New Member - 1988 Buick Electra Estate

Hello all, new member and and a "new" wagon.

 

Hello Wisconsin! Welcome to the madness! I like that era Buick wagons, could we see a few dozen of yours? A couple other members like seeing pics too. Oh.....

 

to the wagon train, milwaukee. I'm in Wisconsin, too, and had an 88 Electra wagon that was my favorite wagon. I dropped a built 455 in it and the car was showroom. Loved that car before I wrecked it. We sure would love to see some pix of your wagon! Those GM box wagons are nice cars. Tell us more.

 

Thanks for the welcomes! Bought it in central MN about a month ago, got it home and it turns out it was originally purchased new in Milwaukee. Slate grey with wood, no rust. From the records that came with it seems to have spent winters in AZ. Lots of options, dual powers seats(including power passanger recliner), electronic climate control, auto level control, dual power mirrors, twilight sentinel, heavy duty cooling, etc.. I'll add some pictures in the next few days, been driving and enjoying it so far. Needs a few things, power antenna doesn't work, wipers will only turn off if I turn the car off, heat smells a bit... Oh yeah, paint!

 

wow....same color as my old 88. Rare color........

 

Cold be a twin! Did yours have cornering lights?

 

Yes....it had everything.

 

Welcome Modernmilwaukee

 

Welcome, Milwaukee. (I have to try to remember that it's spelled with an "ee" at the end. We have a suburb of Portland that is spelled with "ie" at the end...so forgive me if I accidentally misspell it ). You're car is equipped like my Cadillac. Down to the malfunctioning antenna and funky wipers. Mine can't be at the lowest delay setting or they go bonkers. I used an aftermarket antenna and have had success, so far...something to look into. I love the Electra Estate Wagons...especially equipped like yours. I'm jealous.

 

aboard mod

 

Welcome to the Forum!! Big howdy from Utah!

 

The delay works fine as do the two regular speeds, they just wont turn off unless I turn the car off with the wipers near the park position. The next time I turn the car on they go for one swipe, then they'll park. Odd. Thoughts? The antenna is up and doesn't make any effort to retract. I was going to take the inner fender liner out to see if it's hooked up and getting power then go from there. The car has the original AM/fM cassette with equalizer. Could the antenna antenna be disconnected at the radio?

 

Here's an interesting discussion of power antennas, maybe it will be of some help?

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-tech-tips/169176-how-rebuild-power-antenna.html

 

Unfortunately....replacing the power antenna on your particular car is not easy. Here's a past thread addressing the issue on your exact car......

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16088&highlight=antenna

 

I wish I would have looked at the info on that MotoMike linked to...probably might have been able to do something with the original...but no...I had to throw it out. The mast on mine was broken, but the motor worked...lessons learned, I suppose. At any rate, on mine, there is a 3-wire connector near the A/C stuff...I'm guessing you have the same. Check to see if it is plugged in. Mine was unplugged because the motor would keep trying to retract an antenna that wasn't there any longer. I cut the pigtail off of the old antenna and used it to plug in the aftermarket one...therefore, able to preserve the original wiring in the car, in case I get a factory antenna again. I doubt yours is disconnected at the radio, unless you suspect that the radio was taken out at some point. Far more likely that someone got the antenna up and then disconnected the power at the connector to keep it up.

As far as the wipers go, there is a lot of issues with the full-size RWD deVilles/Fleetwoods/Broughams of the same era with the wipers. It appears that most of the problems are NOT with the switch, but with the circuit board that is housed in the motor. The complete motors are available at NAPA for less than $40, so it might be worth looking into that.

I belong to the message board that MotoMike linked to. It has some good info that may apply to your Estate Wagon, too...since GM often uses similar parts/systems in their full-size RWD cars.

Hope this helps!