Broke my leg, Retired from my second career, Sold my primary house, Moved to TX, Went back to CT to flip my rental and sell that (5 months on that project) and moved that stuff to TX. Now Im a Texas homesteader. YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its good to be back.... :-)

 

Well welcome back neighbor.

 

Going through this problem, its been on and off last few weeks. Engine cranks but doesnt start on my first attempt. 2nd attempt it starts. Been like this for a couple weeks. (I thought it was the battery dying, was going to get it replaced on saturday) On saturday however, it cranked up and did not start on multiple attempts for the whole weekend. This morning I pressed the brake pedal, turned the key and it somehow started.

I never depress the pedal by the way of all my 5 years having this car to turn it on.
(Automatic btw)

I hit a pot hole few weeks ago on my passenger side, is it possible this could've caused some wires or fuses to be bumped out of place on the passenger side?

Figured I'd post here to share my experience if it may help anyone or shed light on this issue.

I heard it could also be key fob related by the way? My keb fob battery has been very weak the past few weeks and I only got around to replacing it the other day. But this morning by pure coincidence I used my spare key #2 fob (almost brand new never used before) and the car started.

Must add: the DIC sometimes reads "charge system fault" when i try to start the car and fail

 

BEST to start a new thread because you’ll have more views with this thread being at the top instead of getting lost at the bottom !!

 

oh thank you, I have Bill helping me through private message at the moment. Just wanted to share my brief story/experience above.

 

No problem !!

 

If the engine cranks and doesn't catch and RUN on first crank, you most likely have a fuel pressure related issue. Common C5 issue. There's a check valve in the fuel line near the tank that no longer allows fuel to remain pressurized in the fuel line after the fuel pump once the engine is shut down. The fuel drains back in to the tank after the car sits for a period of time.

You will need to get a fuel pressure gage and see if the fuel system bleeds down shortly after engine shut down.

Try this: Cycle the ignition key to the RUN and then OFF position several times and then see if the engine cranks and runs on the FIRST crank. If it does, your answer is, you have a fuel pressure/check valve issue.

NOTE: That part is NO LONGER available as a GM OEM Replacement Part.

Give that a try and let us know what you find out.

NOTE: Some AUTO PARTS stores will rent you a fuel pressure tester for FREE. The Schrader fitting that you need to connect the pressure gage to is on the front of the drivers side fuel rail and is easy to access.

Bill

 

Oh man, I am not familiar with any of the above, and I hope it isn't that. But I have some positive news. To be clear first though the past several days, I would turn the key all the way and the engine would 'crank' up but it wouldn't start. It was NOT dead/silent on start up. I've seen some youtube videos where the car is completely dead/silent during the start up process. Mine would atleast make a rumble sound and would shake.

So I got stranded today at the grocery store, car was now making a different new noise I haven't heard past few days. Like a cough sound. I tried to jump it, failed, but a friend came along to jump it with a more powerful jumper pack. We took it to a local shop and got installed a new battery (Interstate) and it seems to be running as good as new... hopefully I don't jinx it. Could it have been a simple battery issue all this time?

The battery that was inside it all this time was installed back in early 2018. And it has died on me few times during cold winter garage storage. I've had to jump it and charge it a handful of situations these past 3.5 years. It must have been on its last dying leg. And it was a cheap battery from advance auto zone..

Does this make sense? It was the battery the whole time? Local garage shop tested the starter and alternator and found nothing wrong. So they just ended up putting the new battery in.

When I was standed, I called chevy roadside assitance for a tow they would've towed me to the closest dealer, but all the dealers were booked. They wouldnt see the car till NOVEMBER. Some third party tows wanted $300 for a few towns over. The chevy program tow was about $115 to the dealer. Good thing my friend was able to come with his jump pack.

 

Very strange that the car would crank but not start up, because if the battery has enough power to crank it should have enough power to start the engine. I hope that the new battery solves the problem you were having with your car.

 

Update: not so great news afterall. Car rumbled a little and couldn't start. is this what we call 'crank no start' ? It started up on the second attempt. I got two messages on DIC saying 'low voltage' and 'charge system fault'. I tried to pay attention to the dash and the security and other lights would flicker a few times in a second and eventually disappear. I've been using my number 2 key and fob which havent been used in 5 years.

 

If you live in Northern NJ bring the car to Joe’s Auto Electric in Bayonne…they will diagnose it correctly !!

 

Sounds like maybe you have current drain problem and or your charging system is not keeping the battery charged. If you are proficient with DMM, you should measure voltage across the battery terminals with car running should be around 13.5 volts or greater. The second measurement should be done with the DMM configured as a ammeter on the 10 amp scale. Disconnect negative battery cable and connect meter leads in series with the battery and cable, wait 15-20 minutes and observe meter reading should be about 25ma.

 

Thank you. Bayonne would be an hour drive, is it safe to drive the car that far? could my battery drain? and if the issue is one of the items below, a melted wire? I was thinking of taking it to the shop 2 mins down the road where they replaced my battery.

Browsing a bunch of other threads i've compiled a short list of possible items that could be causing all this?

another:

 

It could be an ignition switch or since you have the low voltage and charge system fault it may be the alternator/positive battery cable at the starter solenoid…your IP is dimming so you have a voltage drop somewhere !!…as long as a shop has a wiring diagram and a multimeter this should be an easy diagnosis…if they can’t diagnose this they should close up shop and sell hotdogs instead !!..or find yourself a diagnostic shop…not a repair shop that does mainly brake jobs.

 

Indeed. the instrument panel cluster behavior is a big clue as to what may be going on?

small update: thanks to the wealth of information on these forums, i saw a key tip to turn the key and leave it in the "ON" position for a few seconds, my whole instrument panel cluster flickers like crazy and eventually stops flickering, and then i turn the key to the last position 'start' and the car starts up no problem and I was able to get home. So i think as c5 diag says, the problem could be the ignition switch and/or alternator/positive battery cable at the starter solenoid.

Will visit the shop tomorrow to look into further. Hoping its a common easy fix.

edit- i also heard about some people having 'heavy' key rings/chains/lanyards and this possibly messing up the ignition switch due to the weight? i have about 7 keys on mine, with one light key ring decoration i recently added... I dont think it is heavy at all... but who knows...

 

We had a member from Europe a few weeks ago with his IP looking like disco lights when he turned the key on...we did a quick test with the multimeter and he was dropping 5 volts I believe across the ignition switch...12 volts going into the switch and 7 volts coming out !!...also select "battery volts" on DIC and with the key ON see what voltage you read...if the battery is 12.5 you will see around 12.0...if you see 7 volts BAD !!

 

Yup same thing happening with my IP. What ended up with the european member? It was the ignition switch itself or a faulty connection to/from the ignition switch?

 

Bad ignition switch !!

 

Do we know what causes a bad ignition switch? Does the weight of the owner's key chains factor into it? I've seen some people with dozens of keys and ornaments on their key chains and i've read personal accounts on the forums before. But I dont think my keys are too heavy, they weighed 128g or 4.5 ounces. I did however add a small light key chain ornament to it several weeks ago, and these problems started ocurring about 2 weeks ago. Pure coincidence?

 

Just oxidation, pitting, corrosion you name it !!…this stuff happens after 20 years. I’ve heard about these heavy keys thing but never seen it…just a coincidence !!