Question for those that may know Cavaliers...

So, My Aunt has a '97 Cav. I usually help her out with cars in general, but she went against my advice and bought this car.

Its run well for a while, but recently had problems... The car went into what I think is limp home mode w/ a CEL. I went to check the CEL and the reader does not turn on... Its like the plug is dead. When asked, she said last time it was inspected she had to find A "place" that would pass it regardless, because apperently they couldnt plug in either.

So, I have a dead OBD2 port, and a car that is in limp home mode, and the problems appear to be seperate.

The car runs super rich (in LHM), and because of that it now wont start, I assume due to fouling...

So before I junk this thing, has anyone had any experience with this kinda crap? I really have no idea how to work on a later car w/o R2D2, haha.

I don't know anything about Cavs, but I'd start with getting the OBD2 port working. Check for power and ground, check for fuses blown if there is no power. Get a wiring diagram and check for continuity on the data lines from the OBD2 port to the PCM if everything prior checks out.

Replace your cigarette lighter fuse.

yup- check the cig lighter fuse. the OBD port runs off that circuit.

i had a 97 Cavvy for 2.5 years, and it liked to pop on the CEL at random times just for fun. it always showed up as a misfire on cylinder 2. i'd clear it with my $100 OBD2 code reader and wait for it to come back on again anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 months later. it never ran poorly, tho, except for that one time with the O2 sensor decided to die. but that was a simple $25 fix.

Nothing specific here, but my brother owned an early 90's V6 Cavalier RS wagon and ran it for over 250k miles without any significant issues. He swears it was the best car he's ever owned.