High-tension cable? Power steering fluid drain

[ProwlerGT]

Below is the shop manual's instructions for PROPERLY REPLACING the power steering fluid.

Two Q's:
1. What is the high-tension cable? What are they referring to?
2. What does "then while operating the starting motor intermittently" mean? Do they mean to turn the car on and off or do they mean to flip it back and forth in and out of ACC mode just before actually starting the car?

I ask because I'm not exactly in the ideal situation to start the car. The brakes are off the car and its on jack stands. Is it ok to start the car like that? or will it freak out? I'd think it would be ok, but still wanna know. Also, its humid today and I've got car parts drying in the garage with me so I don't want to open the garage.

From the manual:
FLUID REPLACEMENT
1. Raise the front wheels on a jack, and then support them with rigid racks.
2. Disconnect the return hose connection.
3. Connect a vinyl hose to the return hose, and drain the oil into a container.
4. Disconnect the high-tension cable, and then while operating the starting motor intermittently, turn the steering wheel all the way to the left and right several times to drain all of the fluid.
*Caution
Be careful not to position the high-tension cable near
the carburetor or the delivery pipe.
5. Connect the return hoses securely, and then secure it with the clip.
6. Fill the oil reservoir with the specified fluid up to the lower position of the filter, and then bleed the air.
Specified fluid:
Automatic transmission fluid “DEXRON II” (My note: Dexron III since II is no longer available)

This is the only picture it shows and I've done a text search in the manual for "high-tension" cable and I find 3 other hits but no pictures.

[bluemax_1]

High tension cable = spark plug wires.
Operating starting motor intermittently = cranking the starter.

So basically, disconnect the wires so the car will not actually fire up and and crank the starter (which actually cycles the pump).

With a 95, it would be simpler to just disconnect the CAS, then crank it. Just one plug and it disables both spark and fuel.


Max

[ProwlerGT]

Yeah, removing the spark plug wires isn't happening. Its no fun to have to remove the tb and intake plenum just to be able to do that.

What is the CAS? Where is the CAS?

One of these/ if so which?
Camshaft position sensor
Crankshaft position sensor

OH and we're sure removing it won't break anything?

[bluemax_1]

Originally Posted by ProwlerGT

Yeah, removing the spark plug wires isn't happening. Its no fun to have to remove the tb and intake plenum just to be able to do that.

What is the CAS? Where is the CAS?

One of these/ if so which?
Camshaft position sensor
Crankshaft position sensor

OH and we're sure removing it won't break anything?

Crankshaft Angle Sensor. On the 95, it should be one of the plugs between the front and rear cam gear/timing belt covers. The one where the wire goes to the rear cam gears is the camshaft sensor, the one where the wire runs downwards is the crank sensor (should be on the left/closest to front bumper).

No disconnecting it won't hurt anything. When there is no CAS input to the ECU, it cuts spark and fueling. That way you can crank the starter and it won't start AND you won't have raw unburnt fuel washing down the cylinders like you would if you simply cut spark. Or I should say there's no harm as long as there's nothing else that would damage the engine from cranking it. ie. if you have the timing belt off or something it's obviously STILL not safe to crank the engine just because you unplugged the CAS.

In fact, unplugging the CAS is the easiest way to prevent the engine from firing when you're doing a compression test. Remove sparkplugs, screw in compression tester, unplug CAS, turn key in ignition and allow starter to crank 5-6 times, read compression. Move to next cylinder, repeat.


Max

[ProwlerGT]

If we are talking about the camshaft position sensor connector I believe this is it (Correcto?):

[bluemax_1]

Originally Posted by ProwlerGT

If we are talking about the camshaft position sensor connector I believe this is it (Correcto?):

Yup, those are the 2. The one on the left is the crank sensor. That's the one I pull.


