Minor Problems on a 1995 Oldsmobile 98

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NeRDb0y100

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Hello,

It has been cold up here in Washington recently, and my 1995 Oldsmobile 98 has run into a problem - the car is convinced my parking brake is always applied, when it is indeed not. I would not be to worried about this if it weren't for the fact that the god awful door chime rings whenever the car is in drive, as the chime drives me completely nuts. I look for the possibility of simply removing it's fuse, but the fuse for the chime is also connected to the ignition switch.

My grandpa, a longtime mechanic, suggested that the idicator was stuck, and that lifting up on the parking brake pedal might fix it, and it did not fix the problem.

Another problem - my radio antenna no longer retracts, but the motor still makes noise, including a terrible sounding ticking noise whenever it tries to lower the antenna.

Another problem - occasionally, the car refuses to start, and I must wait 5 minutes and then the car will start. I speculate this is an issue with the security system that GM has on the keys (I think it's called PassKey, but I could be wrong). This is not a major problem for me, and one I am willing to live with, as I always leave early anyways.

If anyone has any suggestions at all, please let me know, becasue other than these problems, the car runs fantastic, has only 95k miles on it, and is the smoothest car I have ever driven.

Thanks for any help or ideas you give!

-Noah



Other car info, for what its worth:
-1995 Oldsmobile 98, Non-Supercharged 3.8L 3800 Series II.
-Manufactured in May 1995.
Options I have )or don't have):
-Cassette Deck
-Electronic Climate control
-Standard 3-guage cluster
-No moonroof (I wish I did...)
-It's white, but has peeling paint (Thanks, 90s GM).
-If you need/want other info, let me know!
 
It is time to replace the antenna. The cord on the inside is broken. Go on Ebay and other places and find one. That happened to me twice. Be careful because you need the exact one for the Ninety Eight. Check GM part numbers.

As far as the other thing, I am not sure what to tell you about that. I know about that chime going off when something is not functioning properly.

The chime module in the Ninety Eight is inside in the instrumentation cluster. I believe the relay also is connected to other features. You are going to have to get the emergency brake issue fixed.

It is called GM passkey as you stated.
 
I had a problem with an antenna from a 1992 Ninety Eight not accepting the antenna cable from a 1991 Ninety Eight properly. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

If I had to guess the antenna is probably the same 1992-1996 though.

Which brake light is coming on for you? I think there are at least two brake lights that can come light up.

I think there may actually be an ABS brake light and a plain old red "BRAKE" light.

When the rear wheel cylinders started leaking on the '92 the red "BRAKE" light came on. If I remember correctly actually; the brake failure light might be the same as the parking brake light so I hope you don't have a hydraulic issue.

Are you using a recut key? I used to have a 1995 Eighty Eight that wouldn't start sometimes if I was using the copied key. It's a possibility if you ever see the "Security" Light come on.
 
NINETY EIGHT REGENCY said:
It is time to replace the antenna. The cord on the inside is broken. Go on Ebay and other places and find one. That happened to me twice. Be careful because you need the exact one for the Ninety Eight. Check GM part numbers.
Click to expand...

I'll replace it then, I can't imagine it is that hard or expensive. Thanks for the tip!
 
ReggieEL said:
I had a problem with an antenna from a 1992 Ninety Eight not accepting the antenna cable from a 1991 Ninety Eight properly. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

If I had to guess the antenna is probably the same 1992-1996 though.

Which brake light is coming on for you? I think there are at least two brake lights that can come light up.

I think there may actually be an ABS brake light and a plain old red "BRAKE" light.

When the rear wheel cylinders started leaking on the '92 the red "BRAKE" light came on. If I remember correctly actually; the brake failure light might be the same as the parking brake light so I hope you don't have a hydraulic issue.

Are you using a recut key? I used to have a 1995 Eighty Eight that wouldn't start sometimes if I was using the copied key. It's a possibility if you ever see the "Security" Light come on.
Click to expand...

The brake light is the one that says "BRAKE," which, according to the manual, comes on when the parking brake is on, which from past experience, is indeed true, but now it is on all of the time and the car does its chime to let me know that the brake is engaged.

No, I am using the factory key, and I have seen the security light come on once, and that was the first time the issue occurred, but it has not come on since the first instance of the problem. The problem has occurred at least 10 more times since, but again, I am willing to live with that issue, as it is rare and I leave early anyways.

