2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long Finally UPDATED

[dolluper]

Ok are you ready for this.....get some popcorn and refreshments....This Buick comes in because it/s running real bad half power or less ...owner says it overheated according to the the temp guage {went crazy] plus the low tire pressure light came on.....says he reset the tire pressure light {reset button located in R/s dash fuse panel]He also changed the thermostat....So easy fix now eh....He didn't change the plugs or oil .....No not quite he didn't bleed the air out of the system { 2 bleeders on this car]....So we bleed it out then run for codes none......back to basics.....So no air in cooling system now ...runs like carp,still trac off light on,system computer has gone into limp home mode [part reason for trac off light] So bring out the heavy guns Snap-on tester get map,tcc,BCM code B3267,ABS code C1275.....check map.....vac + volt test good.tcc tests good,BCM code B3267 is LF window express circuit is low,but the beauty is code C1275 the computer requested and disabled the ETS/TCS [enhaniced traction systen/traction control system] because of an engine problem go figure.....so your stuck in limp home mode running carpy....use scanner to turn trac system back on and it reverts back after system check on restart.....complete wiring computer pins check is next ....me thinks short some where any thoughts
,

thanks

 

[robert graham]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

We have a Buick Regal similar to that Century...pretty good car, so far. I have noticed that when the battery gets down, weak, almost dead, that it can cause all kinds of signals in the computer system....maybe check battery, connections, ground?

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Pretty much the same beware if you disconnect the battery you will have to reset the low tire presure light ....reset is in the R/s dash fuse panel top left.....hold for 10 seconds with key on....just on not start.....even if you rotate or change tires reset has to be done...There is also a problem with those cars printed circult cluster [dash guages] the resistors come loose or even fall out....you have to pull the whole dash off re-solder them....a pain but cheap fix for a diy job......charging system on this one is A one ....dash may have to come off this one to get at the BCM

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Thinking out loud now an interesting fact with the low tire prressure light...it uses ABS components..the EBCM [electronic brake control module under the master clyinder]the wheel sensors using class 2 serial data messages and instrument cluster to perform system functions.....2 functions are display the warning low tire pressure message LOW TIRE on dash when commanded by the EBCM and it sends the tire monitor system the reset command to the EBCM via the reset button in the fuse box.... So if it did not reset because of a short between reset and EBCM the TRAC OFF light ....light on dash would stay on ....keeping car in limp home mode hence the C1275 code [PCM requested ETS/TCS to be disabled=Trac off light] humm maybe

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Obviously it's electrical, but try pulling the shift lever down into 1st gear, and see if it runs better. My 1999 Century, pulling the gear selector into 1st was the ONLY way to turn off the TCS, (no button on dash.( It won't solve your problem, but "maybe" just maybe if the TCS gets turned off manually, it will run correctly, for a minute and help you locate the wiring issue?

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Boy thats funny the system goes into Trac off mode when your in 1st or 2nd.....working system Trac off light comes on [dash] you have to switch to drive 3 or overdrive to get the Trac off and back into trac on mode...light off[dash]....Paul a guy with lots of experience with these cars was thinking it was a trannie issue computer getting signal car was in 1 or 2 all the time....when in 3 or overdrive....but that doesn't seem to be the cause of running in limp home mode......no switch on this one either

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Buicks are bad for blowing head gaskets

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Those 3.1L are good engines and if I remember right the most major issue was the coolant leaking into the intake......

Sounds like an electrical gremlin. I never cares for the TCS in them.

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Yea gm changed the trannie in 2003 better design-materials,doesn't have internal leaks now....my bad I thought you were taking trannie doh

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Code C 1275 has given me a theory on this problem......it's an engine problem according to the code ....well a car in limp mode {half power or less}......the resistors in the chip control this mode...... that either the chip is screwed or it is recieving unuseable data because of of intermitent supply of data

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Sorry for the long wait I was` busy fixing others.....Yep it was an intermitent short so the fix was a new pigtail connector at the CTS {coolant temp sensor}and the CTS sensor also.....dash temp guage works right now,computer gets proper temp signal,Trac off light isn't on anymore.......car runs like normal.....except for other little problems......like window express switch,speedo..internal VSS problem,gas leak.......Big clue to this problem was the live data from the computer showed the engine temp was -8 when it was hot 140 or so real temp.......So the choke is fixed thats what I call the CTS because it will cause the car to stay in Open Loop if faulty......just like running with the choke on all the time....The O2 sensors were working because they had heated up so the computer got crazy info.....couldn't handle it....Limp mode or Open Loop your choice.......IF you have this problem clean up engine problems first.bad grounds electrical next.....last security system.....unless pinpointed problem on live data scan....The CTS on this car has 3 wires meaning it controls the dash temp guage also ..../if it has 2 wires a seperate sensor would control dash guage located elsewhere on the engine

 

[dolluper]

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

Re: 2000 Buick Century 3-1 Trac off light er....long

I bet there is alot of people searching this problem .....most on the net have NO RESULTS ...we have the answers here