Car will not crank
10-26-2013, 01:11 PM
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Car will not crank Hey guys, I don't have an LT or LS engine but have a 92 slowmaro 3.1. Trying to get the thing running after sitting in the garage for about 5 years and came to this site because it has the most activity.
So car will not crank at all. I checked the starter and if I connect it to power it will crank. Power is getting to the starter as well. When I turn the key the lights in the dash turn on and the security light stays on. It has a new battery but if I leave it hooked up for a few days the car will drain it without anything on. Is this because of a short or something else going on?
Thanks
Mitch
So car will not crank at all. I checked the starter and if I connect it to power it will crank. Power is getting to the starter as well. When I turn the key the lights in the dash turn on and the security light stays on. It has a new battery but if I leave it hooked up for a few days the car will drain it without anything on. Is this because of a short or something else going on?
Thanks
Mitch
11-04-2013, 12:50 AM
#3
Check all your fuses either with a test light or meter. A blown ECM fuse can cause the problem you are having. I "think" there's a VATS fuse also, but its a good idea to check all of them.
With an ohm meter check the resistance of the key. If there is none the key is bad. If you have another try it.
If the key is good unhook the small two wire plug in at the base of the cylinder and see if you are getting the same resistance value as the key in all positions. If you aren't getting the same values the lock cylinder is bad or the wires are broken which are very common.
You can either replace the lock cylinder or go to radio shack and get some resistors and solder them together obtaining the same resistance as the key. Take the ends and put them in the connector that goes to the VATS module, not the connector that go to the lock cylinder. This tricks the VATS module see's the correct resistance.
If you find the lock cylinder is working correctly(the resistance values are the same as the key)it could be the VATS module itself. It can also be the ignition switch or the starter relay. Most of the time its the lock cylinder.
For the battery going dead it does sound like you have a drain. Take a multi meter and set it up for amps. Most meters have two spots for amps, use the 10amp.
Unhook the negative battery cable. Attach one lead to the negative cable and the other to the negative terminal. Depending on if you have top or side posts you might have to get some bolts or terminals to be able to attach the leads. For side posts I take a 3/8 coarse bolt and screw into the battery or take the bolt out of the negative terminal and bolt it to the battery. Then get a bolt/washer/but and put it through the negative cable end.
For top post I get a top post battery terminal end and clip the lead to that and attach the other lead to the terminal end on the cable.
Select AMPS on the multimeter then attach the end. The amps will be high when you first attach the leads because all the modules are going to power up. The amp reading will slowly drop as the modules go to sleep. This can take several minutes. You should have no more than .20 amps when everything goes to sleep. The .20 is the Keep Alive Memory(KAM) in the PCM. If it's significantly higher than .20 there's a draw somewhere.
To track down where it's at start pulling fuses in the fuse block. On a 92 I "think" all of them are under the dash, I don't think there's a battery junction block but I could be wrong. Pull one fuse at a time and watch the meter. When you pull a fuse and the amps drop the draw is on that circuit. Consulting a wiring diagram see what all is on that circuit. Put that fuse back in and start unhooking what ever is on that circuit one thing at a time. You will eventually unplug something that will make the amps drop.
Keep in mind that opening the doors/trunk will cause the interior lights to come on which will cause the AMP reading to go up on the meter. The first thing I normally do is open/close the door and see if the amp reading goes up and down. If it does I pull that fuse first so it doesn't keep changing the amp reading if I have to open the door to get to the fuse panel.
Sorry this ended up being such a long reply. Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction.
With an ohm meter check the resistance of the key. If there is none the key is bad. If you have another try it.
If the key is good unhook the small two wire plug in at the base of the cylinder and see if you are getting the same resistance value as the key in all positions. If you aren't getting the same values the lock cylinder is bad or the wires are broken which are very common.
You can either replace the lock cylinder or go to radio shack and get some resistors and solder them together obtaining the same resistance as the key. Take the ends and put them in the connector that goes to the VATS module, not the connector that go to the lock cylinder. This tricks the VATS module see's the correct resistance.
If you find the lock cylinder is working correctly(the resistance values are the same as the key)it could be the VATS module itself. It can also be the ignition switch or the starter relay. Most of the time its the lock cylinder.
For the battery going dead it does sound like you have a drain. Take a multi meter and set it up for amps. Most meters have two spots for amps, use the 10amp.
Unhook the negative battery cable. Attach one lead to the negative cable and the other to the negative terminal. Depending on if you have top or side posts you might have to get some bolts or terminals to be able to attach the leads. For side posts I take a 3/8 coarse bolt and screw into the battery or take the bolt out of the negative terminal and bolt it to the battery. Then get a bolt/washer/but and put it through the negative cable end.
For top post I get a top post battery terminal end and clip the lead to that and attach the other lead to the terminal end on the cable.
Select AMPS on the multimeter then attach the end. The amps will be high when you first attach the leads because all the modules are going to power up. The amp reading will slowly drop as the modules go to sleep. This can take several minutes. You should have no more than .20 amps when everything goes to sleep. The .20 is the Keep Alive Memory(KAM) in the PCM. If it's significantly higher than .20 there's a draw somewhere.
To track down where it's at start pulling fuses in the fuse block. On a 92 I "think" all of them are under the dash, I don't think there's a battery junction block but I could be wrong. Pull one fuse at a time and watch the meter. When you pull a fuse and the amps drop the draw is on that circuit. Consulting a wiring diagram see what all is on that circuit. Put that fuse back in and start unhooking what ever is on that circuit one thing at a time. You will eventually unplug something that will make the amps drop.
Keep in mind that opening the doors/trunk will cause the interior lights to come on which will cause the AMP reading to go up on the meter. The first thing I normally do is open/close the door and see if the amp reading goes up and down. If it does I pull that fuse first so it doesn't keep changing the amp reading if I have to open the door to get to the fuse panel.
Sorry this ended up being such a long reply. Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction.
