Rescued a 2005 XLR

[wardlws]

The XLR has been one of my favorite cars ever since it debuted... another "I'll never be able to afford one". Well, I finally snagged one at a great deal! I've been watching Copart Salvage Auction for a couple of years, and found this 2005 XLR in Steel Blue and Shale with only 45k miles... it even had a clean title with minimum damage:
https://www.copart.com/lot/82171705/clean-title-2005-cadillac-xlr-tn-knoxville

Some of you might recognize it as once belonging to Rich with username "xlrator"

I've only had time to clean off the dust from the salvage yard and order parts to fix it. I've been through it pretty good and have ordered:
Lower Radiator Support
2 OEM Wheels (I can sand and polish the other two)
Leather Seat Repair Kit
Paint (base, color, and clear)

Can anyone tell me what the box in the last picture does? I have found that the switch and the lower knob control the light inside the rear wind screen, but I have no idea what the upper knob does. I also found two wires (that probably come from this box) that go into a harness near the top hydraulic controller. However, I haven't traced it to where it ties into the harness yet.

I'm at least the fourth owner, though the registry shows Rich as the owner. Does the registry show the original owner, or should I ask for it to be updated? I'm totally good with Rich staying as the owner in the registry... just curious what you want it to show.

Thanks and great to be here as an owner!
Scott

 

[mickeytee]

When i
LOoked at it it said it had a salvage title. i tried to reach out to the owner but he nevergot back. I think it passed thru several hands after him.

 

[CY1957-XLR]

Looks like a pretty nice car for a "Salvage".
Have no idea what that box could be, maybe try to trace the wires from it?

Good luck, hope it works good for you.

So far, my 2005 is working good, all function, don't drive it much, has 53K miles on it.

 

[Rob]

I updated the listing in the Registry.

 

[wardlws]

I updated the listing in the Registry.

Thanks! Everything looks correct.

 

[xlrlist01]

Looks like a pretty nice car for a "Salvage".
Have no idea what that box could be, maybe try to trace the wires from it?

Good luck, hope it works good for you.

So far, my 2005 is working good, all function, don't drive it much, has 53K miles on it.

I too have no idea what that box is. It _might_ be some kind of audio (pre-)amplifier. I only mention that as it has its own 9v battery and as audio (pre-)amplifiers are vulnerable to electronic noise, one fix is to use a battery instead of a more general power supply. Assuming that 9v battery is the only power source, it must be a very low power unit, so if not audio, some kind of amplifier. It looks like a coax cable too, but is that the only one? There should be at least an in and an out circuit. Can you follow the wiring at all?

 

[wardlws]

Last weekend, I had time to replace the lower radiator support and raise the car about a half inch.

The radiator support was fairly easy, and certainly no need to remove the front bumper cover, like a lot of Corvette videos show. Just be sure to support the radiator with a jack, so you don't put any more bending pressure on the hard lines. I had a moment when one of the frame nuts kept spinning. However, I could put pressure on it with a pry-bar, and then pull the bolt in with my air ratchet.

The car is still about a half inch lower than stock, but that's as close as I could get with those NeoMax coilovers. I took a quick test drive, and the car feels as it should. Not too stiff/harsh, and definitely not too soft/squishy. The NeoMax coilovers have 18 dampening settings... these are set about 2/3 on the firmer side.

I'm still not sure about the upper dial on that weird aftermarket box. I traced two of the wires into the rear compartment with the hydraulic controller and suspension module. Both the wires tie into the rear end wiring harness... one to the positive voltage of the Park Lamps, which seems like a good idea, if you want to power the Wind Screen Light at night. However, the other wire also goes to a positive voltage, but from the Brake / Stop Lamps!

Its been cold and raining here almost everyday, but I'll dig into it further soon.

 

[wardlws]

Okay... now that it is dark outside, I decided to play around with both knobs... and knowing that one wire went to the Brake/Stop Lights, here is what I found out:
1) the switch on the box is to switch from powering the light from the Parking Lights to the 9V battery
2) the lower knob controls the brightness of the Wind Restrictor Light
3) the upper knob controls the brightness of the Wind Screen Light when you hit the brake pedal

So... the Wind Screen Light will come on when the Headlights (or just Parking Lights) are on, or you can manually turn it on by switching over to the 9V battery.
You can adjust the brightness, so it either gets a lot brighter when you hit the brakes, or it will get dimmer when you hit the brakes. You could also adjust it to only turn on when you hit the brakes, or turn off when you hit the brakes.

It is actually a fairly neat setup. Though, I'll probably keep the knobs turned all the way or almost all the way down... don't want the driver next to me having "Oh cool... what's that" and a bug to a light situation!

 

[CY1957-XLR]

@wardlws
Nice you found out what the Box and controls were for and that you can control the brightness of the added Wind Screen.
Sounds like it would look neat at night for sure!

I stick to just "cosmetic stuff' on my XLR, as I am so afraid of taking panels off and possibly breaking clips that can't be replaced!
Was thinking of trying to put in an aftermarket Stereo and back up camera in my XLR, but what I just said it keeping me from doing it.
Also, another reason is, last year I bought a 55 Nomad that I have been working on, which is WAY easier to do anything to vs the XLR.
Nomad is worth about 4 times what the XLR is worth too, so better investment and I like 55-57 Chevys since I was 15 and got my 57 Hardtop as my first car.

Still like the XLR for sure but just enjoy driving it on and off and fingers crossed I don't have issues like some I see posted on the forum!
Good luck with yours, much neater color than my Platinum!
There is a local older couple I got to know in my area has a Blue Steel XLR, their kids have no interest in the XXLR, so maybe when they want to sell, they will ask me about buying it!