20 Most Recent 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette - Page 3 Questions & Answers

The screaming is caused by the pressure relief valve located inside the pump body opening. This means that power steering fluid that should be circulating through the power steering servo is partially blocked. This could be a safety problem in the making. I strongly suggest you take it to a trustworthy shop for a checkout.

you need a new one

Under your front hood, locate your top radiator hose and follow it to where it connects to your engine. The fitting that it attaches to, (and is held on that fitting with a large hose clamp), is the housing for your thermostat. Access the thermostat by removing the hose first, and then by removing the two bolts that hold the housing on to the engine, you will have to pry the housing away from the engine with a standard blade screw driver. once the housing is removed, the thermostat will be visible. note the direction the thermostat is in before removing it. Because it can go back in either way...but only the right way will allow the water to flow correctly in and out of your engine block, so put the new one back in the spot the old one came out of and in the same direction as the old one was in. But before you do that.,, use a putty knife to carefully scrape any pieces or the whole gasket that seals the housing to the engine. the new thermostat will come with a new gasket to use when you put the new thermostat in your system. Make sure your car engine is absolutely cooled off by removing your radiator cap before disconnecting the radiator hose from the thermostat housing. work carefully and good luck be with you.

Under the drivers side dash. Move your seat all the way back and tilt your steering wheel all the way up....then lay on your back and shimmy up underneath the steering column, with your back resting on the floorboard. Remove the cardboard cover that hides all the wires and steering column. The flasher is located up towards the steering column between the column and the center dash. It you have trouble locating it....turn your ignition to accessory mode, (the key position just before it engages the starter), and turn on the turn signal....you will hear the click click.....click click and find it immediately. It is a square/maybe slightly rectangular shaped box about 1 1/4" X 1 1/8" X 3/4" tall. It plugs into a receptacle that is on the end of a set of wires that are strapped to the side of the steering column. Hold the receptacle with one hand and grasp the flasher and pull it out with the other hand.

30amp

check heater hoses for leaks or one of your freeze plugs leaking.

First, there are two fuses and a relay that are part of your horn electrical circuit. I suggest you have someone with at least a bit of knowledge about auto electrical systems help you in this task. You can judge if you need help or not by asking yourself these questions and knowing the answers. Where are the two fuse blocks on my 2001 silhouette? and where is my owners manual that came with my van? If you knew that the fuse blocks were located-#1-under the front hood of the engine compartment, on the left side, jut to the left and above your radiator cap. If you know where your manual is....look near the back for diagrams of your fuse blocks. If "yes to both questions....continue to read....Unscrew the back plastic thumb nut on top of the fuse block case to access the fuses and relays. Relay #16, the furthest to the rear and dead center of the block....is the horn relay.....relays are the larger, square shaped devices plugged into the fuse block. #36 fuse is the horn fuse in this block. It is located in the back right side of the block, in a cluster of 7 fuses. #36 is the furthest to the back of the two rows of fuses that comprise the cluster of 7. The second fuse block is located on the passenger side, in the side of the dash board. Access this fuse block by opening the passenger side front door then prying off the cover with your finger tips. You will have a fuse locator on the back side of the cover you pried off the side of the dash, the cover for the fuse block. find the "horn" fuse location diagram on the back of the cover. Each of the two fuse blocks have or had a fuse puller tool in each compartment to use to pull out the fuses. A relay will require you grab it with your fingers, wiggle it side to side to loosen it, then pull upward to remove. Make sure to replace it exactly as it was when removed. There are several relays, that are the same size as the horn relay, that can be removed and placed in the horn slot to test if your horn relay is bad or not. But first check the two fuses before moving to the relay. Fuses will show if they are bad or not by whether the metallic fuse link is still connected across the middle of the transparent fuse link. To view this link you have to remove the fuse. If the connection is broken, it's no good...replace it with a fuse of the same color or amperage. If your fuse continues to blow out.....you need to see a mechanic or electrician to find your short in the wiring causing the blow out. Again...if you couldn't answer "yes" to the two questions above....please get help from a friend or neighbor. In any case, be cautious when working on your car electrical system, and good luck.

