Background: I inherited my granddad's 1994 Buick Lesabre Custom, found that the battery was totally dead after sitting in the yard for a few months (changed it, more on that in a bit). He had a special mechanic, who I'm not sure I trust and is about a county-and-a-half away anyway. I'm also unemployed, so it's on me to learn how to fix it myself. If I begin to mention selling or trading it, it will be traded in with my mom's (working) van for a new van for her, for some reason. Changed the battery, which only introduced more problems...

Problem: When I start it, it revs in a pulsing, rhythmic matter, which I'm pretty sure it didn't do before. It also revs when the brake is applied. The service engine light not only turns on, it flickers, along with a few other notification lights. I also noticed some steam and/or smoke coming from around maybe the transmission. I have no idea if this is just dust shaking/burning off, or what.

It has a nearly full tank of gas, though the tank was filled a few months ago.

The AC was not running, because it has not worked for years.

I think the battery is no longer the issue and that I installed it correctly, but on the off chance it is the cause of my troubles: The battery post is not a part of the battery, but threads through the solid terminal (looks like a washer) and screws into the battery. On the positive end, there's two terminals (yes, two, it's not the negative) and two washers (one thin, one thick). When uninstalling the battery, I made a mistake and forgot to make a note of the order things go in on the positive battery. As far as I can tell, it's the first terminal connecting to the battery, the two washers in either order, the second terminal, and then thread the post through into the battery. I know which terminal is the "first" and which is the "second," because they won't work in any other order. I've tried other configurations, and battary-terminal1-washers-terminal2-post seems to be the only one that works.

 

You "gotta be patient" with these good Buicks. Whenever the battery is disconnected the computer loses almost all its keep alive memory. It will usually straighten out after being driven some. Gasoline does lose some of it's properties when allowed to sit for a period of time. If you can run it some and use some of that old gas you might add some premium if possible and it should help improve the performance. If everything was OK when it was last used give it some time and it should run better with use. Depending on the condition, your mom may just like that car after you get it straightened out . Let us know how you make out with it.

 

Thank you, I'll try running it with some premium before doing anything else. I'm told there was some choppiness before, but not this bad (sounds like a night-club). A couple of friends suggested that there may be a problem with the fuel filter or injectors (and it's not like any work on this car would be wasted), so those'll be next.

 

Before getting involved with the injectors, it might be a good move to replace the spark plugs and wires along with the fuel filter. These are routine maintenance items. If possible, try to stick with OEM stuff purchased most likely from a dealer. Unfortunately a lot of aftermarket parts are cheaper, but are also imported and do not contain the quality and dependability of dealership parts. Make sure to remove the pressure from the fuel line before attempting to open it when starting to replace the fuel filter.