Severe Electrical Problem on 2001 C5 Convertible
Thread Starter
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1
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Severe Electrical Problem on 2001 C5 Convertible
OK, here's the deal. I have a 2001 C5 Convertible. About 6 months ago the power seat on the driver's side started having problems. The lumbar and sides would not work, but everything else was fine. I lived with it so far. Two days ago I had the top down and went to put up the passenger side window and it would not respond from either side, nor would the automatic locks lock that side. I pressed the remote and it would do it either. This concerned me.
The next night I was driving home and the turn signals would not work, along with the window problem coming and going. The turn signals started to work again. So that brings us today.... On the way to work all warning lights came on the dashboard, all gauges except the speedo, tach, and battery gauge quit working. The radio, AC, and windows quit working. The computer said, "Shocks Inoperative", "Reduced Engine Power", "Low Fuel", "Service Engine Soon".
I took the car directly to a mechanic friend and he said it could be the alternator. He checked it and it looked fine. He suggested I call Chevy or try the internet for tips. Anyone seen this before? It resets itself when I turn off car and restart, but comes back about 5-10 min later.
Rich
The next night I was driving home and the turn signals would not work, along with the window problem coming and going. The turn signals started to work again. So that brings us today.... On the way to work all warning lights came on the dashboard, all gauges except the speedo, tach, and battery gauge quit working. The radio, AC, and windows quit working. The computer said, "Shocks Inoperative", "Reduced Engine Power", "Low Fuel", "Service Engine Soon".
I took the car directly to a mechanic friend and he said it could be the alternator. He checked it and it looked fine. He suggested I call Chevy or try the internet for tips. Anyone seen this before? It resets itself when I turn off car and restart, but comes back about 5-10 min later.
Rich
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 4,798
Likes: 2
From: Norman Oklahoma
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Contributor
If you've been using your a/c system a lot lately you need to check for water in the passenger toe board area.
Its a common problem when the drain stops up for the bcm to get wet and cause gremlins like that.
Another thing that will do it is a crapping out delco battery, they can intermitenly short cells internally.
Good luck..
Its a common problem when the drain stops up for the bcm to get wet and cause gremlins like that.
Another thing that will do it is a crapping out delco battery, they can intermitenly short cells internally.
Good luck..
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 25
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From: Ellicott City MD
Short
I had the same exact problem with my 2000 C5 Coupe. The problem started slowly..no big deal thought I could live with it.. then the windows wouldn't roll up, then the doors wouldn't lock/unlock with the remote. (Scary when you don't check your doors when you park the car at work..) Anyway.. I finally found the trouble in the door harness on the driver side. It was shorting out and locking up the computer. The dash would light up, reduced engine power, etc. I took the harness out of the door and found a small gap where one of the wires hits the connector. (Happened to be the one to connect the harness of the door to tthe harness in the car..) The quick patch lasted about a year but the problem would come back when the temp. outside would change. Bought a used harness off of ebay for $20 and haven't had the problem since. Next time it craps out, open the door and wiggle the rubber harmonica thing where the wires run through to the door. See if you can isolate the short there. Hopefully it will be easy to find. Good luck.
-Stan Bright
-Stan Bright
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,347
Likes: 4
From: Slidell La
Originally Posted by sbright
I had the same exact problem with my 2000 C5 Coupe. The problem started slowly..no big deal thought I could live with it.. then the windows wouldn't roll up, then the doors wouldn't lock/unlock with the remote. (Scary when you don't check your doors when you park the car at work..) Anyway.. I finally found the trouble in the door harness on the driver side. It was shorting out and locking up the computer. The dash would light up, reduced engine power, etc. I took the harness out of the door and found a small gap where one of the wires hits the connector. (Happened to be the one to connect the harness of the door to tthe harness in the car..) The quick patch lasted about a year but the problem would come back when the temp. outside would change. Bought a used harness off of ebay for $20 and haven't had the problem since. Next time it craps out, open the door and wiggle the rubber harmonica thing where the wires run through to the door. See if you can isolate the short there. Hopefully it will be easy to find. Good luck.
-Stan Bright
-Stan Bright
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
From: pensacola fl
my passenger window and lock dont work sometimes, I havent found a problem yet. Most of the time if I go and open the passenger door from the outside then the window and door lock will start working. I guess I have a short in the passenger door.
