Hello,

I just got a 91 SSE yesterday with 130k on it and I have the wonderful code 41 now! I took it to a place that does all the work on my Nissan and Infiniti and the guy told me to expect from 150-200 with the part and labor, is that a good price? I saw that you should expect to pay around 500 or more at Pontiac.

My car still has the factory am/fm/cassette and the display sometimes shows half way but if I thump it will go back all the way also the ac/heat control panel acts crazy when the radio display does this, I know that my dimmer switch is acting up after last night as well (is this the cause of this?)

Where is a place to find parts for our cars online? I lost one of my center caps after having the car for like a hour yesterday so now I need two of them (they are the lace spoke typed rims not body color ones)

Taillight covers also mine are pretty nasty looking and has a few cracks also, any place to check or just get over it and go to Pontiac?

Fuel gauge (acts crazy and moves a lot while I drive) I was told it was a floating fuel sender and it was normal for the older gm cars?

Back door wont open (I noticed this after I got the car) the rear door don’t seem to unlock and wont open from the inside nor the outside, what’* the common cause of this on our cars?

The amp (radio) button on my center console wont stay down so I stuck a paper clip beside it for now, is it as simple as opening it up and fixing or is it a need for a new button to make it work correct again?

Security light (never comes on) is this maybe a issue tied into the fact that my rear door wont open so the alarm isn’t working cause of this?

What all services should I have done on my car at the mileage also, anything special to watch out for that’* not common for the age and miles of other cars?

Sometimes while sitting in the car you can hear something under the hood kick on sounds like a fan or pump (only when the cars not running and you have the key on tho)

Door locks (they wont lock with the doors open on the car with the power button or unlock) if you close the door they will work fine is that normal? Also the done lights don’t work just the door lights and lower dash lights work when the door is open; they work if you flip the switch on them however, and if you turn both the front ones on above the mirror they dim out really low?

I really hope its all small mostly typical stuff that I have wrong cause I really love the car and how smooth and quite the car is, thanks for any help


Donnie H.

code 41: Cam sensor circuit loss of signal
Search around I think many have done this or inspected this themselves..it'* a cam sensor and 1-200 is probably about right.

Like you mention on the radio..they are hooked together. Probably something grounding out.

Tire cap..Junkyard and post in the wanted section of the forum.

Taillights.. they are beyond hard to find. You will pay a ton of money for them.

Back door, it sounds like you have the dreaded broken latch. Search on Randman1 and latch or door handle.

Fuel Gauge..seems right.

Security ... might be bypassed.

Sit tight..Randy will probably hop on this one quick. He'* the answer man on this gen.

I ditched my tails when a guy ran into me and broke one.
Put on 89 se red lenses.

Ok thanks for the answers thus far guys! I have some other weird stuff going on I noticed this eve also. The lights in the passenger side doors both stopped working at the same time! I am thinking that I have some weird electrical issues somewhere in my car at this point. I have still been driving my car even after it tossed the code 41, do I need to stop so it won’t hurt the car or is it one of those sensors that will just make the car run awkward at times and use more gas or will it hurt everything else on the car also?

I think I am going to search for some le-se tailights as I don’t think I will have very good luck getting any decent ones for the SSE or the covers.

How often does the center cap to our rims get stolen also? Reason I ask is I ran to wal-mart came out and I have another one missing that I know was there when I went inside (daylight of course also!)

I had never driven or rode in the 87-91 SSE until I test drove the one I got just the le and Se, what’* the deal with our windshields? Mine looks like it laminated (sorta like the place on the windshield for cars that have the HUD place) only it’* the whole windshield on my car.

Thanks for the help again guys

Donnie H.

The centre caps are very difficult to find. I wayyyyyy lucked out with a pair of them in an assorted bin at the junkyard. And I seriously lucked out on one tail, also at the junkyard - I paid $25 for it. You might get lucky, but the odds are against you on both items. Look to pay several hundred dollars for a taillight at a GM dealer, IF they even have it (not likely).

I lost a center cap when my Bonne was only 6 months old. The dealer had rotated the tires and forgot to torque the caps on. It fell off and 'took off' at about 50mph into some bushes. I made the dealer pay for a new set on that wheel. Two of the others were ready to fall off when I pulled over. I double check them all the time these days.

i just broke off the clear part of my tails and it looks way better, the se tails w/o the lines (not the all red ones, the all red ones are LE'*) look decent on them if u can find a set in the junkyard (i have a set layin in the basement from my old se)

For the rear doors, you may be able to get them open. I had the same problem on my car ( both rear doors). Now that I see what the problem was, and still happens from time to time, it is possible to get them open.


Here i what I do when they will not open.


you have to make sure your doors are locked, then what seems to be the problem is that the spring inside the latch that actually pushes the rod inside the door back up ( to put pressure on your thumb button) can become rusty and may have broken. Luckily for me I can still get it open.

once doors are locked, if you push on the thumb button ( outside) you may or may not feel the latch moving. There is always pressure on that button cause there is a spring there. Maybe compare one side to the other. I can usually push that thumb button all the way in, then slide my thumb down, which lets the button pop out and gives it a bit of a shot. If that does not help, I usually use my hand under the thumb latch and hit the door a few times, then I try unlocking the door a few times to see if it came back.

One ting I have noticed with mine is that if the doors are locked and you push the button in all the way, that is what usually jams in shut.


I had it all apart and cleaned but the corrosion came back and the door is getting worse. I even had my drivers door start doing the same thing. I just fixed it this weekend, it ended up being that spring that had broken, so I replaced it with a spring I had PLUS I added a spring I "borrowed" from a pen.


This may not work for you but it may allow you to at least open the door. To originally open the rear doors, I had to remove the door panel while the door was still closed, that was a HUGE PITA.

x2

big time PITA

When my rear door sticks, I just hit lock/unlock several times really quickly Bad, I know, but it'* a temporary solution.