1988 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham Master Relay Shorted

[Scottm69s]

I have a 1988 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham. I have scanned the computer and it gives me error code #44 Master Relay - Shorted. Can anyone help with what this is? The car drives great but when it is at idle after a few minutes the check engine light comes on and the engine sputters. I have changed the entire exhaust and o2 sensor.

[maxwedge]

Code 44 is a lean mixture, dirty injectors, low fuel pressure, bad mass air flow are some possibilities.

[Tech II]

Can be a vac leak or carbonned/contaminated O2 sensor, in addition to what Max said.........could even be a misfire.....

[Scottm69s]

Ok, well I have now changed the Fuel Filter, ran injector cleaner through the gas and changed the mass air flow sensor. Any other ideas? Could it be the Idle Air Control Sensor?

[maxwedge]

Idle air does not control mixture. How is the fuel pressure? Any vacuum leaks? Egr not sticking?

[Scottm69s]

Got a EGR Valve and PCV Valve and am about to replace them. Do you know where the PCV Valve is located on the 3800 Engine?

[Scottm69s]

Ok, I have replaced the EGR Valve and now the car seems to be running a little rougher during idle and same code 44 comes on after a few minutes. I still have not been able to locate the PCV Valve and any help in that area would be greatly appreciated. Also, could the Fuel Injectors be going bad? Would it hurt to replace them one at a time as they seem to run about $50 a piece? Thank you for all the help!!!

[maxwedge]

You cannot just replace parts without some diagnostics, no? How is the fuel pressure, any vacuum leaks, do you have a dead miss at idle? Pcv should be in the front of the intake.

[Scottm69s]

When starting from a cold start, the car keeps stalling out until it warms up. I can see that the valve cover gasket is leaking but am not sure how to check for vacuum leaks.

[maxwedge]

You need to scan it and look at the coolant temp sensor readings as well as other sensor inputs.

[Scottm69s]

Ya, thats what i was thinking. I already replaced the coolant temp sensor. All the vacuum lines look very good with no dry rot or cracking damage. I have also cleaned all the deposits out of the Throttle Body. I am going to put the original egr valve back on and see if it runs any better but the ports are full of deposits. Will the Throttle Body Cleaner or Air Flow Sensor Cleaner be okay to clean the deposits off the egr ports?

[Tech II]

When the car is warm, does car idle better? Does it accelerate with no problem(hesitation, misfire)?

Max has asked you for fuel pressure readings.....

He also asked you to get coolant temp readings from ECM(not sure if this year vehicle has a seperate sensor for the gage and the ECM)....If it is reading too high on a cold engine, you won't get enough fuel on a cold start, and can have a rough idle...

Reread your post, and see that you replaced the O2 sensor....

To check for vac leaks, spray carb cleaner around the top of the engine, and see if the engine rpms change or if idle smooths out....

Believe this engine has a pastic grey engine cover, with a plastic retainer.....when you remove the retainer, the stud it attaches to holds down a plate.....I believe the PCV is below this.....but I doubt that is your problem....

[Scottm69s]

Ok, I don't have a lot of money to take this car into a shop to get all the computer readings, so I am trying to diagnosis it to the best of my ability. The air flow sensor would not come clean, so I purchased a new one and the car ran a lot better. The service engine light would come on but only for a few seconds and go off. You could still feel a little chugging in the engine. Also, when slowing down the engine would chug. It also would still need to be reved a few times to get it started when cold, but never when warm. After the air flow sensor, I changed out the EGR valve which had a lot of deposits and cleaned the throttle body. Now, it is very hard to start and keep running when cold. When it is warmed up the engine is chugging when idle, but it stays running. This entire time, the car has no problem getting up to speed and runs great, only problem is while in idle. I have just replaced the leaking valve cover gasket and you can see where the oil was coming out and looks to have gone all the way up to the 3 fuel injectors. I hope this helps understand my situation and any help is greatly appreciated.

[Scottm69s]

1988 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham Idle Problems

Parts Replaced:

EGR Valve
Coolant Temp Sensor
Muffler
Converter
O2 Sensor
Throttle Body Cleaned
Mass Air Flow Sensor



The only other parts I have found that could be questionable are:

Idle Air Control Valve
PCV Valve
Spark Plugs & Wires
Fuel Injectors
Crankshaft Sensor
Cam Sensor


Symptoms: Car gives off code 44 Master Relay Shorted. Car is hard to keep started when engine is cold. When touching the gas, it revs high and the engine chugs during idle. Otherwise, drives great and takes right off. (don't know if it has anything to do with it, but when the car is driving most of the time it does not slow down much after letting off the gas.)

[Tech II]

As Max told you, code 44 means the engine is running lean, NOT master relay shorted....

It does not slow down when taking your foot off the gas, because your idle is too high(vac leak, bad IAC, BAD TPS, etc.)....

You can change all the parts you want, but if you can't read data from the parts you changed, you don't know if the sensor/valve/solenoid or if the circuit to them is at fault....