There's a list of things that typically go wrong with these cars and somehow - my car got ahold of it

She is bound and determined to check off every single item on it...

So far:

• Gas gauge problem (that can't be solved with techron)
• Column Lock
• Turn indicators
• seat rocking

New Today: Oil pressure sending unit... or I accidently put gear oil in the crankcase!

I'm just waiting to turn the lights on and strip the gears off the sprocket!

 

dont worry about it boss, you'll get through it. The seats rocking are a pain but, I got use to that, as for the turn signals not working....you might have a burned light bulb somewhere.

 

for the column lock cheek this lite out it just might be what your looking for. C5 column lock bypass--->http://ls1howto.com/index.php?article=24

 

Hey don't forget:
the dim A/C display
leaking driver's side plate on rear differential
burnt relay in DCM
A/C blowing hot on one side, cold on the other
bad knock sensors
leaking battery /ruined PCM
grounding problems
water leaks


There are still a lot more opportunities for you to bond with your C5.

 

If the turn signals work sporadically, try putting on the four way flashers and then turn them off and try the turn signals. The switch (which controls both) is a known weak spot and not expensive at all to replace............

 

The column lock issue can be solved for $50 so that one is easy. Get the CLB and install it.
Here's my write-up for the rocking seat fix: http://www.lieblweb.com/TechLinks/Co.../C5SeatFix.htm
It's really easy, and we found enough change from the previous owner under the seat trim pieces to pay for the washers needed for the repair!
As far as the turn signals, maybe you do have a bulb out, or possibly just a corroded contact in one of the bulb sockets.
Good luck with the headlight gears.

 

I knew the flasher trick... I did forget the dimming display - fixed that too.

I still love this car! She just gets a little challenging at times

I'm keeping a close eye on that battery though.

 

You guys are freaking me out with all these things. Making me want to trade up to a C6 as soon as I have the means. Do they have a wide range of mechanical maladies as well?

 

My 2000 convertable has been nearly flaw free for 7 years and 65,000 miles. I resoldered the diodes on the climate control panel after it went dim (excellent instructions at this forum) and that's it.

The Corvette has been one of my best all around cars and I don't baby it a bit. Plus, no rust!

 

Well I can take some solace in that I guess, haha.

 

Yeah, I'm glad I know how to work on cars- this thing is demanding.

-fuel gauges won't completely work anymore (never read full)
-just got the abs module fixed after 1.5 years (thanks www.absfixer.com)
-both door modules
-CLB
-leaky rear (no biggie)
-rocking seat (not a huge biggie, but cheap feeling)
-eats front DRL
-And today I have the freaky turn signal/dash lights insanity... I'll try the flasher fix. It's really weird.

Got to give cheers to my 94 cobra in the longevity department.

The good thing is that it still runs and stops well. Handles and looks good. The electronics are a joke. Cool when they work though.

/bitchin

 

When you look for a battery, take a look at the Exide Orbital AGM battery. Got mine at the local NAPA for about $100 last month (and sold my son the year-old Exide NASCAR lead-acid job for a little yard work, since his girlfriend's car needed a new battery). I just got worried about all the electronics under the battery box, and $100 seemed like a good investment. It's (much) less than a month's worth of Arturo Fuentes, and not as bad for my health.

Yeah, and I like my 69 Shelby GT500. But it isn't as fast, isn't as comfortable, and isn't as reliable. The 69 Mustang electrics were pretty simple, but don't work for $h1t.

The oil pressure gauge has fluctuated from 15-50 PSI since the car was new, and the only fix was a S-W mechanical gauge. You can't figure out where the intermittent is in the harness, and the gauge didn't slowly oscillate - it twitched.

The temp gauge was great until Ford discontinued the temp sender that matched the funny calibration on the 428CJ cars. Now normal summer temperature (about 200F per the infrared temp gun) shows 3/4 hot, and as the car is driven (say to a show 80 miles away), it shows that for the first half of the trip, then slowly rises to 7/8 hot. Put the infrared temp gauge to it and it's 200-205. Sender interchanges with everything Ford made in the 1960s - I stole one from a 65 F100, and it worked better than the new ones.

Oh, and the fuel gauge on the Shelby didn't ever read full, even when my buddy bought it new in 1969.

The sequential tail lights are really cool. Except that the Shelby is half fiberglass, and the ground system is set up for a steel Mustang. So if the headlights are on, the turn signals barely contrast against them and the brake lights are a joke. I've spent most of a year's cigar budget on new harnesses and connectors, but there's some hidden ground I'm not finding and the factory manuals don't shed much light.

Best part of owning it? The 25 year old kids who keel over when I answer "what'd you have to pay for THAT?" with "$3100 - it was really expensive - a 428CJ Mach I was only about $2500 in 1975." Oh, and the steady appreciation. It's now a big part of my retirement portfolio or my son's inheritance.

But I'll drive my Corvette. Took my daughter on a thousand mile road trip with it last summer. Probably take my brother on a five thousand mile road trip this summer. Wouldn't do that in the Shelby. Wouldn't have done it in 1975. Expensive and it freaked the Ford shops out even then.

Best part of the 1999 C5? It talks to me. I borrow a friend's Tech 2, and it tells me almost anything that's wrong with it. The Shelby runs rich and I spend half a day trying different jets while hoping not to blow myself up pulling the float bowl off that old Holley 4-pot carb. If the Corvette runs rich, it corrects within bounds, or I hook up my handheld programmer and adjust the tables.

Sorry for the long discussion. It's just that, hindsight is always perfect, and the grass is always greener over the septic system. I'm a geezer (and a curmudgeon), so I like my 94 GMC Jimmy. It isn't as much fun to drive, breaks more often, is harder to get parts for, but is easier for a semi-old man to get into for running errands. I tell my wife the seat is just about exactly barstool height, vs. the Corvette, which makes you clench when you spot a middling-sized rock in the road.

But doggone it, you can't beat a fast, good-handling car that will always deliver over 25 MPG on the highway while keeping you cool and playing music at you. And thanks to Bill Curlee, I've fixed most of my electrical gremlins through a dedicated program of cleaning splice packs and ground connectors (and a huge thanks to Bill for that!), so the thing is even more enjoyable. :

 

Wow, your not really a C5 owner until you've had a window regulator go out!

You left out the splitting seams in your cheap leather seats, so don't forget to include that on your check list.

 

After over 6 years and 97000 miles, mine just started leaking. What's the cure?

 

Man! I love your avatar!


So far the seat seams are holding up, but I figure I'll ruin them when I add the seat heaters, so am planning on a set of the West Coast Corvette covers with the contrasting piping and trim. That's about as close to the old Mustang as I want to get on a road trip these days - black seats with a red horizontal stripe.

Everything breaks. I'm fixing the cracks in the dash of my 94 Jimmy right now, and need to replace the driver's seat cover in my wife's 04 Grand Prix. Now there's a nuisance - a three year old car with low miles, and the seat belt is wearing a hole in the side bolster. Guess I should have bought her leather seats...

Have a great holiday!