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Hello! I could really use some help/guidance on what to do with my c5. It is a 1998 corvette with what seems to be an entire years worth of problems (or maybe I'm just getting fed up). Just bought this car so anything besides what I have done will be unknown. I will list what was/is wrong and what I've done already: It would "start" (ill explain the quotes in a moment) and idle beautifully for as long as you want. You could put it in any gear BUT as soon as you hit the gas it'd die out. Now, the whole "start" thing is because the prior owner wired a "push button" momentary switch between the two wired (1 red 1 purple) on the starter relay. There was also a vats.shop bypass installed and I believe it was installed incorrectly. So essentially it was doing what a lot of people say the column lock bypass failure would do, but without the actual error message on the dash. It would also have intermittent light inside the cab and the running lights flicker at complete random. Same with radio, door controls everything practically. The buttons next to the Instrument cluster still don't work. Had a buddy scan it with a snap on scanner and oh boy did it throw codes. All historical I believe but they are B0432, C1255, B2284, B2282, B1537, U1096, U1016, U1064, U1255, C2120, C2115, B2283, B2285, B2607, B0856, B0851, C1780, C1760, and C1790. Now for what I have done. First replaced the battery with a red top optima.. I have removed the vats bypass mainly because I didn't think it was installed right (per the directions I found). Also repaired numerous wires that were T tapped or in some other way damaged. I cleaned grounds G102, G104, G201, and G101 plus 2 additional splice packs under either side of the dash. I have visually checked the PCM wire connector ends for corrosion and they were fine. I removed the ignition switch and cleaned it and tested it based off a YouTube video I found. I noticed a several incorrectly sized fuses so I pulled the interior fuse panel cleaned it and made sure all relays and fuses are correct. Side note, floor underlayment was damp so I cleaned all electronics in that area, and cleaned out the drain udder thing on the other side of the firewall. I followed Bill Curlees thread on repairing/cleaning both door control module connector pins, and even the jump wire on the star connector with no change. As of now, the car will start with the ghetto push button start (the security light flashes constantly), and three micro relays click repeatedly and I would assume infinitely if I let them. They are #37 Monitored LD, #38 DRL R, and #40 DRL L. The interior lights are still intermittent and do what they want from what it seems. Can anyone point me in the right direction to try and solve this? Or any direction for that matter...I'm getting to the point where there's so many things that are wrong I don't know where to start anymore. Thank you for any help!!!
Getting yourself an LMC5 will cure your car stalling when you give it the gas !!..easy fix but you will eventually have to get the current wiring straightened out !!
I did install one but removed it and set everything back to stock. I even went as far as to check every pin out on all the bcm connectors because the prior owner moved pins for whatever reason. Sorry there's been so much I forgot to mention that in my original post
I did install one but removed it and set everything back to stock. I even went as far as to check every pin out on all the bcm connectors because the prior owner moved pins for whatever reason. Sorry there's been so much I forgot to mention that in my original post
Hello! I could really use some help/guidance on what to do with my c5. It is a 1998 corvette with what seems to be an entire years worth of problems (or maybe I'm just getting fed up). Just bought this car so anything besides what I have done will be unknown. I will list what was/is wrong and what I've done already: It would "start" (ill explain the quotes in a moment) and idle beautifully for as long as you want. You could put it in any gear BUT as soon as you hit the gas it'd die out. Now, the whole "start" thing is because the prior owner wired a "push button" momentary switch between the two wired (1 red 1 purple) on the starter relay. There was also a vats.shop bypass installed and I believe it was installed incorrectly. So essentially it was doing what a lot of people say the column lock bypass failure would do, but without the actual error message on the dash. It would also have intermittent light inside the cab and the running lights flicker at complete random. Same with radio, door controls everything practically. The buttons next to the Instrument cluster still don't work. Had a buddy scan it with a snap on scanner and oh boy did it throw codes. All historical