This 1994 Oldsmobile 88 Royale came in with a complaint of an intermittent no run condition along with an intermittent no power window condition as well. If one system was okay, so was the other and when one was acting up, the other one was as well. This is a very common problem, and I have been waiting a long time to find one of these vehicles with condition. The problem is located under the driver’s side carpet.
There is a ground gang connector under the carpet on the driver’s side, that for a multitude of reasons fails. The most common cause is water damage like this one.
If you double click on the pictures you will be able to see the corrosion and moisture.
I removed the cover to inspect.
The internal terminals.
The damaged comb connector.
I was able to clean the comb connector and replace the damaged terminals. I packed dielectric grease into the connector to help keep moisture out and reassembled. If needed one can cut all of the ground wires loose and connect them all together using standard splicing terminals.
Does the comb just pull out? I’ve found mine but am afraid to just pull ot for fear of damaging it.
Yes it does. Generally takes some working back and forth using a pair of pliers. It can be quite stuck and easily broken if it has been overheated for a long time. Breaking it is not a big deal though the wires can be spliced together if there is nothing left to salvage.
Ah thanks for that. The far left two with the fatter wires appear to be the ones that are corroded on mine but won’t know until it comes out. I’m assuming the wires will be free after this comes out. But if I have to cut them would a regular 12v 30a splicer bar work or can I just twist all the wires together and cap them? I apologise for my newb knowledge here… I realize both would connect the circuit but what would be better is what I’m wondering.
There are a variety of ways to reconnect the wires together. Obviously crimping on new terminals and installing a new buss bar would be the best to maintain the factory design. The most important thing though is to make sure the connections are clean, tight and will stay that way. Stay away from terminals that have a split seam that can separate over time.
I pulled the driver side comb, its nearly clean except for a little black stuff on one tooth. If this one is clean and the passenger side isn’t, would that one stop them all from working?
Depends on whether the “black stuff” is from arcing at a loose connection or not. Best thing to do is test it but you can also clean and tighten it or jumper it with another wire to see if your issues go away.
im going to give this a shot. i’ve known about the issues with this since last year. i put a fuel pump in it, and cleaned the connector last year when the snow was starting to fall. now, the same time this year, its acting up again and died on me at a light and wouldnt start back up for a while. finally got it home. did it again this morning while it was warming up before work, i came out to leave and it wasnt running. so im going to check and see if the windows and power seats ect work to verify tonight. if som i will solder them all together and try to finall resolve this issue and be able to call her “ol reliable” again! thank you for the write up! a lot of people are chasing this issue and dont know about the ground gang under thee carpet.
You must have missed the last line of the article. “If needed one can cut all of the ground wires loose and connect them all together using standard splicing terminals.” If one is ground and they are all connected to the same connection comb, then they all have to be ground. Hope this helps clarify for you.
Sparky
I have the same problem i got try this