Car will not start- video inside...
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,215
Likes: 1
From: Mt Isle Harbor NC
I was getting a charge system fault message nearly everytime I drove it, they have yet to get it to trigger that message.
The Z has fired up every time at thee dealership with out any other issues, so I guess I'll drive it until it happends again (hopefully it will not).
Thanks for the help! I'll keep this thread updated if I experience any other issues with it.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,423
Likes: 1,146
From: Dyer, IN
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,215
Likes: 1
From: Mt Isle Harbor NC
No corrosion and tight connections are about all I would recognize.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,215
Likes: 1
From: Mt Isle Harbor NC
So I picked up the vette at the dealership and they said the car was still nor charging the battery all of the way.
Turned it on inside the garage bay and get a charge system fault message.
Service manager said they thought it was the remanufactured alternator I bought and that I should exchange it for another.
On my drive home- the message goes away and the volt meter goes from 11 to 13.5 and stays there all the way to the house.
They were pretty confident it was not the starter or any of the grounds. So I'll get another alternator in a day or so and update the thread then.
Turned it on inside the garage bay and get a charge system fault message.
Service manager said they thought it was the remanufactured alternator I bought and that I should exchange it for another.
On my drive home- the message goes away and the volt meter goes from 11 to 13.5 and stays there all the way to the house.
They were pretty confident it was not the starter or any of the grounds. So I'll get another alternator in a day or so and update the thread then.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Before you go thru all the trouble of replacing the alternator,,,,do some testing first.
What is the voltage with the engine running at these locations???
- Directly at the POS and NEG battery terminals
- The terminal at the back of the alternator Measure it to ground.
- Measure the POSITIVE battery terminal to the terminal at the back of the alternator.
- What does the DIC and the IPC volt meter read compared to the readings above???
BC
Post the voltages that you find on these test points.
What is the voltage with the engine running at these locations???
- Directly at the POS and NEG battery terminals
- The terminal at the back of the alternator Measure it to ground.
- Measure the POSITIVE battery terminal to the terminal at the back of the alternator.
- What does the DIC and the IPC volt meter read compared to the readings above???
BC
Post the voltages that you find on these test points.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,215
Likes: 1
From: Mt Isle Harbor NC
UPDATE:
Finally gave in and took it to a highly recommended dealership in the Charlotte area.
It took two days to find the problem-
Wires going from the PCM to the alternator had fried due to being to close to my Kooks headers. Computer is telling the alternator to charge the battery, but the alternator was only receiving some of the messages. Same story for wires going down to my O2 sensor: fried.
They told me they can't replace the wires without removing the header. So that will cost me.
Also found out why my starter was giving me issues- same problem as above. Fried wires from the heat of the headers.
So here is the breakdown:
$100 for probing to find the problems
$350 for labor to fix the alternator wires and 02 wires
$0 for wires and o2 sensor (they gave them to me at no charge)
$206 for a new starter (no extra labor- included in wire replacement)
Total: $656.
Not the worst it could have been, but still painful. Give me a broken whatever and I can usually fix it or replace it. But anything electrical and I am totally dependent on the "experts". I hate electrical.
Anyway- hopefully this thread can help some people that may have the same issue.
Finally gave in and took it to a highly recommended dealership in the Charlotte area.
It took two days to find the problem-
Wires going from the PCM to the alternator had fried due to being to close to my Kooks headers. Computer is telling the alternator to charge the battery, but the alternator was only receiving some of the messages. Same story for wires going down to my O2 sensor: fried.
They told me they can't replace the wires without removing the header. So that will cost me.
Also found out why my starter was giving me issues- same problem as above. Fried wires from the heat of the headers.
So here is the breakdown:
$100 for probing to find the problems
$350 for labor to fix the alternator wires and 02 wires
$0 for wires and o2 sensor (they gave them to me at no charge)
$206 for a new starter (no extra labor- included in wire replacement)
Total: $656.
Not the worst it could have been, but still painful. Give me a broken whatever and I can usually fix it or replace it. But anything electrical and I am totally dependent on the "experts". I hate electrical.
Anyway- hopefully this thread can help some people that may have the same issue.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
From: Bristow VA
Yowzers! Should have heat wrapped those headers and made sure all electrical was tied off and far away I guess.
This is the funny thing about cars.
If you do it yourself and screw something up you save on doing the initial thing but pay on the back side.
If you pay them to do the first thing you take the reaming up front and they take care of the problems down the road.
I would be doing the SAME EXACT thing if I modded my own car... that's why it's stock... I'll stick to simple things like brake pads and oil changes, I let the stealership/shop take care of the rest!
This is the funny thing about cars.
If you do it yourself and screw something up you save on doing the initial thing but pay on the back side.
If you pay them to do the first thing you take the reaming up front and they take care of the problems down the road.
I would be doing the SAME EXACT thing if I modded my own car... that's why it's stock... I'll stick to simple things like brake pads and oil changes, I let the stealership/shop take care of the rest!
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