I believe but they are B0432, C1255, B2284, B2282, B1537, U1096, U1016, U1064, U1255, C2120, C2115, B2283, B2285, B2607, B0856, B0851, C1780, C1760, and C1790. Now for what I have done. First replaced the battery with a red top optima.. I have removed the vats bypass mainly because I didn't think it was installed right (per the directions I found). Also repaired numerous wires that were T tapped or in some other way damaged. I cleaned grounds G102, G104, G201, and G101 plus 2 additional splice packs under either side of the dash. I have visually checked the PCM wire connector ends for corrosion and they were fine. I removed the ignition switch and cleaned it and tested it based off a YouTube video I found. I noticed a several incorrectly sized fuses so I pulled the interior fuse panel cleaned it and made sure all relays and fuses are correct. Side note, floor underlayment was damp so I cleaned all electronics in that area, and cleaned out the drain udder thing on the other side of the firewall. I followed Bill Curlees thread on repairing/cleaning both door control module connector pins, and even the jump wire on the star connector with no change. As of now, the car will start with the ghetto push button start (the security light flashes constantly), and three micro relays click repeatedly and I would assume infinitely if I let them. They are #37 Monitored LD, #38 DRL R, and #40 DRL L. The interior lights are still intermittent and do what they want from what it seems. Can anyone point me in the right direction to try and solve this? Or any direction for ' that matter...I'm getting to the point where there's so many things that are wrong I don't know where to start anymore. Thank you for any help!!!
First, allow me to commiserate with Mech4life89. I previously owned an 85, and found it pretty straightforward to diagnose and work on. I have had my 98 C5, and it seems to run well, but it seems to be an electrical nightmare. I am slowly working through the easy stuff but some still baffle me. I was a crew chief on fighter aircraft, and I had the luxury of calling an electrician when it was beyond my scope. Not so today.
Yesterday, I was about 120 miles from home in the middle of nowhere, in Armagosa Valley, when the "Service Column Lock" message appears as I was starting the car. It went into gear and steering was no problem. I stopped for gas, and instinctively shut it down and thought that might have been a mistake. However it started, ran and steered normally, yet the message persisted no matter how many times I reset the DIC. At home, I scoured through forum posts, and it seemed everyone had an opinion or a fix for the problem. I read of recalls, batteries, grounds, jumpers, LMC5s and other words of wisdom gained through experiences.
Battery: The battery I have now, I know is not right for the car. It is 3 years old and small. it has 650 CCA, 90 RC and is a size 75. It seems to work well, but is on my short list for replacement. What would be the best battery specs for this car? My research says Size 78, 800 CCA and 100+RC. Many would say, Red Top or Yellow Top. I'm not into $300 for a battery, so any other suggestions would be appreciated. My burning question is, can the battery really cause so many problems such as the Service Column Lock message, and other nonsensical messages and codes?
Service Column Lock: Since I got the message, and no adverse operation of the car, where should I look first to fix the problem. This car has had several previous owners, and who knows what was done to it in regards to this problem. Was the LMC5 installed? How would I know? Was the recall done? How would I know?
Sorry for the length of this post. Thanks in advance for some advice.
Last edited by SteveBougon; Nov 1, 2021 at 02:20 PM.
First, allow me to commiserate with Mech4life89. I previously owned an 85, and found it pretty straightforward to diagnose and work on. I have had my 98 C5, and it seems to run well, but it seems to be an electrical nightmare. I am slowly working through the easy stuff but some still baffle me. I was a crew chief on fighter aircraft, and I had the luxury of calling an electrician when it was beyond my scope. Not so today.
Yesterday, I was about 120 miles from home in the middle of nowhere, in Armagosa Valley, when the "Service Column Lock" message appears as I was starting the car. It went into gear and steering was no problem. I stopped for gas, and instinctively shut it down and thought that might have been a mistake. However it started, ran and steered normally, yet the message persisted no matter how many times I reset the DIC. At home, I scoured through forum posts, and it seemed everyone had an opinion or a fix for the problem. I read of recalls, batteries, grounds, jumpers, LMC5s and other words of wisdom gained through experiences.