Code 480 just means the cooling fan is not working. You would need to test the fan motor and the relay to find out the actual problem. The engine computer grounds the relay to turn the motor on.

this could be a problem in the wiper motor controls on the wiper. However before going there I would lift the wiper arms off the screen and allow the wipers to work normally and see where they actually park. Having determined where they park I would then remove the wiper arms and relocate to the parked position. Still with the arms off the screen cycle the wiper and see if they stop where they should. If so place the wipers back on the screen If all that fails then replace the wiper motor.

Cold be the fan, the temp sensor, the wires, the relays, or the ECM. Have the code read.

I couldn't find one to replace mine...I think the answer is "no"....but I can't positively say for absolute sure....solenoid is on the starter....hope this is your reference. a new starter wasn't awfully expensive...but it was a mother bear to remove and replace.....about a hundred bucks or so...in California..

check for a bad thermostat or an air pocket in the cooling system...your fans should come on any time you turn on the air conditioning....check to see that both fans are coming on by doing this....trapped air is common because of the odd configuration of the cooling system...turn on all heaters and place fans on high...warm up the engine then add distilled water or dexcool to your engine coolant canister....rev a few times to pump coolant into heater cores.....good luck and be cautious when working on your engine please...

check your brake fluid level...if you still have the problem...otherwise....bleed brake lines then recheck brake fluid level.

http://youtu.be/1PzXw3pdjwo Hope this helps God Bless

I have a 2000 premier model, which I believe is relatively the twin to your 2001, tail light housing and assembly. First, open your rear hatch door. The taillight housing assemblies are attached with 2 chassis screws. The screw heads are Torx type and the size is somewhere between a T-5, T-10, T-15 OR T-20. Most standard sets of Torx drivers include these sizes, and if your not familiar with Torx tools, they are the relatively newer type of screw driver head that look like a star when you look at the top of the screw head or the tip end of the driver. Common in automotive parts attachment, currently, so any auto parts store will stock these tools. A set can be purchased for around 5-20 bucks. Once you locate the 2 attachment screws on your taillight assembly, remove the bottom screw first. Be careful not to lose the screws. When you remove the top screw, the light housing will pull out about an inch to clear the 2 back side pegs on the assembly, (that slide out of/into the two holes in the car body socket), which align the assembly into perfect position when it is installed in it\'s proper position/ place. Once these pegs are clear of their alignment holes the assembly will be free to turn and see/access the bulb sockets that are attached to the back side of the taillight assembly. I like to use a stool, (that is the same height as the lower part of the assembly when it is in place on the car), to rest the assembly on after I remove it. I prefer to do this because otherwise all the weight of the light assembly will be supported by the wires, (that extend out of the car body when the assembly is pulled away/off of the vehicle), when you need both hands to do something and have to release your hold on the assembly. And when you do release the assembly, those weight supporting wires will come to rest against the fairly sharp edged metal perforations in the car body, which could easily cause damage to the wires or electronics. Once the awkwardly shaped assembly is out you will see there are 3 bulb sockets attached to the rear side of the assembly. These sockets are removed by depressing the plastic lock tabs on the sides of the bulb socket. These lock tabs are located against the point of connection to the taillight assembly. Once the lock tabs are depressed, carefully spin the bulb socket counter clockwise about a quarter turn and gently pull the socket away from the assembly. The bulbs will come out by pressing down toward the bulb socket, (you will feel a spring depress and expand if you push in then release). With the bulb fully depressed into the socket, spin it counter clock wise slightly, then release the bulb depression and pull it out of it\'s socket. Careful to replace the sockets in the original order if you remove more than one at a time. Reverse these instructions to replace the taillight assembly, but be extra careful not to over tighten the screws on re-assembly. The plastic assemblies become brittle with age. Usually once the screws are both evenly lightly snug against the assembly, another half turn is sufficient to hold them securely in place. The back hatch door prevents them from ever falling out, but just grab and wiggle the assembly the next few times you open and close the back hatch. If any movement occurs.....retighten, using the same technique as prescribed above. Do not over tighten. A new/used light assembly could set you back 50-100 dollars each. If you have a bulb that seems to work sometimes and not other, use a pencil eraser to clean the point of connection in the bulb socket, (inner bottom of the socket with the bulb removed), (two brass tits), and the bottom of a reused bulb, (also two brass tits),before re-installing the bulb in it\'s socket. Also, I believe there is a metallic connection that is made when the bulb socket is re-connected to the taillight assembly. Use the pencil eraser to rub off any tarnish on both connection surfaces before re-installing. Aligning the ears on the bulb socket back into the matching openings on the light assembly, then a quarter turn clock wise, (or until you see or hear the lock tabs spring back into the locked position), to reattach the bulbs back into the assembly housing. I do believe this is the reason, (tarnish on one or two or three of the above mentioned metallic connections), I have had my taillight assembly apart on two occasions, other than times I was replacing a dead bulb. And I think I saw mention of the same problem by a few other silhouette owners when reviewing repair forums, so it could be a common problem on olds Silhouette vans around our model year. Recalling the process again in my mind leads me to suspect that maybe a third electrical connection/circuit is made between the assembly body and the car body when it\'s in it\'s place on the car. Just examine the surfaces where the two will touch each other when in place to possibly find somewhere where there is/might be a metal on metal common spot. If so....rub both surfaces with the eraser before re-assembly on to the car. If you have a dead bulb, be careful to buy the exact bulb attachment configuration, (the two tits at the bottom are either an even distance from the bulb bottom or offset with the distance from the bottom differing), and one of the trio/duo of light bulbs in each of the taillight assembly may be tinted amber instead of clear like the other(s) in the assembly. But you won\'t be able to easily notice the colored bulb until it\'s removed from the assembly due to the assembly lens being contoured or colored itself too. I think. Bulbs normally come in a pack of two and cost around 3-5 bucks a pair. It isn\'t necessarily important to replace both the right and left bulbs when you only have one out....Bulb life varies greatly from bulb to bulb and may be affected more by vibrations and bumps than age. Just store the extra bulb and the Torx driver in your glove box for when the next bulb that size burns out. You have two fuse boxes and each have a fuse for the lights in the tail assembly. The one under the front hood will have a blinker relay in it too. The one in the side dash on the passenger side may have a couple of fuses that protect the back up lights and the tail/brake or running lights. The cover and the lid for the fuse boxes have fuse/relay location diagrams on their under sides and identification labeling for all the fuses, or the owners manual also has the same information in it, near the end pages of the manual. If you disconnect the battery, you may have to reset your alarm system, (which isn\'t easy in some models), cause injury or really damage electronics. Best to avoid disconnecting the battery for any time longer than a few minutes if at all possible. And when working with the taillight assemblies, it is relatively safe from cross connections, especially if you use a stool or something to rest the assembly on while it\'s out of the car body and don\'t use anything metallic to clean the connection surfaces....as prescribed above. It\'s very simple to do and harmless to you and your vehicle if done right. Oh, and the last thing....if your experiencing brake light problems, there is a switch down on the brake pedal arm that is visible with a flashlight you can check and make sure you have a helper to depress the brake pedal for you when/if you have to test the brake lights for any reason. Good luck and be safe every time you work on your car.

