My name is Tom and i just bought a new ( to me ) Fiero Its a beautiful 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT, Red with the 4 Speed manual trans and only 94k miles young . Has grey interior that is pretty shot but we can deal with that another day
My dad used to have one of these when i was a kid and im almost 30 now. I saw this sitting on the road and had to have it. Overall the car isnt that bad. The car sat for 6 years in someones yard, the last time it was inspected was 2009 and they only put 900 miles on it from 2009 to getting it to my driveway. Like anything that sits for a long time, it has some issues. The car almost killed me, the brakes are totally shot, rotors are completely shot and the ebrake doesn't work.
So far i have brand new rotors, brand new brakes, a new windshield going on tomorrow, the tires were brand new but dry rotted. I'm doing the passenger side first for brakes and taking the 2 tires off and getting new rubber put on at the same time. I want to have this baby inspected by the weekend!!!
The one issue i cant figure out is the gauges in this car. They all move ( to some degree) The only thing i can assure is working is the speedo. The tachometer when off is normal, when you start the car it goes "all the way around world" and stays there. The oil pressure gauge pegs past 80 and then wacks back to zero and goes past 80 again. The car sounds like a kitten ready to play so i dont hear anything foul going on in there that i can tell anyway. Since i don't really know these cars i don't want to shift by ear. If i cant get something OEM before the week-end i think ill go buy a tach at a local auto parts store. If that is the case, Can someone tell me where and what color is the tachometer wire so i can splice into it.
Thank you everyone for your help I hope this puppy lasts for a long time. Childhood memories started pouring out when i sat in the seat. Now its time to make some fun adult memories driving down the road
When you first turn the key to "on" (Not Start) do you get a set of lamps that turn on? and the gages go wacky at this point?
The first item on the list is grounding.. dash panel, engine to body, everywhere......
the second item is connection plugs..... does it look like items have been added to the car..... new radio, radar detector, blue ray played,,,,,,,new accessories?
Many more questions will be asked of you to track this one down... Did I mention welcome to the "WORLD OF FIERO" !!
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------------------ Mark ' 85 2m6 3.4PR In the Great Northwest!
The Oil Pressure Sender or socket it probably shot. An open condition in the sender causes the needle to peg. First, simply plug the sender connection in and out a few times and see if that does not fix it. The let us know what happens (I need to check the differences between the '88 sender and the earlier senders. Apparently the price difference is enough to justifiy changing to the later sender.
Oh, and spend a whole day (if you read VERY fast), using the search function and visiting The Ogre's Cave (link is at the top of every page on the forum)....read EVERYTHING in the cave....for the BEST quality parts order from Dickman....for harder to find The Fiero Store, for cheap Rock Auto.
Oh....and check out my thread in Technical: Buy a Fiero and learn to..... A bit of humor in it but a bunch of truth, too!
I think you are on the right track with electrical . I never noticed this before. When the car is off all the gauges read zero or below that as they should when off. When i turn the car to on (acc) whatever you want to call it without starting the car. The tach slowly raises up without the car running, and the oil pressure is pegged to the max. The batt meter reads a little over 13amps and the themo temp goes to 100.
The only lamp that comes on is door ajar because the door is open.
Thank you,
Tom
[This message has been edited by tdale (edited 07-16-2015).]
Also the factory radio changes on its own sometimes. If i smack the side of the dash/radio it goes back to what i was listening to haha. I planned to replace that anyway but maybe that issue is also apart of the others.
another thing i noticed is when you put the car in reverse you can see the lights come on for reverse but when you take your hand off the stick the reverse lights go out when the car is still in reverse.
-Tom
[This message has been edited by tdale (edited 07-16-2015).]
The back up switch is adjustable. You need to remove the cover at the shifter and you will see a swttch with a plunger. The plunger is threaded. just need to screw it out until the lights remain on.
------------------ Mark ' 85 2m6 3.4PR In the Great Northwest!
The Battery gage reads volts, not amps. Most of your issues sound like dirty connectors and corroded grounds, not uncommon for a car that has set for a number of years. The gages are grounded on the side of the metal hoop that supports the steering column. Buy a Factory Service Manual and use it. The information is invaluable. Do not waste your money on the Chilton or Haynes manuals.
So i was able to fix the reverse sensor Thanks a bunch for that. I just popped that little support clip off and turned the screw with a flat head until it came out more and reinstalled the sensor.
I still can't figure out the gauges issues, I can't seem to locate that ground by the steering column. Do you have a picture of where i need to look? I'm a visual learner .
Also what else should i check while im under there. I removed the plastic that was by the steering column and there was a black wire that was shoved up there that looked snipped inside of the black wire was a few other wires with a red and green jacket. There was more than two but i cant remember the other colors. Was this a wire for optional stuff that isn't on my GT? Also i noticed that my car does not have power steering, Does the 1986 fiero GT not have it or is my power steering just fubar.
I don't know much about these cars at all. The most ive done on any car was brakes and rotors, installing a stereo and things like that. So i really appreciate you guys helping me out and not bashing me on here. This is my first real project car im trying to fix without calling someone or taking it somewhere to be fixed.
Also what else should i check while im under there. I removed the plastic that was by the steering column and there was a black wire that was shoved up there that looked snipped inside of the black wire was a few other wires with a red and green jacket. There was more than two but i cant remember the other colors. Was this a wire for optional stuff that isn't on my GT? Also i noticed that my car does not have power steering, Does the 1986 fiero GT not have it or is my power steering just fubar.
I don't know much about these cars at all. The most ive done on any car was brakes and rotors, installing a stereo and things like that. So i really appreciate you guys helping me out and not bashing me on here. This is my first real project car im trying to fix without calling someone or taking it somewhere to be fixed.
Thanks again!
Tom
If you are finding black wires that are snipped, chances are it was a ground, and is part of your problem. It's tough to fix wiring that was modified, but you will need to take Olejoedad's advice and study up on how the wires were connected at the factory. If you can find a Fiero close to you that is stock (that you can look at), that helps too.
And, no...your Fiero did not have power steering...
[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 07-18-2015).]
I installed the new tachometer. I spliced into the exact same wires that go into the gauge cluster. The aftermarket tachometer works like a charm. My cluster tach is still acting dumb. I splice the tac input, power, lights and ground from that C3 connector on the passenger side of the dash. Nothing was new. So now the question is why is the factory tach still being dumb
Its a beautiful 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT, Red with the 4 Speed manual trans and only 94k miles young 
. I never noticed this before. When the car is off all the gauges read zero or below that as they should when off. When i turn the car to on (acc) whatever you want to call it without starting the car. The tach slowly raises up without the car running, and the oil pressure is pegged to the max. The batt meter reads a little over 13amps and the themo temp goes to 100.
