There is a sticky about this but I wanted to post this to get some sympathy and support from fellow C5'rs

Some history
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1. 98 coupe, 6-speed, 67k miles, 400 miles left for next oil change.
2. Bought the car in March this year. Absolutely no electircal problems.
3. Had a "SHOCKS INOPERATIVE" message show up last month but went away.
4. Drove the car on Tuesday about 20 miles (both ways), was raining on my way back
5. Cleaned it up that night as usual, but this time got under the car from behind to clean the sway bar and exhaust (basically hardware under the car that's visible from behind).
6. Had the radio playing while cleaning car for 2 hours. Car sits in the garage after that.

What happened
==========
1. Turned it on today morning and "TRACTION CONTROL FAILURE" and
"REDUCED ENGINE POWER" and then "check engine" light comes on.
2. Turned the car off.
3. Turn it back on, "SERVICE ENGINE SOON".
4. Turned it off.
5. Turn it back on, "SHOCKS INOPERATIVE".
6. Drive off anyway. Check engine light is on while driving, car is running A-OK (no reduced power).
7. Run some errands for an hour (car sits in the parking lot) and drive back home and this time around the car throws no codes during starting and driving.
8. Car sits at home for an hour.
9. Turn the car back on and still no codes.

Could it be just corroded grounds?
=====================
A. I do clean the car almost every 3rd day but do not use water under pressure. Just clean with a wet cloth and also wipe the engine down with a lightly damp cloth (have heard horror stories of using water in engine bay)

B. Aviod driving in rain at all but once a month do endup wet on the road. Not sure if the previous owner drove in snow/rain?

Before I take the car in to the stealership I wanted to do my homework and avoid expensive repairs. Not sure if stealership will want to just clean the grounds and give it back to me? also not sure if I want to clean them on my own to avoid making the situation worse, not a pro at diy's.

 

Any corrosion in the connectors or at the ground connectors probably is not related to driving the car in the rain. If it is none of us would be able to drive any of our cars in the rain. Check the for current diagnostic codes by pushing and holding the options button and then pushing the fuel button 4 times. The messages just alert you to a problem the codes provide direction on how to diagnose the problem. Usually ride control issues and AH/TC/ABS issues are not related since they are separate systems. However, the RTD system does get inputs from the PCM (Vehicle speed & Chassis Pitch) and EBTCM (steering wheel position). The first step in repairing any electronic failure (auto related or otherwise) is to clean grounds and other circuit connections since they are the most likely cause of failure.

Bill

 

The car will not throw codes you have to retrieve them, follow this link to find out how to retrieve and erase codes:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti...D=26&TopicID=1

 

Sorry for using that phrase loosely. When I meant throw codes I meant displaying the error messages. Thank you for the link, I will definately read the DTC's and if they don't make sense, post them online for further advice.

 

WOW! If you have never read and cleared your DTC's,,,,your most likely going to see a ton of them. Clear all the DTC's and take the car for a drive. If it acts up, check and write down the codes. You can access the diagnostic mode while driving! Just be careful and don't crash!!


I drive my car every day. RAIN should NOT have an effect on your car UNLESS there is a problem that is allowing water to get into the electrical system. GM doesn't put any WEATHER RESTRICTIONS on any car it sells! So, don't say, that you don't drive it in the rain because your afraid to! You got to drive it like you stole it!

Clean and check the grounds! Its FREE and should always be the very first thing that you do before jump in in and replacing EXPENSIVE electrical parts! Another plus is that its FREE!

There could possibly be a couple other problems that can cause your car to go hay wire;

Check to see if your passengers foot well carpets and jute underlayment is wet or damp. If the BCM gets wet/damp, you will see all sorts of dash messages and warnings The BCM is the big silver box in the foot well behind the toe board.

The other common problem is your door wiring harnesses could be shorting out. There are issues with the door connectors that allow some of the wires to short. Remove the rubber accordion tube from the door frame and pull the connectors out. Inspect them for bare wires. I have pictures that i will post later.

Give that stuff a try!

 

Along with the connections check, pull battery to make sure the computer connections located under battery has not been damaged. Hope it is something YOU find and are able to fix yourself. Frank

 

Yep .. I am one of the few who is reading the DTC's for the FIRST time ever .. Here's what I got ..

P1516 H
P1571 H
C1278 H
B0432 H
U1040 H

I cleared all the above codes. Have located the grounds on either side of the engine bay and will clean them tonight. Thankx guys for the advice and support

 

Same problem here with my '01 vert ... drove it Wednesday night down the back roads "like I stole it" .... hard throttle passes and NO issues! Had a bad rain/thunder storm over night .... drove to work Thursday morning and windows would not lower ... then all of the above mentioned codes came in .... I wiggled the accordion and windows and all driver door power functions worked! Restart ... all codes go to history .... recurred that evening. Still has full throttle speed ... so "reduced power" is bogus ... will check the accordion/BCM. I'm suspection the wiring in the accordion since codes go to history once the door is opened/closed.

VERY timely post