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View Full Version : Not A-body related, but still need some help



ochy38
12-18-2008, 02:08 PM
This is about my girlfriends car. She drives a 01 cavalier, i forget what engine off the top of my head i think its the 2.2l but im not sure. She was having electrical issues yesturday and im kinda confused as to what it is.

She said that she began driving to work and everything was kosher, until maybe 10 minutes into the trip. The roads were kinda slushy, and whenever she hit the brakes and the ABS kicked in, the radio turned off and the lights dimmed. It was apparently fine unless she hit the ABS, in which case that happened. So she parks her car and turns if off, and the chime starts going off in a wierd fashion, and the gauges start twitching (this is with the car off). eventually I drive to her work and have to jump her car about 4 hours later because the chime and gauges kill the battery. When i get there its still doing its thing, but the second i put the cables on the battery (without them connected to the other car) it stops. Car starts up fine and I drive it for an hour and i can't get it to do anything.

Apparently after she drops me off at home it starts doing it again, but this time all of the idiot lights came on the dash.

I drive it for about an hour later that night, and i cant get it to do anything. And, wouldnt you know it, the second i pull into the driveway, the ABS kicks in, the radio shuts off, the lights dim. So I start driving it and its fine unless the ABS goes. Then, i was driving in a straight line, only touching the gas, and the car just shuts off and everything goes dark (the headlight switch is on, but the headlights shut off and the backlighting of the gauges is off). about 2 seconds later the electronics come back on, and all of the idiot lights come on for a sec, and after pulling off to the side of the road im able to turn the car back on and drive away.

I guess the deal with the idiot lights is, imagine the car turning off then put the key back to on, its like when the key is put back to on. I kinda got the same feeling when i first went to jump it and the gauges were goin wild.. kinda seems like the car was quickly turning key off to key on repeatedly.. any thoughts?

Tonglebeak
12-18-2008, 02:16 PM
Sounds like a short. Where though I wouldn't know, but something is drawing more than enough power to cause mayhem when ABS decides it wants to draw a bit of power for itself.

CieraSL92
12-18-2008, 02:20 PM
Make sure the battery cables are relatively free of corrosion at the battery. Sounds like a ground or voltage issue.

Jr's3800
12-18-2008, 06:47 PM
As stated... Sounds like a short..

Check the positive battery cable

Also check the Fuse/Relay center

May be possible to have a bad ignition switch as well.. Hard to say with the Cavi....

a1veedubber
12-18-2008, 07:12 PM
Make sure the battery cables are relatively free of corrosion at the battery. Sounds like a ground or voltage issue.

This gets my vote. The ABS system + Brake lights use a LOT of juice. The symptoms you describe when the ABS activates classically describe how other systems malfunction as the ABS & brake lights grab ALL the available electricity.

And non-A related stuff will not be tolerated.......go sit in the corner now!

(Just kidding.......at least it's a GM :lol: )

ochy38
12-19-2008, 04:08 PM
i did a quick look of the cables that night, but it was dark out and cold so i kinda half assed it. Ill pull em off and clean em. Ill check the battery too, just in case. I should probably mention that the car has a remote starter, and she remote started it the day she had the problem. I kinda though it was going haywire before i actually drove the car (ign on and off would explain the freaky gauges and chime when the battery died), and i dont really think its the case anymore though now that i have seen what it does.

a1veedubber: :( !

turbokinetic
12-20-2008, 01:01 PM
Bad connection on main power or ground cable. Check the powitive and negative battery cables at both the battery end, and the other end (At the starter, engine block, power stud wherever they go).

As someone said, the ABS pump uses loads of current, more than the alternator can provide. It depends on the battery supplying it with a burst of current each time the ABS activates.

When you clamped the jumper cables on the battery and everything started working - that indicates the connection was loose / corroded near that post, and moving the cable temporarily corrected it.

Another possibility would be the battery its self has a crack in the connecting piece behind the battery post.

Just my two cents worth!
David

ochy38
12-21-2008, 08:28 PM
not that I wanna burden you guys with questions on this, but I took another look at it today after she complained that she smelled "burning" yesterday. I popped the hood and there is definitely a short somewhere, i can smell burning wires. I just cant pinpoint where, seems like the front of the engine somewhere. The check engine and "trac off" lights are now on all the time.. is there a certain wire somewhere that would affect the trac off on the front of the engine( i realize probably nobody on here knows this engine well enough). Im probably gonna find a cavi forum somewhere and ask so im not botherin you old a-bod guys anymore about these new-fangled cavi's (lol jk) just wonderin if anyones got any ideas.

turbokinetic
12-21-2008, 10:18 PM
Main ground wires between the engine, battery, and frame?

Could the harness be touching the exhaust pipe somewhere and melting / grounding out?

Whatever is happening apparently is causing more and more damage so you better git it fixed before she is stranded out in the cold somewhere.

David

LordDurock
12-21-2008, 10:23 PM
+1

after that just pick a side and start coming through the wires.

trry and find out what you can about that system effects what. i know when first got my car back together i fried 6 glow plugs!!!!!!! new glow plugs!!!!!! ERRRR. the mice at the wire that should have told to GP contrialor to cycle the relay.

Jr's3800
12-21-2008, 10:25 PM
The newer electrical systems on these cars do tend to have issues with the grounds to the Fuse/relay center... As stated make sure all of the grounds are good...

we have had problems on out newer H bodies, and some of the W bodies 97+... For a long time on the Older H bodies we had a Maxifuse / Relay center... Almost never had any issues with the electrical system if ever... went to the newer system and the issues started to pop up... Made us wonder why they went to the newer system...LOL