I need advivce, badly.

Sometime ago I purchased a 1998 corvette on ebay that was hit in the front and had been repaired. Rather badly in fact. So I hired an independent service to check it out for me since it was 300 miles away. The car had very low miles, pretty red, convertible. How bad could it be, right? Well, I had the car for about 6 months and then things went south fast. First thing that happened was I got a warning message that said check engine, reduced engine power and check traction control system. I couldn't drive the car over 20 mph. I limped the car home since I was only 2 miles from home. I let the car set in the driveway until I could get to the dealer. The next week I went out and started the car and no warning messages at all.

I drove to the dealer, he replaced ebc module. Fine for 6 more months and it happened again. They had it for about 2 weeks and called and said I needed steering sensor and throttle position module or something like that. I said don't replace them yet. I got on corvette forum and looked for similar problems and found answers. I called the dealership and told them to check for loose wires, bad battery connection, loose grounds, etc. They found broken wire, wanted $1,500 bucks to fix and said they wouldn't gauruntee that would fix it. I told them I'd come get it. They called me back 5 minutes later and said now it won't shift properly. They wouldn't fix that either, said they didn't want to or couldn't fix my car and to come get it. They said it would cost them too much money. ******.

So, besides eventually taking these guys to court, I have to get the car fixed. I went to replace battery today and noticed that all of the connectors near the battery appear to have been eaten up by acid, probably from an exploded battery at time of impact. I can't believe that GM put the fuse box relay and all of those wires near the battery!!!! I don't see any wires directly eaten through but now I don't know where to start. Do I replace the entire harness? Is that possible?Somebody help me please. I've got too much in it to dump it now.

One piece of advice. Never hire another firm to check out a car for you if you buy from someone on ebay. I got ripped off bad and now paying dearly for it. You definitely get what you pay for.

 

I hope it was a good price!

It is possible to do a total wire harness replace but you'll need a donor car.

Perhaps someone local will have one in a wrecking yard or look on the C5 parts for sale section there are a few Vette being parted out right now and I don't think anyone is in line for the harness!

You can do it, it will just take some time and patience. Friends will be a plus to help you out.

At least by doing this you will find any problems and shorts and know that all is well when you are finished!

Hope this helps or at least gives you a bump!

Thanks,Matt

 

The battery probably did that without being in an accident. It has happened quite often. Positive battery post comes loose and leaks acid. The 8 year old battery in my wife's Saturn just did it last week and stranded her in a parking lot without any help around.

In defense of the company you hired there is no way they could tell about broken wires or bad modules that would go bad in the next 6 months. The EBCM could have failed at any time and maybe it did't fail but was a victim of false signals due to the battery leaking. I sort of doubt the problems are due to the crash although maybe the crash was due to the problems (great way though unsafe to get out from under a problem car).

You will probably have to replace the entire harness and maybe the PCM. Also consider the vacuum hoses that run through the area. The usual repair cost at a dealership for battery acid leaking into the PCM area is in the range of $4K. I would look to some of the forum used parts vendors to see if I could get the harnesses and vacuum lines at a savings (everybody drives on used parts).

Bill

 

Thanks guys for the help. I will start searching for the harnesses and vacuum lines.

 

I gotta tell you I'm confused partner. It seems the best advice you could give considering what you've been through is not to buy a car that has been in a major accident. Especially one that has suffered major front end damage, is made of plastic, and has numerous on board computers. Just a thought.

good luck.

 

He already has the car. Besides the problems he is describing are not uncommon on older C5s and likely are not the result of the accident. The broken wire may be but it depends on where the wire is and whether the Service Writer just said broken wire when he was describing a wiring problem caused by battery acid.
Bill