SES light coming on

[Nightrage]

My SES light has started to come on after around 10 minutes of being started and driven. For some reason, my fan comes on, only it's extremely loud. As long as the SES light is on, the fan is on/ making this noise. The same thing happens if i have it in 6th gear and i do less than 63-65 MPH. After a while, the SES light comes on. My stepdad says it's probably an O2 sensor. I don't have any other problems. It just baffles me that the fan comes on when the light does. No problems with drivability. If it weren't for the light and the noise, i wouldn't think anything was wrong. Any ideas?

[Craig 94 TA GT]

You're saying that the fans come on when the SES light comes on, right? The fans are supposed to come on when the SES light is on. The PCM is in "fail safe" mode since it knows there's something wrong. I'm not sure what is triggering the light though...can you get it scanned somewhere?

[Nightrage]

You're saying that the fans come on when the SES light comes on, right? The fans are supposed to come on when the SES light is on. The PCM is in "fail safe" mode since it knows there's something wrong. I'm not sure what is triggering the light though...can you get it scanned somewhere?

Wow, never knew that. Yeah, i'm taking it to the mechanic up the street ASAP. Last guy it was at told me that my gas cap wasn't tight enough . I checked it and it was sealed tighter than a clam's @$$. How much are o2 sensors? It would explain my relatively poor fuel economy.

[Dave M]

O2 sensors are relatively cheap... usually about 30-40 I've found, IIRC. BTW, exactly how tight is a clam's a$$?

[Nightrage]

O2 sensors are relatively cheap... usually about 30-40 I've found, IIRC. BTW, exactly how tight is a clam's a$$?

All the WD-40 in the world wouldn't save you. That's how tight lol.

What are some signs that it could be an O2 sensor? I just checked my fuel mileage and i got about 19.5 MPG's on this tank of gas. That doesn't seem to bad to me. I thought that a sign of a bad sensor was poor fuel economy? What happens if you don't replace a sensor quickly?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

I bet it's not an O2 sensor. There's no sense in guessing. Get it scanned.

Check your air pump fuse and see if it's blown first.

I bet it's a code 32. Clogged EGR.

[raroZ28]

Mine did the same thing. Light would come off and on. It was the AIR.

[Nightrage]

Finally had it taken care of today. Apparently it was a Code 29? All i know is that the mechanic told me it was a $1 fuse lol. I had him change the fuel filter while he was at it. I don't even want to think about the last time that was changed

[Injuneer]

DTC 29 is the code for the AIR pump electrical circuit. Blown fuse is the normal cause. You have to ask why the fuse blew. The pumps tend to rust up and sieze. There was a factory recall on the 95-97 AIR pumps, which involved adding some components and changing the fuse (and possibly some wires).

The rust may be indicative of a leaking check valve at the exhaust manifold. When the car's been running for a while, feel the rubber hoses that are in the lines going to the check valves. If the rubber is extremely hot, may be a leaking valve.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

It will blow again. Your air pump is going bad.

I heard several people say that they freeze up because of rust. So I took mine apart and found no rust. What was wrong was the unit is sealed. The dust from the carbon contacts to the armature had worn down and created a dust storm in the motor. The dust got into the bearings and caused them to get hard to turn. That in turn made the motor pull more current until it finally blew the fuse. You can replace the fuse and it will blow again in a few days or weeks. It will get worse. Eventually it will melt the connector going to the air pump.

There is a recall on the pump and it replaces the harness too. I had mine covered under warrantee at about 90,000 miles. It's an emissions item so the federal government mandates a longer warrantee than the power train. It didn't cost me a cent. It can't hurt to ask.

Since you have a 95, I believe you can unplug the air pump from the harness and as long as the fuse is good it will not cause the SES light to come on.

[Nightrage]

Hmm, so what should i do guys? Go down to a dealership and ask about the recall? I'm the 3rd owner so i don't have any warantees or anything like that. If this thing isn't covered, would it be expensive to fix?

Thanks again guys

[Injuneer]

First, see how long it runs before it blows the fuse again. If it comes back, check a dealer to see if there is an active recall. That is something that you can go to any dealer for, and you need no paperwork of any kind. If the recall has never been done, and it is still an active recll, they have to do it.

If for some reason you have a repeat of the problem, you could also think about deactivating the system. As noted in the post above, in a 93-95, all you need to do is unplug the AIR pump, and replace the fuse with a good one, and you will get no SES light.

Alternatively, you could probably find a used pump very easilly, since so many people have taken them off. Its just the condition that might be suspect, since they are all pretty old at this point. I have the one off my car (track car only) and would let it go for shipping cost + $5, but can't guarantee the condition.... it worked when I removed it a couple years ago, and the car hat less than 70K miles on it.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Hmm, so what should i do guys? Go down to a dealership and ask about the recall? I'm the 3rd owner so i don't have any warantees or anything like that. If this thing isn't covered, would it be expensive to fix?

Thanks again guys

I'm the second owner and there was no warrantee on mine either. I was surprised that they said yes when I asked. Like I said, it can't hurt to ask.

[Rob B (shoebox)]

Recalls are not dependent on who owns the car. As long as the recall is still active, the dealer is obliged to do the work (recalls are done at no charge to the customer). Their records (by VIN) will indicate whether your car has had the recall done.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

FYI from http://www.gmpartsdirect.com
GM PART # 12554580
CATEGORY: Air Injector Reactor Pump
PACK QTY: 1 CORE CHARGE: $0.00
GM LIST: $229.48
OUR PRICE: $114.74
DESCRIPTION: PUMP-AIR