I am getting crazy problems with the entire system of the car the whole dashboard lights up like crazy...reduce power....stability everything lights up! Door panels lose power and windows become unresponsive....the AC also shuts down and only blows hot air when this happens. At this point not even the car doors lock. When get outside and lock it I can still open the door but the alarm goes on. A few times it also drained my battery. Ohhh when I open the drivers door all the way it gets power but when i close it it loses power in the panel. Do I have major grounding issues and lose wires inside the car door? Should I start taking the car apart and what should I look for? Would running a direct ground from the battery to the chassie iliminate most of these problems? Any help would be greatly appreciated ;-(

 

car has 55k miles on it and i am the 5th owner i guess they also had electrical issues and gave up...it was doing fine during winter but now that summer has come it doesnt like the heat and florida hummidity. All I have put on the car is a new head unit, slp loud mouth exhaust and vararam intake which makes my check engine light stay on. I will read codes tomorrow and post them up. I also replaced the battery but it did not help. It has given me trouble in the past but only once every few months and usually would go away after i turn it off and back on but now it just keeps doing it every few minutes...i can't even drive it and i love this car. ;-(

 

You need to:

disconnect battery and remove from the car

remove the rubber trim around the battery and fuse box. Under the trim you will see the chassis ground for the battery.

Unbolt the chassis ground and clean the area, clean the wire terminal ends and put it back together. Small wire brush does wonders to clean the ground area, post, terminals.

Install rubber trim
Install battery
Wait 15 minutes for computer systems to come up and communicate with each other.
Start the car and see where you are.


Your issues are:
- Battery power possibly getting drained from aftermarket stereo or an accessory stuck on. Driver side seat buttons are common culprits for getting stuck and draining the battery.
- Ground issues which you will need to locate all the grounds in the engine compartment and clean like you did the main battery ground.
- Fuse Box. Passenger side fuse box. Check for any sign of water. If you see any sign of water you need to look back and up in the rear corners of the engine compartment. There are these things hanging down that look like black rubber udders. You squeeze them and all kinds of junk/dead bugs, etc. will come out. These get clogged over time and when that happens the water that should be draining down thru the udders comes in on the passenger side and down into the fuse box causing all kinds of trouble.

- Network. There is a network of computers in your car. Main components are located in each door. The door issues could be caused by worn wires in the black accordian tubes you can see between the door and body of the car. You can give these a squeeze to see if that helps, you may need to push it back and inspect the wires as they enter the body and then as they enter the door and look for any exposed wires that need attention. This could be related to your door issues. Now locking your doors with a FOB but the door not locking can be a bad relay and if you know how to use a solder gun, here is your $10 fix:

http://www.ronjpics.com/Corvettestuff.htm#DCM

It is very common when installing a cold air intake system that you don't get the couplings on properly and air leaks are causing your check engine light. Re-inspect the couplings and tighten. Sometimes it's just easier to loosen all the band clamps and then push down and pull up on the couplings and make sure they are all fitting properly and then tighten clamps. Checking the DIC codes may show something else but the air leaks are common.

I would also recommend you use advanced search on this forum and search "Big 3" under C5 forums and read up on how to improve your electrical system to minimize these type of issues in the future.

 

thanks i will do everything said and i will post results.

 

You have the infamous door accordion tube problem. Its a very common issue.

Pop the accordion tube completely out of BOTH doors. Then pull the door wiring harnesses out of the door frame pocket. Disconnect the connectors and examine ALL the pins in the connectors.

Look for corroded pins, spread female pins, burnt pins and bare wires. If you find bare wires, cover them with liquid electrical tape.





Give that a shot and let me know what happens.

BC

That should clear up the problem.

 

Don't you just love the corvette forum!!!

 

haha thanks guys, i love the corvette forums now going to go work on the vett =) will post results

 

so i startedrtemoviind stuff and found out that it is damp and water has been getting inside my console I believe it might be entering somewhere beneath the plastic panel underneath the wiperblades.

 

If the passengers foot well is wet, remove the carpets and dry them out. Your water is coming from a clogged HVAc drain. The water/condensation back floods into the foot well. You need to unclog the drain on the engine side fire wall;



Its down there





Dry out that bcm

 

k so i have been pulling the entire car apart and seems to be all damp inside even though it has been garaged for a few days which means a good amount of water has been getting in. I will dry and look over all of the wiring through out the week. I work 6 days so I don't have alot of time. I just hope I get my car back on the road eventually because I am already starting to miss the sound of the v8 ;( So far the grounds look fine. I think its mostly a water problem though a major one.

 

Check what Bill was explaining, check those udders I explained. Get a flashlight or trouble light under the car in a dark garage and make sure you don't see any light coming thru around the fuse panel.

I would also remove the seats and front carpet and probably sit in the car with a flashlight while a friend/SO ran a hose around various parts of the car to figure out where it is leaking...

Good luck...

 

yeap man you guys gave me alot of ideas i will be checking every detail even if i takes me weeks. I want to do it right.

 

okay i seem to have found a major problem with why everything is damp inside my console. I live in Florida where it is extremely hummid and I love to drive with my windows down almost all the time while the AC is running which builds so much water condensation on the piping that it drips directly on the wires inside the console. I will no longer be driving with the windows down and the ac running. Last night I was driving another car with the windows down and AC running and all the sudden water droplets fall on my foot and thats when it hit me! Now my next question is about that soft padding on the wires which now just falls of when you touch it. I have to replace it and I want to wrap the AC pipes with something which would prevent condensation, any ideas?

 

otherwise i checked everything and i also checked for leaks nothing! nothing is clogged either

 

Bud,,,,,I had the EXACT same issue. I used bubble wrap to shield the cold things from the air. It worked and worked very well. The prime trouble maker under my dash was the rubber hose that supplies cool air to the HVAC Blower Motor. It would sweat and drip on to the BCM.

Give that a try.

 

Is this hose underneath that AC box in the middle? I can't see whats underneath and behind it. Should I remove that as well? I isolated all the AC pipes that run to the sides vents on top. And you know that ac pipe which comes to the front and goes into this rounder bigger cylinder what is that big part? It seems like its been getting really wet. I am refering to the hose which sucks air near the steerting wheel on the right next to the egnition key.(sensor)

 

This hose??

 

i didnt even notice that hose ill defently check it out =)