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About a month ago my wife and I were cruising in our C3 when it started sputtering. I turned around to head home knowing it wasn’t good, but the car died shortly thereafter. Was thinking it might’ve been a battery or alternator issue, but I had them tested - both were in working order. I ended up replacing the battery anyways since my current one was up there in age (5 years). Once plugging in the new battery, I cruised around my neighborhood for about 20 minutes without issue. Now I can’t even get a slight crank out of the ignition no matter how much I charge the battery. Advice is appreciated.
About a month ago my wife and I were cruising in our C3 when it started sputtering. I turned around to head home knowing it wasn’t good, but the car died shortly thereafter. Was thinking it might’ve been a battery or alternator issue, but I had them tested - both were in working order. I ended up replacing the battery anyways since my current one was up there in age (5 years). Once plugging in the new battery, I cruised around my neighborhood for about 20 minutes without issue. Now I can’t even get a slight crank out of the ignition no matter how much I charge the battery. Advice is appreciated.
i would put a voltmeter on battery make sure it has 12.5 volts , if it does do interior lights work ? turn key to start do they dim or go out ? if they go out possible bad,dirty or loose cable if they dim starter is getting power
i would put a voltmeter on battery make sure it has 12.5 volts , if it does do interior lights work ? turn key to start do they dim or go out ? if they go out possible bad,dirty or loose cable if they dim starter is getting power
Absolutely no electronics are working now. Used to be able to get at least the electronics when turning the key, now absolutely nothing. I may have to invest in a voltmeter
Or pick up a digital circuit tester (<$20). I think the circuit tester is a little quicker, easier, and the digitals have a voltage readout. A multi-meter is the way to go if you are seeking continuity checks for a broken switch and other more involved tasks. Both can be had for ~$50-$70. Connect the clip on the circuit tester to a known hot and probe grounds or connect the clip to a good ground and probe hots.
Start at the battery and make sure you have adequate voltage. Then go to the other ends of the two battery cables and recheck. While there check the nuts/bolts securing the cables (hot goes to the starter - not sure of the ground location for later C3s). You may have something else going on, but the main cable connections are high on my suspect list and really easy to check. If you find a loose connection at the starter, make sure you disconnect the cable at the battery before attempting to put a wrench on it (imagine arc welding sparks if you touch the wrench to the frame or block!).
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
No power at all "usually" is a blown fuse or fusible link. The easiest thing to check first is the horn relay and alternator. If you have power there then you can atleast have an idea that its leaving the battery without climbing under the car.
As stated above the most frequent issues are corroded battery cables inside the cable insulation and rusted connections at the frame outside of fusible links.
Make sure the cables are well connected at the battery, then check continuity through the cables to the frame and starter.
All your power travels through the connections at the starter and splits there to the fuse panel and horn relay. Check the conituity through the fusible links at the starter and the horn relay.
If you have power there check the fuse block.
If you have power thete turn on the headlights, they dont have to be up to see them light.
If all that is good, turn the key to the on position and see if you have power on the ign lug on the fuse block...if not you may need to do some testing of the ignition switch and see if it moved from its set location. It is adjustable. Also you could have lost the nuetral safety switch or clutch cut out switch depending on what you have
Ignition Issues
