bodega1027
05-22-2009, 11:20 PM
So here's a weird one for you guys...
Some of you will probably remember all the starting problems and stalling problems I've had in the past. Most of the stalling problems were solved with a new alternator (although once it a blue moon it still stalls when I'm slowly creeping in reverse, or when I let it sit and idle for awhile then shift to drive... and no, it's not the TCC, so don't ask! :lol:). All of the starting problems (which were characterized by the car having NO response when turning the key even though the ignition switch was good) were solved by wiring a relay into the starting circuit, so that the wire that USED to trigger the S-Terminal now triggers a relay, and the relay takes power from the battery to the S-Terminal (this was done because, after exhaustive testing and changing of parts, I couldn't figure out why my voltage was always SO low at the S-Terminal... and for the most part this did the trick!).
So one day, not too long ago, I was sitting in a parking lot waiting for my wife with the car running, and when she got in after maybe five minutes of idling, I shifted into reverse and the car died. When I went to restart it, it wouldn't respond for the first time since I put the relay in months ago... I was getting power to the S-Terminal (which I know for a fact, because there's an LED indicator in my cab wired to it). I didn't have a voltmeter to check, so I don't know how much though. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat and tried to start it every couple of minutes. The starter motor and solenoid are both almost brand new, but I still tapped it with a screwdriver a couple of times to try and get a response out of it. Nothing worked.
Finally, while messing around, I switch the AC to "Vent"... and it started. And I thought, "How weird..."
A couple of weeks later I'm in another parking lot... I've got to run into the store, but I've got my wife and daughter in the car and it's like 100 degrees out here, so I go ahead and let the car idle so I can leave the AC going. I get back to the car after maybe five minuts, and I get the same stall and the same no start. So purposely this time, I switch the AC to "Vent" and IT STARTS.
Now. Finally. On Monday, I had to jump out of the car for less than three minutes to unlock a driveway gate at my workplace. I get back into the car, and it stalls (this sounds like a lot of stalling, I know... this is probably the only three times it's stalled over a period of 6 weeks). So I go to restart the car, but THIS TIME I get a little sputtering, and my headlights, dome lights, dash lights, and stereo all go dead. I rotate the key back and forth, and everything remains dead. So, just on a hunch, I switch my AC to "Vent" and all the pwoer comes back up and the voltmeter is still reading 12v on the battery. I try to start it again, and again everything goes dead. Finally, I try to start it with a screwdriver to the S-Terminal, and all I get is a little sprinkling of sparks, then a dead car again.
I had to leave town, so the car has been sitting all week, but when I got back today the car still wouldn't start.
I'm THINKING that the problem is some bad wiring somewhere between my battery and my starter, so I'm going to try to find some bare wire or burned up connections this weekend. I think I should try to find anywhere where the wiring can be affected by the position of the vents, too.
Can anyone think of anything else it could be? Ignition Module? ECM? H1N1?
Some of you will probably remember all the starting problems and stalling problems I've had in the past. Most of the stalling problems were solved with a new alternator (although once it a blue moon it still stalls when I'm slowly creeping in reverse, or when I let it sit and idle for awhile then shift to drive... and no, it's not the TCC, so don't ask! :lol:). All of the starting problems (which were characterized by the car having NO response when turning the key even though the ignition switch was good) were solved by wiring a relay into the starting circuit, so that the wire that USED to trigger the S-Terminal now triggers a relay, and the relay takes power from the battery to the S-Terminal (this was done because, after exhaustive testing and changing of parts, I couldn't figure out why my voltage was always SO low at the S-Terminal... and for the most part this did the trick!).
So one day, not too long ago, I was sitting in a parking lot waiting for my wife with the car running, and when she got in after maybe five minutes of idling, I shifted into reverse and the car died. When I went to restart it, it wouldn't respond for the first time since I put the relay in months ago... I was getting power to the S-Terminal (which I know for a fact, because there's an LED indicator in my cab wired to it). I didn't have a voltmeter to check, so I don't know how much though. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat and tried to start it every couple of minutes. The starter motor and solenoid are both almost brand new, but I still tapped it with a screwdriver a couple of times to try and get a response out of it. Nothing worked.
Finally, while messing around, I switch the AC to "Vent"... and it started. And I thought, "How weird..."
A couple of weeks later I'm in another parking lot... I've got to run into the store, but I've got my wife and daughter in the car and it's like 100 degrees out here, so I go ahead and let the car idle so I can leave the AC going. I get back to the car after maybe five minuts, and I get the same stall and the same no start. So purposely this time, I switch the AC to "Vent" and IT STARTS.
Now. Finally. On Monday, I had to jump out of the car for less than three minutes to unlock a driveway gate at my workplace. I get back into the car, and it stalls (this sounds like a lot of stalling, I know... this is probably the only three times it's stalled over a period of 6 weeks). So I go to restart the car, but THIS TIME I get a little sputtering, and my headlights, dome lights, dash lights, and stereo all go dead. I rotate the key back and forth, and everything remains dead. So, just on a hunch, I switch my AC to "Vent" and all the pwoer comes back up and the voltmeter is still reading 12v on the battery. I try to start it again, and again everything goes dead. Finally, I try to start it with a screwdriver to the S-Terminal, and all I get is a little sprinkling of sparks, then a dead car again.
I had to leave town, so the car has been sitting all week, but when I got back today the car still wouldn't start.
I'm THINKING that the problem is some bad wiring somewhere between my battery and my starter, so I'm going to try to find some bare wire or burned up connections this weekend. I think I should try to find anywhere where the wiring can be affected by the position of the vents, too.
Can anyone think of anything else it could be? Ignition Module? ECM? H1N1?