GM Power Steering Fluid You get at a dealers parts dept or on the internet Don't use some generic auto parts store stuff Has to come from a dealer or be in a GM Bottle & part #

Sounds like you may have a symptom known as overactive ABS. What happens is one of the wheel speed signals is dropping out at slow speeds. The ABS is fooled into thinking the wheel has stopped turning even though it has not and activates the ABS system. This can be caused buy a bad wheel bearing, which it sounds like you are in need of anyways. Start with that and if the [problem persists than you will need to scan the ABS module to see what codes are present. I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

I agree with the post about the tail lights. And the symptom about the brakes on when starting was also helpful. When I took off my rear tail lights and removed the top light bulb (top of the 4 is closest to connector) then repeat starting the car the problem is gone. I have a whole drawer of these bulbs that I removed, not because the filament was burned out, but because the base (similar to circuit card edge connector) had heat damage and melted. I am not sure exactly what the problem is but I think there are multiple conductors in the fixture which are too close or get moisture shorts. Anyway I hypothesize the circuit for daytime running lights is leaking current into the brake light circuit, and it causes that module that controls traction control and ABS to declare a fault. When you start with foot on the brakes the brake lamp is pulled on (I don't know if switches hi or lo) so that module doesn't declare the fault until you release the brakes.

I put in new bulbs and it works fine for now, but I know it may reappear some day then I will repeat, disassembly of the fixtures and inspect bulb bases for heat damage and clean out and replace. That is what did the trick for me.

Thanks Fixya and all contributors

Purge valve for what?

Sounds like the starter spiining but not engaging to the fly wheel to turn the engine over. Need to have the starter and flywheel checked.