Car wont start - At wits end
07-12-2006, 10:18 PM
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Car wont start - At wits end I had another thread about this in the general section, it dosent seem to be going anywhere so ill try an updated version here.
Problem: Car will not crank. All electrical accessories work properly, radio, windows, ect.
Background info: Pervious to the car totally crapping out, I had problems with it acting funny when i was trying to start it. It would start, run for a second then immediately die, or crank and crank, never starting, or sometimes it would start and run, but very rough. If i just kept re-starting the car the problem would always go away.
Right before the car stopped starting completely, while i was driving the voltage gauge would drop way down, when it did this my spedometer would flutter all over, and a couple times the car even stuttered.
After my current problem started happening, when you turned the key, no dash lights would come on until you pushed it all the way into the "crank" position. By messing with the key alot, pulling it in and out, and trying it over and over, I was able to get the car to start once. I had to shut it off, and when I tried to start it again, the dash lights were working correctly. The car would try to start, but immediately die, or just keep cranking. While this was happening, I could hear a clicking noise from somewhere near the glove compartment. The security light is on, as it has been, but is not blinking.
I replaced the ignition switch, this seemed to make the dash lights work correctly again, but the car will still not crank. I checked the ignition and injector fuses both in the car and under the hood, all were ok.
After tearing apart the passenger side dash, I found these two relays, one of which is the VATS im assuming: http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/1172/00000270ky.jpg
On removing the one with the thick wires, i found one of the electrodes black like it had been shorting out possibly the noise i was hearing from near the glove box?: http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3360/00000312dv.jpg
I tried jumping from the yellow wire to the purple, which according to this diagram from Shoebox's site, http://shbox.com/1/pass_key.jpg should bypass the module and allow the car to crank, but that didnt work either. I measured the voltage at the yellow wire, when the key was in the "run" and "Crank" position it read around 25 milivolts.
I have had problems with the VATS not allowing me to start the car before, but then the security light would blink. I measured the resistance of the key pallet and bought resistors of an equil value and wired them in the correct spot, but this did nothing, the security light stayed on. Later the resistor totally fell out, and the car still started alright with the security light on.
Im totally at a loss on this, if anyone could point me in the right direction i would be in your debt.
Problem: Car will not crank. All electrical accessories work properly, radio, windows, ect.
Background info: Pervious to the car totally crapping out, I had problems with it acting funny when i was trying to start it. It would start, run for a second then immediately die, or crank and crank, never starting, or sometimes it would start and run, but very rough. If i just kept re-starting the car the problem would always go away.
Right before the car stopped starting completely, while i was driving the voltage gauge would drop way down, when it did this my spedometer would flutter all over, and a couple times the car even stuttered.
After my current problem started happening, when you turned the key, no dash lights would come on until you pushed it all the way into the "crank" position. By messing with the key alot, pulling it in and out, and trying it over and over, I was able to get the car to start once. I had to shut it off, and when I tried to start it again, the dash lights were working correctly. The car would try to start, but immediately die, or just keep cranking. While this was happening, I could hear a clicking noise from somewhere near the glove compartment. The security light is on, as it has been, but is not blinking.
I replaced the ignition switch, this seemed to make the dash lights work correctly again, but the car will still not crank. I checked the ignition and injector fuses both in the car and under the hood, all were ok.
After tearing apart the passenger side dash, I found these two relays, one of which is the VATS im assuming: http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/1172/00000270ky.jpg
On removing the one with the thick wires, i found one of the electrodes black like it had been shorting out possibly the noise i was hearing from near the glove box?: http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3360/00000312dv.jpg
I tried jumping from the yellow wire to the purple, which according to this diagram from Shoebox's site, http://shbox.com/1/pass_key.jpg should bypass the module and allow the car to crank, but that didnt work either. I measured the voltage at the yellow wire, when the key was in the "run" and "Crank" position it read around 25 milivolts.
I have had problems with the VATS not allowing me to start the car before, but then the security light would blink. I measured the resistance of the key pallet and bought resistors of an equil value and wired them in the correct spot, but this did nothing, the security light stayed on. Later the resistor totally fell out, and the car still started alright with the security light on.
Im totally at a loss on this, if anyone could point me in the right direction i would be in your debt.
Last edited by Valkyn; 07-12-2006 at 10:26 PM.
07-13-2006, 12:23 AM
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why dont you jsut spend the money for a tune and get the VATS tuned out and see if that fixes your problem completely... that may just be the best answer...
sometimes its really hard to diagnose electrical problems when your not there doing the testing... but we can help every way we can...
sometimes its really hard to diagnose electrical problems when your not there doing the testing... but we can help every way we can...
07-13-2006, 08:32 AM
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PCM4Less is sending me a version of my tune with the VATS deleted ASAP, but deleting it from the PCM only stops the fuel cutoff. You still need to bypass the module in order for the car to get power to the starter.