Max

[ProwlerGT]

Gotcha now. Its the one opposite of the GREEN one I have highlighted there. I didn't get the acronym abbreviation before because the manual refers to this sensor as: Crankshaft POSITION Sensor and not "Angle" - Either way we're talking the same sensor now. I feel good to know that you've done this before and it didn't break anything. lol - I read that it controls timing n such.... I have a lack of understanding about it, but it seems like if you pulled the CAS you'd mess up the timing aye? NO?

[ProwlerGT]

Aside from the question of "does it mess up timing" (which I think it doesn't, but wanted to be sure) what would I expect when I turn the key after having removed the CAS? A lot of clicks and it will try to turn over, but won't right? Should I have the garage open when I do this? ... cause thats what I was trying to avoid.

Another question: Do I have to be "in process of turning" for the PS pump to function all the time? or can I turn the wheel left or right and leave it there and the PS pump will remain running?

[bluemax_1]

Originally Posted by ProwlerGT

Gotcha now. Its the one opposite of the GREEN one I have highlighted there. I didn't get the acronym abbreviation before because the manual refers to this sensor as: Crankshaft POSITION Sensor and not "Angle" - Either way we're talking the same sensor now. I feel good to know that you've done this before and it didn't break anything. lol - I read that it controls timing n such.... I have a lack of understanding about it, but it seems like if you pulled the CAS you'd mess up the timing aye? NO?

It sends a signal to the ECU that the ECU uses to determine the position/angle of the crankshaft to determine when to send the signal to the PTU (power transistor unit) that controls the ignition coils that send power to the sparkplugs, so yes, the ECU uses the signal to know when each cylinder's piston is near TDC and thus govern ignition timing.

No signal from the CAS = ECU has no idea what position/angle the crank is and consequently no idea which piston is at TDC, so it cuts any signal to the PTU and also cuts signal to the injectors. Giving fuel and spark to an engine when you have no idea where the piston is in the cylinder and whether it's headed up or down is a bad thing so our ECU's were made smart enough to avoid this.

BTW, to clarify, no it won't mess up your timing. 1) it's not something like camshaft timing etc which is mechanically controlled by your timing belt. 2) it's electrical ignition timing but the ECU is not going to change your ignition timing because you unplugged the CAS. It'll simply NOT provide any spark/fuel until it receives a CAS signal again.

So no, it won't hurt anything (unless you drain the battery flat going, "Hey this is cool,... I can crank the car over and over and it just won't fire up"). BTW, if you lived somewhere where you were deathly afraid someone would steal your car when you parked it and left, you can pop the hood and disconnect/unplug the CAS, but leave it still sitting loosely in the plug. The car will never start and I guarantee you that anyone looking over the engine bay to try to figure it out is not likely to notice it. Also a good way to give a friend with a 2G 3/S a heart attack if you feel like playing a mean joke.


Max

[bluemax_1]

Originally Posted by ProwlerGT

Aside from the question of "does it mess up timing" (which I think it doesn't, but wanted to be sure) what would I expect when I turn the key after having removed the CAS? A lot of clicks and it will try to turn over, but won't right? Should I have the garage open when I do this? ... cause thats what I was trying to avoid.

Another question: Do I have to be "in process of turning" for the PS pump to function all the time? or can I turn the wheel left or right and leave it there and the PS pump will remain running?

When you disconnect the CAS and turn the key, the starter motor will turn the crankshaft and you'll get the typical "GgGgGg" of the car cranking but no "VROOOM". No need to have the garage door open. There's no combustion so no carbon monoxide fumes to worry about. There shouldn't be any fuel either so you shouldn't smell gas fumes either. If you only disconnected the spark plug wires, the injectors would still fire and after cranking the engine a few times, you'ld smell all that unburnt fuel being blown out the exhaust.

With the car jacked up, yes, you need to actually be turning the steering wheel for the pump to cycle. So to flush the PS fluid, you need to turn the ignition key with one hand and hold it in the position where the engine is cranking/trying to start while simultaneously turning the steering wheel all the way left and then all the way right while the engine/starter is cranking.


Max