I NEED A LITTLE HELP PLEASE. Hey all it is jmn (old user name) I lost my password and have moved so I no longer have my old email address and forgot my old pass. Any way glad to be back. On my 93 lt1 vette I have ran into some issues that I never have before. Here is what is happening.

1st the vats quit recognizing the fob for about 3 months. it started recognizing it again about 3 weeks ago. it would arm and disarm as you walked up to it. As it sat overnight it would not do anything recognize it and was as if it was never set. Now it will not do anything again not even if you push the buttons.

2nd the stereo lights have not worked in about 4 years. Tonight they started working. this happened after all my dummy lights came on and car lost power (it did this 8 times within 17 miles). This would last for about 5 seconds or so. when this happens there is a clicking on the drivers side by the windshield.

3rd there has been several times over the last several months where the car will not turn over. I pull the fuses on the passenger side out and put them right back in. The car will then start. It does not seem to be any one in particular that will let it start.

4th The passenger side window goes up some times and some times it wont move. Currently it wont do anything but dim the lights.

5th The optispark was just replaced again last week by the dealer this is my third replacement in 4 years. 2 weeks before it went out the car started backfiring a bit under heavy load. it seems as if it waas backfiring theough the exhaust just every once in awhile. The car has now started backfiring once again.

I am stuck scratching my head. The dealer says the car is in time. I Now believe all of this must be linked to something electrical... Maybe the ECM???? Any help would be apreciated. Jon

 

VATS and PKE are two separate items. VATS refers to the little resistor chip on the key that the vats system has to 'read' for the car to start. PKE is the passive keyless entry, which is the FOB, processor in dash and the assorted antennas and servos. ECM has nothing to do with those, dash lights, or window motors. As far as the Opti that is way too many failures and if dealer just replaced it and now it is backfiring then the dealer should warranty the repair. Sounds like you have a number of unrelated problems to chase down.

 

Thanks for the correction..
Just took the door APART to look at the motor turned power on and nothing... put door back together turned power on and the window started working and the car started to arm itself again. It will not unlock itself but it will lock itself. The A/c fan switches now have quit working. The battery and cables are new as well as the fob about 6 months old. When the clicking starts and all the warning lights come on the voltage stays up 12 to 14 volts. The back firin started right beofre the opti spark went bad and did not continue the first few days after repair. If anyone is wondering no i do not get the engine or the optispark wet. There just seems to be so many electrical things going on i just wonder if they are not tied together.

 

First thing first, order yourself a set of factory service manuals, by Helm. It is a two red book set, worth it's weight in gold.

I think I'd check your ground connections to be sure they are clean and tight. Make sure you battery connector is clean and tight (look under the cable plastic covers to make sure no corrosion is going on in there).

There are several, I don't remember all the grounds but one near the starter, one is under the battery on the frame, another is on the driver's side kick panel.

You have several issues going on here. You might want to address them in individual posts.

When you turn the key to ON does the Passive Keyless Entry lamp on the driver information console light up for a brief moment? If yes then it is enabled if no then it is disabled.

I would address your grounds first.

 

When you turn the key to ON does the Passive Keyless Entry lamp on the driver information console light up for a brief moment?

Yes it does come on for a brief moment then goes right back off. So if it is on passive how did it get on that way and how do I take it off Passive?

 

No chance of mice chewing on your wiring harness is it?

 

Do you have an Owner's Manual? If not let me know I have one for your 93 in PDF.

Two modes passive and non passive. Passive means it will arm and lock the doors when the transmitter (FOB) goes out of range and unlock when in range. Non passive mode means it is turned off.

To set the mode, open the drivers door and hold the door button on the fob for about a couple seconds and you will hear the locks cycle. You can test the mode when the key is turned On, if the lamp lights it is in passive mode if it doesn't light it is in non-passive mode.

If you repeat the same procedure above but instead insert the key into the ignition and hold the button, you'll hear the locks cycle this will set whether it unlocks/locks the drivers door alone or both doors.

Check to see if the Hatch button opens the rear hatch (assuming this is a coupe).

Make sure you have the correct battery in the transmitter. It will only take one kind. I found them at Radio Shack, it must be a CR2450. (RS P/N 23-189.)

 

I just got back from Chevrolet. They checked the alternater and voltage reulater. They tested OK. The car happened to do the all lights on ordeal and now dies as it happens. The voltage on the inside gauge is now hanging around 10 volts was 14 to 16 last night. All the while the dealers outside gauge is staying at a firm 14 volts. the dealer confirmed as so did I that the battery connections are tight. Chevrolet says they do not know where to start looking. Kind of strange that the all lihts and dyin did not statr until this last optispark change happened.
Is there a ground that would have been messed with during this change?
If anyone has a copy of the grounding diagrams or just the locations of them it would be much apreciated if you could forward them to me.
I do have the factory manual and i am going to order the books spoke of.
As far as Mice this car is a daily driver so I dont think so.

