No crank one click issue?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 366
Likes: 17
No crank one click issue?
Started driving my 2002 z51 few weeks back and notices radio wasn't working at all. It has an aftermarket radio system that was installed by previous owner. Besides that it was running fine. Did notice one few occasions it would click no start and then finally start. Left on garage 2 weeks after disconnecting and reconnecting battery securely and it cranked 8 consecutive times in garage so I started driving it again and it ran perfectly fine until other night it drove fine to movies and after and then when I went to get gas it left me stranded by pump and would never crank. Had to get it towed. One loud click is all I hear. First instinct is starter and/or connection to starter. But I have also heard of ignition switch causing this issue as well as radio issues. What does this sound like to you? Anyone had this happen before? All guages, signals, lights worked fine.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,135
Likes: 802
From: Espanola New Mexico
Is the load click coming from inside the car, that would be the TDR, if the load click is originating from the engine bay it is the starter solenoid engaging but the starter not turning the engine over. You have to determine where the click is coming from before we can help you further.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,704
Likes: 239
From: Redondo Beach CA
I can only offer a general regurgitation from reading here about radios and powering them , I am not qualified to offer functional advice, unless you feel lucky.
Everything electrical with a C5 requires a battery with OEM functionality, otherwise, things get random. Hopefully you just need a new battery, if anything. but in any event, it should be tested to make sure it is correct to the required circuit function.
Since the radio doesn't work, the radio power would be the first thing to check, I have read that , since these cars are computer designed down to the half penny, connecting to other than one of two correct power takeoffs can cause problems.
If you just bought the car, I would suspect the radio install created a problem , if you have been running without problems , it is probably an easier repair, worn part mechanical only.
if it is a computer problem, the deal is that the alternator puts out a specific voltage range, you go outside of the window and the computer can't cope and throws a fit. With the power demands of an aftermarket radio, the usage often needs a more powerful alternator, but any out of compliance power delivery to the computer will screw things up. This commonly happens with guys just trying to replace a worn alternator, they get one that fits via fitment charts at the store , but it doesn't replicate the electrical output of the original part exactly, so , and it might take awhile, they have problems. This is why the original part is often rebuilt and never thrown away, the replacement alternators generally throw more power and after a while, just confuse things. The non OEM alternator doesn't fry the computer, it will work again if held to original design specs.
IF you have a non stock alternator , check to make sure it is within the specs, not over. Of course, it is a system , so as mentioned before, the battery function is critical.
It could be that with the disconnected battery, the computer reset and everything went to normal. In time a non stock electrical signal hit the computer, and you get random results ever after, but without the happy ending.
The other suspected starting problems are fairly well established here.
Behind the ignition key lock are the contacts for the starter circuit. The contact pads get fouled over time from electrical arcing, and cause intermittent connections. These contacts can be filed clean to renew function, very much like antique ignition points. I just bought a new part, rather than keep cleaning the old contacts, because of the labor accessing the thing.
The starters are sometimes reached with a broomstick and struck to get the rotor off of a worn spot, but I have never needed to strike a starter to figure out if it needed to be replaced. Some report that header heat melts the starter wires.
I hope this provided some food for thought, and the problem is easily fixed. With electrical, it could be as simple as a bad ground, to , well, there doesn't seem to be any limit .
Everything electrical with a C5 requires a battery with OEM functionality, otherwise, things get random. Hopefully you just need a new battery, if anything. but in any event, it should be tested to make sure it is correct to the required circuit function.
Since the radio doesn't work, the radio power would be the first thing to check, I have read that , since these cars are computer designed down to the half penny, connecting to other than one of two correct power takeoffs can cause problems.
If you just bought the car, I would suspect the radio install created a problem , if you have been running without problems , it is probably an easier repair, worn part mechanical only.
if it is a computer problem, the deal is that the alternator puts out a specific voltage range, you go outside of the window and the computer can't cope and throws a fit. With the power demands of an aftermarket radio, the usage often needs a more powerful alternator, but any out of compliance power delivery to the computer will screw things up. This commonly happens with guys just trying to replace a worn alternator, they get one that fits via fitment charts at the store , but it doesn't replicate the electrical output of the original part exactly, so , and it might take awhile, they have problems. This is why the original part is often rebuilt and never thrown away, the replacement alternators generally throw more power and after a while, just confuse things. The non OEM alternator doesn't fry the computer, it will work again if held to original design specs.
IF you have a non stock alternator , check to make sure it is within the specs, not over. Of course, it is a system , so as mentioned before, the battery function is critical.
It could be that with the disconnected battery, the computer reset and everything went to normal. In time a non stock electrical signal hit the computer, and you get random results ever after, but without the happy ending.
The other suspected starting problems are fairly well established here.
Behind the ignition key lock are the contacts for the starter circuit. The contact pads get fouled over time from electrical arcing, and cause intermittent connections. These contacts can be filed clean to renew function, very much like antique ignition points. I just bought a new part, rather than keep cleaning the old contacts, because of the labor accessing the thing.
The starters are sometimes reached with a broomstick and struck to get the rotor off of a worn spot, but I have never needed to strike a starter to figure out if it needed to be replaced. Some report that header heat melts the starter wires.
