This past weekend I did alot of work on the car, including cleaning all the grounds and (doh) bolting one back to the chassis (I dont know ) The car started behaving better, so I didnt think about it again.

..until today.

Taking off from a stopsign, I had the car just quit running right. In fact, it barely ran at all, at like 300 RPM (with a big cam) like it was out of fuel pressure. Hitting the gas did NOTHING. I restarted a dozen times with no improvement. So I pulled it over and started pulling codes.

P0461H
P1431H
P1518HC
C1278
U1000H
B2265H
U1016H
U1064H

After a call to a buddy of mine, I tried to start it, and what do you know, it runs fine again However, now I have a steady check engine light (that didnt even go away after disconnecting the battery). I did notice that the alt voltage after starting it was a little low (12.8v) but now it cycles again between 13 and 14v like normal, like nothing ever happened since I disconnected the battery.

Anybody ever experience this kind of problem before? I'm assuming it's also related to my starting issue since it took 3 twists of the key before it would crank...every so often, the car wont crank, I will need to jump power to the starter solenoid then it works fine. Usually happens after sitting overnight but occasionally happens hot too.

Grounds were just cleaned a week ago. Memory still has a mind of its own among other small electrical gremlins I just cant pinpoint!

Car is a '98, 172k miles, M6. Just got a dynotune and an LS6 intake last week if it matters.

Sidenote
Mileage sucks now I think it's due for 02 sensors.

 

Find my post on " C5 IGNITION SWITCH REPAIR" and carry that procedure out. You will think you have a different car! That many miles on the car, your ignition switch is very suspect!

Find the post and see what you think.

BC

 

Had the same issue a while back with my '99. Back in the day '99 I had a leaking battery. Changed that, cleaned everything up and off I went for 9 years. About 2 months ago had the same thing as you. Car low power, backfiring, quit on I75, called AAA, got back in car tried to crank it and drove it home. Short story after 3 weeks of going nuts. My positive battery cable had corrosion inside the red cover you could not see. At the starter the battery cable looked ok but the small 16ga wire connector that goes back to the ignition had been eaten through. Changed positive cable and fixed connector and I'm fine.

PS, found a guy near me that will rebuild sileniod for $75.00 same day service. Cheaper than new starter.

 

That sounds like the same issues I had when my PCM went out. Sometimes it would die when sitting still then not start back up a while, then suddenly start like nothing was wrong. Carmax insisted on replacing my starter, battery and like 10 other things and charging....all the while I kept insisting it was electrical. They only figured it out when they went took it to a Chevy Dealership.

 

i would also check the battery and connections just in case if you haven't already but BC knows his stuff so dont get your hopes up on a simple fix

 

Im big about preventative maintenance so I will do the ignition switch repair to be on the safe side, and check my battery cables for resistance since Im sure they are original.

Letcha guys know what I find out.

 

torque on cables is 11 ft lbs. how new is the battery?

 

Something else to check. The door wiring harnesses in each door has a wire that the insulation pulls away and can short out and cause an issue like you experienced. Recommend popping out the rubber accordion tube from each door frame and fishing the connectors out of the door pocket. Look for a clear sheafed wire. You will see that the wire is bare at one end of the connector. I cover mine with liquid electrical tape.

 

It sure sounds like burnt or dirty ignition switch contacts, especially with the mileage on your car.

I would look there first, and follow Bill Curlee's write up.

 

You stated that you "disconnected the battery" to clear a DTC/check engine light (CEL). I dont recommend doing that. Clear the DTCs using the DIC. How are you reading the DTCs????
If you have an active CEL there should be a DTC asscoiated with it. If you clear that DTC the CEL should go out. If the DTC is C or CURRENT, the CEL will not go out. If it is a H or history DTC it should clear and the CEL shoud go out. Disconnecting the battery can and will cause random DTCs to pop up.

Bill

 

...good call. Forgot about that. I was really trying to erase the memory in the PCM after that little episode.

Good news is I pulled out my ignition switch this weekend, and whaddya know, 2 burnt contacts. Some cleaning and minor bending and she looks and feels like new now. I'll ride that out and see if the problem goes away. So far so good!

I also too the opportunity to install my new 2 tone shift boot/****, e-brake boot and handle and console lid cover from leatherseats.com that I had waiting to go in As well as new O2 sensors. hwy mileage is fine now.

After that my A/C light would come back on when the button was pushed, but it still doesnt blow cold. I have yet to figure that out.

 

I just cleaned mine earlier tonight. I have an '02 with ~70k. Mine looked almost exactly like the one Bill pictured in his electrical thread .. same carbonized contacts even. I recommend that everyone pull out that ignition switch and clean it if you haven't already. I don't think they put nearly enough spring pressure on those contacts from the factory which is what causes them to arc and carbonize. I cleaned, bent, and put a thin layer of silicone grease on each arm.

 

That's great! Bill's the man on this one!

 

I should have used some grease on mine, but all I had was dielectric grease so I wasnt sure, and figured since it wasnt greased before, I shouldnt now.

I did pull apart the other half of the switch (PITA) and greased the cam in there. If you pull it apartm you need to be careful though or the detent pins can fall out! They are TINY.

 

It wasn't greased because that saves GM $0.02 per car! Try pulling apart a Honda's electricals one day. There's grease smeared on everything! The vast majority of the ground problems we have with these cars would not exist if they'd just smushed some silicone grease into those splice packs.