handbrake cable replacement + airbag fault + minor issues 98 vt berlina

[johnny420]

Hello,

Been reading extensively on this forum since i bought a 1998 vt berlina wagon in december so ill start with a thanks to everybody who ive seen who contributes here.

1. How do you replace a snapped handbrake cable? Its on the drivers side. The passenger side cable seems fine but drivers side only moves slightly. Rotors being replaced by myself anyway. Could something else have snapped? I would love a diagram of how its all connected.

2. I have an airbag light up on the dash and can not for the life of me find any information on what is involved with fixing it? I was told fault is the passenger side front airbag.

I found evidence water or something has spilt down the center console, could this possibly be where i begin my troubleshooting?

Ideally I can fix it then bring it to a mechanic who can reset the airbag computer.

3. Dash seems to go slightly dim as indicators flash...suspected alternator regulator but the output voltage is between 13.2-13.8v i have seen it go down to 12v according to dash readout a few times. I have cleaned all earths, battery terminals and am unsure of what to try next. I was just gona replace altenator reg for the sake of it.

4. Coolant leak i cant seem to chase. Car doesnt overheat. Heater is bypassed. Little bit of crap getting on radiator cap, no water detected in engine oil.

Mechanically it runs like a dream, with a full service history and 250,000 on clock it has:
New fuel pump and filter
New engine mounts
New transmission (s/hand or reco prolly)
Some bushings look new
New radiator hoses thermostat, belt and all idle pulleys new along with new belt tensioner.

All done before i bought it for 1600 bucks.


Cheers

Johnny

 

[SID888]

With the airbag light best to take it to a mechanic first to get it scanned with a tech 2 to see what needs repairing/replacing. Could be clock spring or any number of other things causing it. Better than replacing things and spending money hoping to fix it.

 

[hotrod]

that is true but if they clear the error it will just come back if its the clock spring. your water well it can be leaking out your heater control tap behind the engine or head gasket or intake manifold or Welsh plugs . im sure you can find a picture on Google for ya brake cable , with your dash well that can be a earth problem , short or rely any think , the cluster it shelf

 

[dirty hands]

thats an impressive first post may i say

read this later http://www.automobile-catalog.com/m...ais_3gen/commodore_vt_berlina_sedan/1998.html

hope this is a V6 we are talking about and an auto usually

timing chain is fitted


1. How do you replace a snapped handbrake cable? Its on the drivers side.

hey you may have to go to a wrecker for the rear handbrake cables cant find new one anywhere for a VT this repair its not in the factory repair manual

Emergency Parking Brake Cable is what sometimes call them normally call it .....you can buy the front one no problem

you better find out why that cable broke they dont normally break ...unless someone was doing donuts or handbrake turns and broke it

do both handbrake cables just in case ...there should be a cable adjustment under the car in the drive shaft well somewhere ...
this will have to do for now Brett_jjj's post on this page has a pic
.http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...ommodore-brake-rotor-change-gone-wrong-4.html

dont know if the rotors have to come off to get to the handbrake activator cable point at rear wheels ends still working on this for you

2. I have an airbag light up on the dash

could be a seat fault also that sets off the warning

tech2 can be done at an auto electrician cheap ...you cant fix the fault just guessing and replacing air bags and clock springs what ever the fault wont clear
you will have do a second trip after fixing what ever the code says for the auto electrician to clear the warning ...

I found evidence water or something has spilt down the center console, could this possibly be where i begin my troubleshooting?

keep an eye on that ..do you want to pull the console out really ....if everything is working ok


3. Dash seems to go slightly dim as indicators flash...suspected alternator regulator


replace alternator reg its the cheapest fix first if you sure the battery is sound

4. Coolant leak i cant seem to chase.

dont panic wait and see

refit all heater components go from there brown colour at cap is normal for most commy VTs

keep us posted

do you have a repair manual you are going to need one bad ?

Mechanically it runs like a dream,

 

[hotrod]

about time you clean those hands yea. lol

 

[dirty hands]

Forum im not perfect
correct me if any post or topic I make sucks ...I hate giving bad info in any forum i contribute to

 

[johnny420]

Surprised nobody has asked me how the handbrake cable snapped HA. I used to drive an xr6 turbo so i dont try to drive this car fast. The power is acceptable.

My plans:

Monday:

buy two dba oe replacement rotors for rear plus bendix general ct pads for rear.

Acquire hand brake cables.

Fit new heater tap and un-bypass heater top up coolant.

Install all of this and stop driving like a ########.

In regards to alternator/battery problem I had battery tested and its healthy and charge voltage came out at 14 volts. I noticed battery has a slight bulge out the side of it. Ill take a picture of this by sunday.

In my experience when i fitted a new alternator to my xr6t the charge voltage was very consistent and not flucuating like this one does.

Im a paranoid person, I do a vehicle pre start inspection almost every time i get into the car for the first time that day. I carry tools, coolant, oil, a battery jumpstarter pack and fire extinguisher.

Im going to perth brake parts for the brake parts.

Can anybody recommend any place for a wheel alignment in perth? I replaced tie rod ends myself (thanks to this forum) and yeah have been a little lazy to get it wheel aligned.

 

[hotrod]

hotrod im not perfect
correct me if any post or topic I make sucks ...I hate giving bad info in any forum i contribute to

you doing GR8 mate , I was only commenting on your dirty hands , having fun with ya , we are all not perfect , we can only advise on what we know , its hard to diagnose problems when people don't give all the info , all we do is assume as we can not see it . And hope we can solve there problems.

 

[EYY]

Hotrod is probably right in suggesting the intake mani gaskets. it'll suck some coolant through without having any noticeable effect on power and the way it runs, and wont blow enough steam out of the exhaust to be noticeable. Happened to mine a while ago too, it's a very common problem.

was the heater bypassed when you got it? There may be a problem with the heater core (corroded away)

 

[dirty hands]

all fine this end
ummm line three in handbrake reply mate hahaha

Still dont know why holden dont want anyone to know how to change the rear handbrake cables ( it must be simple )

wheel alignment Q a person who knows holdens is best .. make sure they start at the back then do the front



we have a F ......d... f..... L . n .........convert ( cant say that word in full here it may get you a lifetime ban ) you can say turbo