Battery: The battery I have now, I know is not right for the car. It is 3 years old and small. it has 650 CCA, 90 RC and is a size 75. It seems to work well, but is on my short list for replacement. What would be the best battery specs for this car? My research says Size 78, 800 CCA and 100+RC. Many would say, Red Top or Yellow Top. I'm not into $300 for a battery, so any other suggestions would be appreciated. My burning question is, can the battery really cause so many problems such as the Service Column Lock message, and other nonsensical messages and codes?
Service Column Lock: Since I got the message, and no adverse operation of the car, where should I look first to fix the problem. This car has had several previous owners, and who knows what was done to it in regards to this problem. Was the LMC5 installed? How would I know? Was the recall done? How would I know?
Sorry for the length of this post. Thanks in advance for some advice.
Can you do us a favor and copy and paste your thread and start a new one…it will get confusing with 2 issues going on here !!!..get yourself a 88865789/AC Delco 78 PSHR (Professional Silver High Reserve) of 140 RC !!..and YES a battery such as the one you have can cause those issues !!!
Can you do us a favor and copy and paste your thread and start a new one…it will get confusing with 2 issues going on here !!!..get yourself a 88865789/AC Delco 78 PSHR (Professional Silver High Reserve) of 140 RC !!..and YES a battery such as the one you have can cause those issues !!!
If you see less than around 10.4 volts on your battery during starting you will see those faults !!..checking voltage at the battery terminals and NOT at the DIC.
If you see less than around 10.4 volts on your battery during starting you will see those faults !!..checking voltage at the battery terminals and NOT at the DIC.
I'm getting 10.75 v at the battery at startup is this acceptable? What should it be?
I'm getting 10.75 v at the battery at startup is this acceptable? What should it be?
There is no set number but as long as battery voltage stays above 10.4 the BCM will not lose its feedback signal from the steering lock column actuator.
Hello! I could really use some help/guidance on what to do with my c5. It is a 1998 corvette with what seems to be an entire years worth of problems (or maybe I'm just getting fed up). Just bought this car so anything besides what I have done will be unknown. I will list what was/is wrong and what I've done already: It would "start" (ill explain the quotes in a moment) and idle beautifully for as long as you want. You could put it in any gear BUT as soon as you hit the gas it'd die out. Now, the whole "start" thing is because the prior owner wired a "push button" momentary switch between the two wired (1 red 1 purple) on the starter relay. There was also a vats.shop bypass installed and I believe it was installed incorrectly. So essentially it was doing what a lot of people say the column lock bypass failure would do, but without the actual error message on the dash. It would also have intermittent light inside the cab and the running lights flicker at complete random. Same with radio, door controls everything practically. The buttons next to the Instrument cluster still don't work. Had a buddy scan it with a snap on scanner and oh boy did it throw codes. All historical I believe but they are B0432, C1255, B2284, B2282, B1537, U1096, U1016, U1064, U1255, C2120, C2115, B2283, B2285, B2607, B0856, B0851, C1780, C1760, and C1790. Now for what I have done. First replaced the battery with a red top optima.. I have removed the vats bypass mainly because I didn't think it was installed right (per the directions I found). Also repaired numerous wires that were T tapped or in some other way damaged. I cleaned grounds G102, G104, G201, and G101 plus 2 additional splice packs under either side of the dash. I have visually checked the PCM wire connector ends for corrosion and they were fine. I removed the ignition switch and cleaned it and tested it based off a YouTube video I found. I noticed a several incorrectly sized fuses so I pulled the interior fuse panel cleaned it and made sure all relays and fuses are correct. Side note, floor underlayment was damp so I cleaned all electronics in that area, and cleaned out the drain udder thing on the other side of the firewall. I followed Bill Curlees thread on repairing/cleaning both door control module connector pins, and even the jump wire on the star connector with no change. As of now, the car will start with the ghetto push button start (the security light flashes constantly), and three micro relays click repeatedly and I would assume infinitely if I let them. They are #37 Monitored LD, #38 DRL R, and #40 DRL L. The interior lights are still intermittent and do what they want from what it seems. Can anyone point me in the right direction to try and solve this? Or any direction for that matter...I'm getting to the point where there's so many things that are wrong I don't know where to start anymore. Thank you for any help!!!
C5 Electrical Gremlins/Possession
