was thinking I could use a 2 by 4 and put it on a jack and jack it up to the oil pan to hold the engine in place and then take the motor mount off that way.

I've seen more FMC plugs need replacement earlier than the recommended 100k interval than not. Cyl 6 probably is just gapped a bit more to the rest to where it's out of spec. If it were my car, I'd change them all.

Code: B137F - Steering Wheel Left Switch Pack -- which module returned this code? SCCM?

It is the Steering Column Control module.

Also, reading the GITHUB link--I see a low voltage code there, what's the story with that?

I'm not sure. I replaced the car battery less than 2 years ago and it's a much bigger battery with better amperage. Sometimes after turning off the car, I get the battery saver screen, but I don't think the battery voltage is even low.

 

[thefranchise713]

"Sometimes after turning off the car, I get the battery saver screen, but I don't think the battery voltage is even low."

This is a problem that should be solved first. Check the FORScan application for the BCM PID reflecting state of charge after driving and before you start driving the next day. Record the ##s and report back.

This assumes, of course, the car isn't sitting for weeks on end between drives. Battery is immediately suspect.

If Sync is displaying that message, the APIM is getting a command from the BCM to start load shed protections to prevent fatal (in the sense that the car won't restart) drain.

The codes in the text file -- for bad data from RCM, and your left switch pack could be spurious from the battery drain.

 

[1995E]

"Sometimes after turning off the car, I get the battery saver screen, but I don't think the battery voltage is even low."

This is a problem that should be solved first. Check the FORScan application for the BCM PID reflecting state of charge after driving and before you start driving the next day. Record the ##s and report back.

This assumes, of course, the car isn't sitting for weeks on end between drives. Battery is immediately suspect.

If Sync is displaying that message, the APIM is getting a command from the BCM to start load shed protections to prevent fatal (in the sense that the car won't restart) drain.

Thanks, I'll definitely look into it. If the battery is the culprit, I'll go to autozone to get it swapped since it has a 2 year replacement warranty. I wonder if FORscan can detect how much battery drain I'm getting when the car is off. Maybe that's the culprit because I don't see how a battery could be at low voltage after a drive. I use the car daily for a 60 mile total commute.

Edit: I also put die electric grease on the battery terminals. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Thanks, I'll definitely look into it. If the battery is the culprit, I'll go to autozone to get it swapped since it has a 2 year replacement warranty. I wonder if FORscan can detect how much battery drain I'm getting when the car is off. Maybe that's the culprit because I don't see how a battery could be at low voltage after a drive. I use the car daily for a 60 mile total commute.

Edit: I also put die electric grease on the battery terminals. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

It can detect load being put on the battery using the battery sensor, but it won't give you what you want to know because to run Forscan the CAN bus is woken up. This essentially turns on all control units. Good way to test drain now is to get a current clamp style multimeter and just let the vehicle set until it goes to sleep.


If you can feel the car stumbling and rocking real bad at idle it will only take a few minutes to set the misfire code. Misfire won't hurt an engine if running for a few minutes for testing. I would still do the spark plug and/or coil swap to confirm that is the issue and that you solve it correctly.

 

[kmarnes]

Thanks for the tips, I'll use some injector cleaner to see if that will help. I'll probably replace the spark plugs too and check for compression while I'm at it. The misfires were really strong as it rocked the whole car so I hope there was not significant damage.Engine is running fine though.

This is exactly how you destroy an engine. "Significant misfires" and "engine is running fine" are mutually exclusive statements. When your engine sounds wrong or it codes... you immediately turn off your engine, and get it towed to your mechanic, and not keep driving it. For all you know, you've already done expensive damage. This is the type of problem you don't mess around with.

 

[1995E]

This is exactly how you destroy an engine. "Significant misfires" and "engine is running fine" are mutually exclusive statements. When your engine sounds wrong or it codes... you immediately turn off your engine, and get it towed to your mechanic, and not keep driving it. For all you know, you've already done expensive damage. This is the type of problem you don't mess around with.