 

Well it's not that clear cut, if you had the FSM you'd could research all the electrical connections. Primary one's you can check readily are remove the battery and check the one under the battery pan. Look at the one on the left hand side rear of engine. There is one in the left rear wheel well behind the wheel well liner it is for the power antenna.
There is another on the left kick panel you have to remove the panel its in behind insulation. Also one on the right hand kick panel again you have to remove the panel. All I can think of at the moment.

 

Open the door panel and pry the switch open. If you see corrosion on the 5 or 6 contact pins clean them and lube with contact cleaner.

 

Kick Pannel meaning the pannel beside where your foot rests?

The switch in the door panel contacts are clean and shiney.
The door locks are once again working both locking and unlocking. Where is the antenna for this located?

 

Yes the panel your foot touches.

Opps sorry didn't read all your questions. Then antenna is located in the driver's door. Check that battery again in the FOB it just might need a replacement. The way it works is any time you shake or move the FOB it transmits a signal for about 17 seconds and the receiver in the vehicle is constantly listening. So as you walk to the vehicle it picks up the signal and goes to work, same when walking away if it receives no signal for a few seconds it locks the doors and arms the UTD.

 

The main grounds are on the frame behind each front wheel, fairly easily visible, the primary engine ground is the back of the heads near the firewall, with a bunch of leads ending there. When you check the grounds plan on hitting the screw/bolt to surface with a wire brush, and make sure all connections have a star washer that will dig into the metal on the contact to metal point side.

The symptoms sure sound like there is something that is between the battery and the point where the ignition key powers up the vehicle. Any fusable links in the wiring cables? Any add-ons, like stereo, alarm, whatever? (always look there first!)

How old are the batt. cables? I have actually seen where a car did that because the braided cable was frayed inside the rubber wrapped portion and created a temp. break in the circuit. A new cable and the problem went away.

 

Ok I traced all the grounds mentioned and found quite a few more. They all check out OK. I have noticed on the fuse box under the hood closest to the passenger fender that there are 3 or so wires that run into the fuse block. The lug and nut looks rusty and like it may have been hot at one point due to something that looks like black rubber just a small amount dripping down. I cannot get the red cover off that says BATT on it without breaking it. is there some trick to getting this off? It has a tabon top that you lift up on but I cannot get the right side to budge. I would like to clean the lug and connections to see if this may be my problem....

 

I thought I would post the causes of my problems and the fix. Maybe it will be of help to someone.
After I traced as many grounds that I could find (Found 12 in all) and unbolted and rebolted anything electrical that I could. I noticed while i had the battery out that the fuse box cover next to the battery looked a bit like it might have been sticking up just a hair. Upon inspection I found that the 2 60 amp fuses were loose as well as the ecm fuse. I pushed them in a little better then 1/4 inch. Fired the car up and had the same problem so I went a bit farther trying to remove the red cover asI could see a hot spot on the terminal. The red cap would not come off due to the red lid having been so hot it welded itself to the fuse box. After an hour of playing with it I was able to work it off. The Lug was rusted and burnt. (Plastic had melted on the lug from the lid)
I took some sandpaper and cleaned the lug and the 2 metal transfer contacts that charge the fuse box. I put it all back together and my oil pressure reads 40 to 60lbs where it was reading 20 to 30. Battery gauge shows a steady 14 volts it was showing 10. the A/C switches are all now working as well as the stereo lights and windows. And No more back firing and no more all dummy lights coming on.

I have drove the car for 45 minutes and so far so good before I could not even get out of the drive way.

Now the question is why this happened would you pull these fuses to change the opti-spark? I have never pulled these fuses only the inside fuses. Why did the lug and box get so hot? Could this be from the fuses not making full contact and sparking?

I wanted to thank everyone that has offered their help.

 

Any time you have a loose connection, the flow of current can cause an arc that creates a carbon build up and pitting of the contact surface. This will make a poor electrical connection and will also creat heat from the arcing. That heat is probably what caused the plastic to melt and compound your connection problem. You can have the same problem with the ground connections. Any corrosion build up will limit current flow and creat havoc for you.

 

Glad you got it fixed. Can you imagine what the dealer would have charged you for that!!!

The old saying goes if it is electrical, always look for the simple solution most likely it is there (although sometimes its hard to remember the objective was to drain the swamp when your fighting off the alligators).

Congrats.