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Cadillac Deville Starting / Stalling Problems

61 messages,  Last post on Jul 13, 2012 at 12:07 AM

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What is this discussion about? Cadillac DeVille, Electrical, Fuel System, Sedan

Messages Page 4 of 7

#29 of 61 Power Window Problem by br20000007

Mar 21, 2009 (12:50 pm)

I have a 1998 4 door cadillac deville with Power Windows. There is a contol pannel with 4 buttons on the driveres door to control each window. I recently rolled my drivers side window down and now , when i press the button to roll it up, the window will not roll up as if it is not getting any power. The other three are working fine and getting power but not the drivers door. has this happened to anyone else and does anyone know what i need to do to fix it? I first thought that it might be a fuse, but i assume if its a bad fuse then the other three would not be getting power either??

#30 of 61 Re: Power Window Problem [br20000007] by bolivar

Mar 23, 2009 (1:27 am)

Replying to: br20000007 (Mar 21, 2009 12:50 pm)
The motor probably died.

#31 of 61 96 deville / cutting out by ctshadaflood

Apr 27, 2009 (8:24 pm)

This like new vehicle has just 55,000 miles and is just used once a week. For some reason while driving, the gas pedal becomes hard, then the brakes, then it will stall. after complete turn off. It will restart and not occur for another month.
 
any help will be appreciated

#32 of 61 Re: 96 deville / cutting out [ctshadaflood] by bolivar

Apr 28, 2009 (2:14 am)

Replying to: ctshadaflood (Apr 27, 2009 8:24 pm)
Crank Position Sensors.

#33 of 61 Re: Cadillac Deville: Stalling Problems by 97_deville

Jun 06, 2009 (9:04 pm)

Replying to: hustla_365 (Mar 06, 2008 8:05 am)
I have experienced a similar stalling problem to the OP. The car drops out of idle intermittently while in D, stopped at traffic lights. The stall is very quick and silent - no chugging or revving. I had a dead battery - drained because the running light relay had gone bad and left the lights on. So the mechanic fixed the relay and charged up the battery, and told me very confidently that my problem was fixed. I questioned his wisdom at the time, and I was (unfortunately) vindicated. As others have said after their cars were "fixed," I drove it again for a few days, then the problem re-occurred. I am told by an engineer that this is very unlikely to be a sensor problem, because no check engine light or codes. The IAC valve is the most likely culprit, so it needs to be removed and cleaned, and I will clean the throttle body at the same time. If this solves the problem, I will reply in this thread to let you all know.

#34 of 61 Re: Cadillac Deville: Stalling Problems [97_deville] by bolivar

Jun 07, 2009 (2:45 am)

Replying to: 97_deville (Jun 06, 2009 9:04 pm)
Crank Position Sensors shut the car down so fast it doesn't have time to set the check engine light code, in some cases.

#35 of 61 Re: 1990 cadillac deville - wont start. [mommie_of_2_08] by quick64

Jun 19, 2009 (6:51 am)

Replying to: mommie_of_2_08 (May 14, 2008 12:35 am)
I had similar problems with no start on my son deville took it to a machanic shop and to caddy dealer they couldnt figure it out. Check your fuse panel under the steering wheel area, fuse #'s 20 and 21 or 21 and 22 control your injectors. 1 of them may be blown, that was th problem with ours. There is usually a spare fuse in I think #10. Let me know if this helped.
 
Ken

#36 of 61 Re: Cadillac Deville: Stalling Problems [bolivar] by 97_deville

Jun 25, 2009 (9:23 am)

Replying to: bolivar (Jun 07, 2009 2:45 am)
I am not a mechanic, but my profession does involve loads of troubleshooting on complex systems. It does not make any sense whatsoever that a car which only stalls while idling stationary or at low coasting speeds would have a problem with the crank sensors, especially when no code comes up on the computer. One time could be an anomaly, a few times could be unusual, but repeated stalling without any indication of an electronic problem would point to a problem and solution which are purely mechanical. I'm not trying to be arrogant here, but it is a huge waste of resources to go around replacing crank sensors on the off chance that they are actually causing the problem.
 
That said, I took off the IAC (Idle Air Control) valve, which is a small but expensive cylinder fastened by two torx screws above the throttle body. I cleaned the valve by spraying loads of electrical parts cleaner on it. At the same time, I cleaned the throttle body. There is an online manual on how to do this here:
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-tech-tips/167181-tb-iac-idle-air-c- ontrol-valve.html
 
The poster who created that guide to cleaning the IAC valve had Phillips screws in his newer model, but check it first and make sure you have Torx bits/drivers if that's the sort of screws on your Cadi. Note that you should disconnect the battery and unplug the controller wires when working on this type of stuff, and use the appropriate cleaner. I wonder whether MAF sensor cleaner would work fine both for the IAC valve and the MAF sensor, but my local store was out of it, so I didn't try or even look into it. I hate having to buy 10 different kinds of cleaners if 2 or 3 will suffice. The important part is not to get water or other corrosive stuff on the coils of the IAC valve.
 
Since cleaning the valve, my car has not stalled even once, I have no problems starting or idling, and I could not be happier with its performance. It even idles at least 25 RPM lower.
 
The IAC valve is only open while the car is idling. If the car never stalls with yor foot on the gas, this is the possible source of your problems. If you are stalling during acceleration, or experiencing rough acceleration (or similar issues), then the culprit could be the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve. The solution is the same - take off the EGR valve and clean it. It's considerably harder to access and remove, though. I've never done it, just read about it. When I have the time, I will clean it as a bit of preventive maintenance.
 
If you don't feel comfortable doing this stuff yourself, at least suggest these issues to your mechanic before agreeing blindly to replace sensors that have not even caused a check engine code. I am an inexperienced, low-level mechanic who was able to do the job with $5 worth of cleaner, an old toothbrush, and an hour and a half of my time, including a run to the auto parts store.
 
One more thing - these valves can fail as well, and you can check to see if they are functioning, but if you don't know how to do that, at least make sure to try cleaning it before paying loads of $$ to replace the part. The movement of the valve is sort of like a solenoid. It has to be actuated electrically, meaning that you cannot test it manually without having it hooked up to a power source (the controller wires).
 
I hope my experience and my post are helpful to those who are having similar problems.

#37 of 61 1994 cadillc 4.6 wont start by trounda

Jul 18, 2009 (2:31 pm)

dont see any codes has plenty of fuel at the fuel rail think its crank sensors told it has 2 sensors exactly where are they located

#38 of 61 Re: Power Window Problem [br20000007] by teachtech

Aug 26, 2009 (10:45 am)

Replying to: br20000007 (Mar 21, 2009 12:50 pm)
I think that the response by bolivar "motor died" is wrong, since the window did go down.
I just had the same thing happen to my '98: The driver's window went down, but not back up. The other 3 window switches all work fine. It turned out that the switch failed. I pulled the switch assembly out & tried to clean the switch contacts, but N.G. The Cadillac dealer wanted >$175 for the switch assembly (they are PROUD of their prices), but Advance Auto was able to get one from the OEM manufacturer for ~$100.
NOTE: Both Cadillac and my local garage said that the book calls for 90 minutes labor to replace the switch (probably claiming to have to take the door apart). I just pulled the entire assembly (including the side mirror switches) up from the armrest, unplugged the cable, unplugged the switch assembly, and then plugged the new switch assembly in. It took me a total of 4 minutes, and I did it in the dark with just the interior light on!
Hope this helps....

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