I just thought that maybe if the CEL and misfires came on because I went wide open throttle, when I drove normally, it was fine. I appreciate the criticism. I'll get it checked out further at the dealer at my appointment this Saturday.

 

[96eb96]

Blinking CEL == Cooked cats == $$. Basically you are dumping raw fuel into the cats, and they will start getting red hot.
If you need to drive it disconnect the injector, at least fuel won't get dumped in. I thought newer cars shut off injectors for hard misfires, but it is the same as my 96.

 

[SWEET ST]

Hi everyone,

I am at 84K miles now and I have a bunch of error codes:
Here is a list of them:
https://gist.github.com/jamesguan/9a3d8af23c7bd8ce6c8ce6a3551c4768

For those who don't have access to github: https://pastebin.com/raw/ijb1Y3S9

Below is a list of issues and I'm wondering if anyone can toss me their 2 cents on the issues:

Code: P0306 - cylinder 6 misfire detected
The one I am most concerned about is the misfire code for cylinder 6. I am guessing I should.

I've been driving with the airbag light and now, the engine light also came on. It only came up when I accelerated hard on the highway to pass. The engine light would flash and then it would disappear. One time while driving, the I had some kind of thump 2 times, about 1/4th of a second between each other and rocked the whole car as if some kind of bind happened. Accelerated hard again one time and same thing happened, engine struggled and then CEL came on and stayed on.

I am going to try to replace the spark plugs first to see if that helps but I'm unsure how else to approach this problem.

Code: B1212 - Driver Seatbelt Buckle Pretensioner Deployment Control:
I think others have ran into this issue? I'm not sure where the pretensioner is. I would assume it's in the pillar where the seat belt comes from, I fiddled around with it, but the code is still present. Took it into the dealership once for this issue and they "fixed" it. It has come back after 2 years and the airbag light has been staying on.

Code: B1081 - Left Temperature Damper Motor
Sometimes my HVAC blows cold on the driver side, and I guess this is probably why. Has anyone ran into this issue before and replaced the part?

Code: B137F - Steering Wheel Left Switch Pack
Not sure what this issue is. My left steering wheel buttons seem to work, but it's a code nonetheless.

Rubbing/popping noise when turning the steering wheel from the center point
So when I turn the steering wheel left to right/vice versa, it always makes a pop noises at around 0 degrees of turn on the steering wheel. I also get a lot of popping noises going over bumps and I'm not sure if it's related. I tried to listen for the sound but it seems the pop travels through to both wheels. You can actually feel the pop when holding the actual wheels and having someone turning the steering wheel left and right. Not sure what it is.

Oil Coated Engine mount?:
I also noticed the engine mount has black oil near it. I checked a month ago and the engine mount was still clean. Not sure if that had something to do with the binding or check engine light. Is the mount itself the source of the oil? I don't see any oil leak coming from the engine itself.

View attachment 151579

View attachment 151580

I guess it's time to trade in? I want to at least make it to 10 years or 300K miles with this car though!

Push it.....only joking sorry. I would get rid of it. to much $$$

 

[1995E]

Push it.....only joking sorry. I would get rid of it. to much $$$

I actually still do. I will probably drive it until it dies. Currently, I'm aiming to save for a Model X. So that means I have to drive this car a few more years until I can buy that to replace this.

I still have some pressing questions. I have this rubbing or popping sound when I turn the steering wheel across the center point, and my suspension makes the same kind of noise going over even the slightest of bumps in the road. Would anyone have a hint on what it could be?

 

[kmarnes]

This is a good read. Skip down to the steering, suspension worst case examples: https://jalopnik.com/nine-scary-ways-that-your-automobile-can-fail-1820020863

 

[1995E]

This is a good read. Skip down to the steering, suspension worst case examples: https://jalopnik.com/nine-scary-ways-that-your-automobile-can-fail-1820020863

You make me want to trade my car in lol. Gone are the days of Crown Victorias and 300K+ mile lifespans.

 

[1995E]

Here is how my spark plug looks on cylinder 6. Might be why I was having misfires!!! Gap was .064