First of all, thanks in advanced for reading this thread.

A brief history: Car sometimes had act. handling/tc issues but thats it. Got a new battery and it that went away for a bit.

More recently: Of course soon enough a new problem arose. The car did not want to start. Their was a clicking sound trying to turn over the engine. Took a while to turn over the engine when cold. Act.handling/tc issues also return.

What I tried: Cleaned the two easy to access grounds on the front frame rails. Seemed to remedy the problem a little, it does start easier now and act. handling/tc issues occur less frequently (but still often). I also Checked the battery connections.

Another constant problem is low voltage when the engine is not running; about 10 volts and a Low Voltage warning on the DIC. When the engine is running it runs at over 13 or 14.

Here are some codes I picked up after turning over the engine 2 separate times, one a cold start and one was slightly warm, about 120 degrees.

After 1st time:-------2nd Time:
PCM - P1571 H-------PCM - P1571 H
TCS - No Comm------TCS - C1225H C1227H C1278H U1000H
BCM - B0432 HC------BCM - B0432 H
SDM - U1040HC-------SDM - U1040H
HVAC - No Comm------HVAC - No Codes
LDCM - U1064 H-------LDCM - No Codes
RDCM - U1064 H-------RDCM - No Codes
-----------------------IPC - U1040H

And of as stated earlier, low voltage with the engine off.
Edit: other problems I forgot to mention. Sometimes the car doesn't respond to the key turn (no gauge swipe). Also, one day recently the horn and lights were extremely week without the motor running. An hour later they were suddenly fine without the motor ever being turned on that entire day (leading me to believe their is no battery drain occurring).

Thanks for reading.

 

Something's draining your battery

Try this thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...rent+draw+test

 

Sounds like a possibility but, I had my battery tested and they said it was fine... Also sometimes when the car starts I get other weird failures such as reduced engine power. Doesn't seem like a drain to me right?

 

I think you are not understanding what DeeGee is saying. It does sound like there is something that is drawing current from the battery while the car sits with everything turned off. That link to an older thread that DeeGee posted has loads of good information on finding what it is that might be draining the battery. Good luck.
Jeff

 

Ive read that thread and I understand it. However there are two things that make me think there is another cause, or at the least, another problem altogether (multiple problems). For one, the car does not always respond to the key being turned (no gauge swipe). Another interesting thing: one day the other week the car horn and lights were very very week without the engine on, like the batter was dead. The same day an hour later, without the engine being turned on anytime that day, they were suddenly fine again. If the battery was being drained this would not be the case. Ill update the original post to include this information.
I appreciate very much you guys trying to figure this one out.

 

You wrote:
"If the battery was being drained this would not be the case."

I disagree. If the battery was being drained by something that very well could cause what you are seeing. I am betting that something is drawing a bunch of current from the battery at least some of the time while everything should be off. I would pull the battery cable and put a multi-meter on it to start looking for the problem.
Good luck,
Jeff

 

Read this.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ion+switch+fix

Also check the ground splice pack G101 as shown in ths thread.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=896875

 

Well I definitely wont rule out battery draw based on your advise, however I still don't see what could be drawing so much power at a given time to totally to lower the voltage. Plus their seems to be unrelated problems such as tc failures or reduced engine power failures once the car is on. Also tonight the headlights did not pop up at first.

I will probably try to fix the ignition sometime this weekend, if its not the cause at least I can rule it out. Of course, keep suggesting possible problems/solutions.

 

Its 3 am and I wanna repair the ignition switch lol. I have never taken any dash pieces out. What needs to be done to actually get this thing out?
Edit/Update: Just went outside, car has been off for just a few minutes and the horn/lights suddenly dim. Doesn't help me figure anything out but I figure it might give someone insight to something.

 

Before you take the ignition switch apart, check the G101 splice pack as shown on page 1 of Bill's thread on electrical problems.
If you've had the battery tested and it checked out ok, it most likely is either a bad ground or ignitiom switch. If you have a poor connection due to corrosion or burnt contacts in the ignition switch, you get high resistance across that connection. That causes a drop in voltage which could be why you get the low voltage indication. Also, if the wire in the door connector is shorting, it could cause all sorts of problems. Even if you don't pop the boot off, try moving it around and see if the problem goes away. Check both doors. Check the easy stuff first!

 

Ive checked and cleaned the two grounds on the hood as outlined by the Bill's thread. However, I have not heard of any of this door connector stuff. What exactly would I need to do to check that?

 

BINGO! Greg,,,were onthe same page of this issue. It might not be the SINGLE cause of all of your problems BUT, it is one of them and a significant one. Clean the switch. It not difficult and its FREE! Got to love that!

Your statement:
" Sometimes the car doesn't respond to the key turn (no gauge swipe). " Pints to the ignition switch. Fix that and report back the results and any left over symptoms after the repair.

BC

 

The rubber accordion tubes between the doors contain two door wiring harnesses. One for power and one for communications wiring. The connectors are known for having wiring issues. Pop the rubber accordion tube out of the door and door frame and fish the two connectors out of the door frame pocket. Carefully examine the connectors:



Look for bare wires and any are found tape it or coat it with liquid electrical tape.



Separate the connectors and examine each pin male and female. Look for corroded or damaged pins. The female pins can loose tension and will not make good contact with the male pins. I use an old male pin and test the grip of each female pin.

The door connectors can and will cause all sorts of weird issues. I had mine cause the car to NOT start. It shorted out the serial buss wire and the dash went haywire. It it weren't for knowing that the harness was causing the doors to freak out, it may have caused me a lot of troubleshooting time!

BC

 

You guys are so much help its unbelievable. However Im having trouble getting the knee bolster trim out. (Ive taken the center council and radio bezel out.) Any tips? I really don't want to break anything.

Update: Got the knee bolster out, thought i broke it for a second. Still need to pull the ignition.

 

Turns out it was the ignition. Thanks for your guy's help, especially Mr. Curlee and Greg E. Car runs like it did in the old days.

 

Glad you found it, those problems can be tough to track down. Just got done with almost a two-week fiasco myself - missing a ground bolt. If there's one thing I've learned about these cars, it's that getting a bunch of random messages doesn't necessarily mean there is something wrong with those components (ex: traction control).

Loose/corroded grounds, door wiring, bad ignition switch can cause all types of things to go haywire.

 

big 3 do it!