I hope this provided some food for thought, and the problem is easily fixed. With electrical, it could be as simple as a bad ground, to , well, there doesn't seem to be any limit .
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 366
Likes: 17
I can only offer a general regurgitation from reading here about radios and powering them , I am not qualified to offer functional advice, unless you feel lucky.
Everything electrical with a C5 requires a battery with OEM functionality, otherwise, things get random. Hopefully you just need a new battery, if anything. but in any event, it should be tested to make sure it is correct to the required circuit function.
Since the radio doesn't work, the radio power would be the first thing to check, I have read that , since these cars are computer designed down to the half penny, connecting to other than one of two correct power takeoffs can cause problems.
If you just bought the car, I would suspect the radio install created a problem , if you have been running without problems , it is probably an easier repair, worn part mechanical only.
if it is a computer problem, the deal is that the alternator puts out a specific voltage range, you go outside of the window and the computer can't cope and throws a fit. With the power demands of an aftermarket radio, the usage often needs a more powerful alternator, but any out of compliance power delivery to the computer will screw things up. This commonly happens with guys just trying to replace a worn alternator, they get one that fits via fitment charts at the store , but it doesn't replicate the electrical output of the original part exactly, so , and it might take awhile, they have problems. This is why the original part is often rebuilt and never thrown away, the replacement alternators generally throw more power and after a while, just confuse things. The non OEM alternator doesn't fry the computer, it will work again if held to original design specs.
IF you have a non stock alternator , check to make sure it is within the specs, not over. Of course, it is a system , so as mentioned before, the battery function is critical.
It could be that with the disconnected battery, the computer reset and everything went to normal. In time a non stock electrical signal hit the computer, and you get random results ever after, but without the happy ending.
The other suspected starting problems are fairly well established here.
Behind the ignition key lock are the contacts for the starter circuit. The contact pads get fouled over time from electrical arcing, and cause intermittent connections. These contacts can be filed clean to renew function, very much like antique ignition points. I just bought a new part, rather than keep cleaning the old contacts, because of the labor accessing the thing.
The starters are sometimes reached with a broomstick and struck to get the rotor off of a worn spot, but I have never needed to strike a starter to figure out if it needed to be replaced. Some report that header heat melts the starter wires.
I hope this provided some food for thought, and the problem is easily fixed. With electrical, it could be as simple as a bad ground, to , well, there doesn't seem to be any limit .
Everything electrical with a C5 requires a battery with OEM functionality, otherwise, things get random. Hopefully you just need a new battery, if anything. but in any event, it should be tested to make sure it is correct to the required circuit function.
Since the radio doesn't work, the radio power would be the first thing to check, I have read that , since these cars are computer designed down to the half penny, connecting to other than one of two correct power takeoffs can cause problems.
If you just bought the car, I would suspect the radio install created a problem , if you have been running without problems , it is probably an easier repair, worn part mechanical only.
if it is a computer problem, the deal is that the alternator puts out a specific voltage range, you go outside of the window and the computer can't cope and throws a fit. With the power demands of an aftermarket radio, the usage often needs a more powerful alternator, but any out of compliance power delivery to the computer will screw things up. This commonly happens with guys just trying to replace a worn alternator, they get one that fits via fitment charts at the store , but it doesn't replicate the electrical output of the original part exactly, so , and it might take awhile, they have problems. This is why the original part is often rebuilt and never thrown away, the replacement alternators generally throw more power and after a while, just confuse things. The non OEM alternator doesn't fry the computer, it will work again if held to original design specs.
IF you have a non stock alternator , check to make sure it is within the specs, not over. Of course, it is a system , so as mentioned before, the battery function is critical.
It could be that with the disconnected battery, the computer reset and everything went to normal. In time a non stock electrical signal hit the computer, and you get random results ever after, but without the happy ending.
The other suspected starting problems are fairly well established here.
Behind the ignition key lock are the contacts for the starter circuit. The contact pads get fouled over time from electrical arcing, and cause intermittent connections. These contacts can be filed clean to renew function, very much like antique ignition points. I just bought a new part, rather than keep cleaning the old contacts, because of the labor accessing the thing.
The starters are sometimes reached with a broomstick and struck to get the rotor off of a worn spot, but I have never needed to strike a starter to figure out if it needed to be replaced. Some report that header heat melts the starter wires.
I hope this provided some food for thought, and the problem is easily fixed. With electrical, it could be as simple as a bad ground, to , well, there doesn't seem to be any limit .
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,135
Likes: 802
From: Espanola New Mexico
By cable trick I assume that means jumpering the red and violet wires at the TDR socket which is a good way to tell what is happening, Caution should be taken to make sure that the car is in Park or neutral if it's a standard, as doing this will bypass those requirments. Have you had the battery checked, making sure it is fully charged, also check the starter solenoid wire connections making sure they are clean and tight, hope this helps.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 7,638
Likes: 326
From: Greenville SC
I had the random no start issue for some time, it would be fine for months, then no start. Sometimes could come back 15 mins later and it would start, sometimes it was the next day. Finally got really bad, so replaced the starter, which was a PIA, and that fixed the issue.
