I have been tolerating this 90 Reatta for a while, and thought I was making
progress,
but suddenly this bad boy has resumed its old ways.

There are two basic problems (besides the obvious...that it was made in the
dark ages
of automotive electronics, and Buick engineers tried to do too much with too
little)

First is the security key problem. More often than not, it will not start
on the first try.
It will not crank over, nothing. I had had the security system bypassed,
and it was
working perfectly, but suddenly it is back as before. I will have to check
the resistor
bypass, and see if that is the issue. This one, I think, is easy to solve.

The second issue is harder. I have a new battery, new cables, good starter
and good
alternator. BUT, if I leave the car standing for a few days, I come back
and the battery
may (or may not) be flat. I checked the residual current and after the
systems reset
(within a few seconds) the current drops to 30 ma. But I suspect that
something is
activating periodically AFTER shutdown, and drains the battery with time.

I can start the painful process of removing the connections to the wiring
'tree' one
thing at the time, but this could take forever. Intermittent problems are a
bitch, aren't
they?

Any suggestions appreciated. (Just listening to my tale of woe is also
appreciated)

I'd disconnect the power antenna relay, and I believe there is retained
accessory power relay, could be wrong on this check it out, if so they were
troublesome also for GM.
<HLS (AT) nospam (DOT) nix> wrote



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<HLS (AT) nospam (DOT) nix> wrote

My Grand Prix's (1992 and 1991) kept the interior lights on for 30 seconds
or so after I got out of the car. I went out to a dead battery several
times, sometimes even after making sure the lights were off before going
inside. At times they would turn themselves on at random and drain the
battery. Don't know if your Buick has the same system though.

"Shep" <djsljsrn (AT) capital (DOT) net> wrote

Thanks Shep... There is indeed a RPA system, and an antenna relay. I can
start there.


I had a similar problem on an 89 Regal, and took me a long time to find it.
The battery
would run down overnight but there was normally no unusual drain. I finally
caught it
in progress and it turned out to be the relay that operated the seat belt
retractors.

<HLS (AT) nospam (DOT) nix> wrote in
news:ehzPh.819$zC.602 (AT) newssvr22 (DOT) news.prodigy.net:

i didnt realize they started using a RAP that far back. shame they hadnt
thought of battery drain protect at the same time............kjun
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"Kjun" <KjunRaven (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Unfortunately, this little car was somewhat ahead of its time. It is a two
seater,
essentially hand built. Was pretty expensive for that time, I believe in
the range
of $35-50000.. Not totally sure.

It is, I guess, a sister car to the Cadillac Allante.

It has a number of active systems... Teves brakes, body attitude control,
engine control
module, lighting control, air conditioning control, etc....

It is a heck of a fun car to drive, but this stone age attempt at space age
electronics
can make you pull your hair out.