1997 Pontiac Sunfire Multiple issues, possibly related

CLEVELANDDAD

MEMBER
1997 PONTIAC SUNFIRE
2.4L
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
89,000 MILES

I just bought a used (obviously) convertible just to play around with the family. I noticed the "ETS Off" light is on, which I thought I caused when shifting as I remembered pushing the button while getting acclimated to the vehicle. However, I have tried pushing the button on and off several times and the light remains on. In addition, the Check Engine light is on and my horn does not work.

I stopped at the local AutoZone and had them scan the codes. They said it was most likely the coolant fan relay or bad wiring, so I bought the relay and swapped them out. Similarly, I bought a horn relay because when I pushed the horn I do not hear a click from behind the glovebox where the relay is located. The fuse for the horn/cigarette lighter looks good.

In checking some forums this evening I read that these cars had a lot of electrical problems. I'm not surprised because my first car was a new 97 Cavalier and I fought with the dealer for months because when it rained the car would stall out. I also read that the ETS system will shut off when there are any other engine issues so most likely if I can resolve the Check Engine, that will knock out two birds with one stone. However, I don't want to just keep replacing parts if there is a better approach. What would you recommend?

3 Replies

CAR-MAN145

MECHANIC
321 POSTS

What code was in memory? If you erase it does it come back?

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Thursday, September 24th, 2015 AT 12:21 AM

CLEVELANDDAD

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I'm sorry for taking so long to respond after you got back to me quickly, but I realized that I never attempted to clear the code after replacing the relay and just did so this evening by unplugging the negative for more than 10s. Unfortunately the engine light came right back after that.

I did not write down the code that the AutoZone tech read off to me and since I do not have one of the readers I will need to go back to see if it changed at all. However, I suspect that it will not change and I have a wiring issue of some kind.

Similarly when I replaced the relay for the horn it did not resolve that issue and I still hear no clicking behind the glovebox. I'm thinking the wiring issues are related somehow.