Also, in terms of pictures, anything specific you want?

Thanks for your ideas!
 
I don't know.

I would check because I thought I was thinking the same thing when that same (I think) light came on when the rear wheel cylinders were leaking.

Do you have a firm brake pedal or does it feel mushy?

The brake lines on these cars can really rot badly. I know from experience.

Pictures? I don't know. I like seeing them. The only ones I ever see on the road are the ones I have.

The red one is the 91 I drive now.
The other one I had for the past 5 years and is a parts car now -The transmission failed and all of the brake lines rotted.
 

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ReggieEL said:
I don't know.

I would check because I thought I was thinking the same thing when that same (I think) light came on when the rear wheel cylinders were leaking.

Do you have a firm brake pedal or does it feel mushy?

The brake lines on these cars can really rot badly. I know from experience.

Pictures? I don't know. I like seeing them. The only ones I ever see on the road are the ones I have.

The red one is the 91 I drive now.
The other one I had for the past 5 years and is a parts car now -The transmission failed and all of the brake lines rotted.
Click to expand...


The brakes feel sort-of inbetween. They are not stiff like Honda brakes, but they aren't mushy, they work as you would expect them to.

I'll post some pictures somewhere online and link them, so that they are the full resolution.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz76tufjLMi3dVowZ0NFaG5PV28

That is the only one I have on hand right now, It is from my senior photo album. Enjoy! I'll post more later.
 
Ah man, cool car dude.

They are so awesome.

They are so exotic looking compared to the rest of the vehicles that shared that drivetrain; except for maybe the Silhouette which looked alot like an old matchbox car.

I would say check the brake fluid level in your master cylinder reservoir.

I thought that the gold 92 NinetyEight I have always had kind of mushy brakes no matter how well I bled the lines. It must have been the seals inside of the master cylinder. I drove it for 5 years that way. That one had alot of brake problems; pistons in the calipers that wouldn't return so I replaced the hoses and calipers, apparently the ABS module was bad so the ABS didn't work. Wheel cylinders failed and replaced those. Then eventually the lines rotted and blew out.

The Red 91 has a much firmer pedal. The lines weren't too bad, I cleaned the rust on them with a wire brush and painted them with rustoleum paint to extend their life. No hydraulic issues yet.
 
assuming you still have the issue, there may be other factors at work.
1.) you lost some pressure in the brake lines and it "set" the safety pressure switch into
the CLOSED position indicating a loss of pressure. This turns on the light until you bleed
the brakes to reset the switch.
2.) you have lost VACUME and the Vacume Switch has set ON to alert you to a failing
Power Brake Booster.

I found my Oldsmobile had all THREE functions on the one idiot light
and also my KIA Sedona too !

Leak in the Brake Line
Leak in the Vacume Booster.
Dragging Parking Brake Pedal
 
New thought-
on older cars when the Master Cylinder fails you get
a steady loss of pressure that fools you into thinking your
brakes are the same as yesterday, but they are actually leaving you.

I had this happen while driving around doing chores and while
I was sitting at a light my pedal sank slowly to the floor!

I nursed it home and found all this mung in the master cylinder and a bad score in the bore so I replaced it and problem solved.
 
Now that a few weeks have passed, I have discovered some things.

I checked my Master Cylinder, and it was almost empty, so I added some DOT3 brake fluid, and the dash light turned off and the annoying dinging stopped. However, after driving about 200 miles, I yet agan was almost out of brake fluid, and I have since added more until I can take the car to my mechanic.

Before I take it to the mechanic, does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be? I suspect a leak somewhere in the system, but I am not super knowlegable about cars, so I honestly don't know where to begin.

For what it is worth, the current mileage is a hair above 95,200.
 
I have also switched over to my other set of keys, and have not had the PassKey issue that I mentioned in my oringinal post. I suspect the other key had an issue of some kind, not really a big deal.
 
shrimp said:
New thought-
on older cars when the Master Cylinder fails you get
a steady loss of pressure that fools you into thinking your
brakes are the same as yesterday, but they are actually leaving you.

I had this happen while driving around doing chores and while
I was sitting at a light my pedal sank slowly to the floor!

I nursed it home and found all this mung in the master cylinder and a bad score in the bore so I replaced it and problem solved.
Click to expand...

Whoa, that's risky, experiencing that while on the road. It's a good thing I came across this thread. I'll keep that in mind.
 
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