Thanks Bill...PM Sent

 

Still relevant in late 2008,thanks Bill,
Jennifer

 

ABSOLUTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! Im always here to help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BC

 

Very good information but still at a loss.I got a deaL on a 99 c5 auto and have the gauges all going nuts after a min or so of driving normally. the gauges go haywire pass. window works only part time. ac stops cooling but continues blowing and pretty much in this order radio last thing to go out while gremlins at work then both windows by this point have stopped. ive done pretty much everything mentioned aboye and even packed in dilectic grease,should i just cut those crappy connectors off and eye link all the grounds? any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Whoa there,,,,,,hang on. First off, I wouldn't use dielectric grease in the ground connectors. There products specially designed to prevent corrosion without jeopardizing the connections.

Next, In this case, I don't think the issue is ground related. You have an issue with the cars serial buss. The buss that ALL the modules communicate on.


UPDATE 26 FEB 11: The bare wire is NOT a serial data wire. Its a speaker ground. The most likely cause of the issue is a SPREAD FEMALE PIN.. Look in the power plug and see if any of the female pins are deformed. The bent pin will look like the one in this picture:



Use a pick and carefully bend the tong back up so it grips the male pin better.

Sorry for the initial incorrect info.

The most likely source of the problem is inside the door frame. The door wiring harnesses develop bare wires and short out. The most common wire to short is the serial buss wire thus, the inoperable door functions.

Pop out the rubber accordion tubes in both doors and fish the harnesses out of the door frame pocket:





If you see bare wires, coat them with liquid electrical tape. Separate the connectors and look for corrosion and damage also.

Here is an excellent product to prevent contact corrosion:





BC

 

Hello,

I am new to the forum and am having some electical problems on a 1999 Corvette.
When I went to start it turned over just a little, then quit - no electrical power anywhere. I then lifted the hood and checked the battery cables, then walked back
around to the driver side and notice the power was back on. Car started fine this time.

Then a few days later (car had not been started during this time), I went to start it and this time just got sort of click then same thing - no power anywhere. This time I decided to hook up a battery charger, but when I touched the positive cable to the positive node, the power came back on again. Started fine, but I noticed the guages swung as I was going down the road (they swing the same way when I start).

Also, my headlights will not come out when the motor is running sometimes. I have had to turn the engine off, then turn the headlights on to get them to come out. Am I correct in thinking this could be a grounding problem? Perhaps the ground near the battery and the
two close to the headlights?

Thanks, I love this forum thread. Thanks for your help

Richard

 

Help Anyone! I could really use some help! Hasn't anyone had this
problem.

Thanks and have a great day!

Richard

 

Welcome to the forum. YES this is a VERY VERY common issue and people get tired of replying to it. Thats why you dont see a lot of replys.
Sounds like your battery cables are not tightened properly, They MUST be properly torqued to the battery with a torque wrench to 11 FT/LBs. If you can ever move the the terminals by moving the battery cables, the terminals are NOT tightened properly.

Remoe them, clean them and retorque them on the battery.

BC

 

For those of you who have C5's that have problems keeping the battery from going dead if you leave your car idle for a short period of time, here is a procedure that you can use to see if your car is drawing an excessive amount of battery current. The C5 corvette should be able to sit idle for weeks with out running down the battery far enough that it will not start.

If your car has a good battery and it depletes the battery in a few days or a week, use a DC Amp meter to measure the battery current draw when the car has entered the BCM sleep mode.

Once ALL of the cars loads are remove (ie doors shut, trunk shut, interior light off, radar detector and phone chargers removed etc, (make sure that you disconnect the under hood light), disconnect the battery NEGATIVE terminal. Connect a DC AMP METER capable of reading at least 10 amps in SERIES with the NEGATIVE battery terminal and the NEGATIVE battery cable. Once you connect the amp meter into the circuit, he car should power up and enter the "SLEEP MODE" with in a few minutes. It should not take longer than 10-15 minutes. If te car is in the RAP (retained acessory power) mode, it may take that entire 10-15 min to power down.






When you initially connect the AMP meter in the circuit, the current draw will be high. Some where around 8 amps. As the BCM determines that the car is secure, it will start dropping off loads and go into the SECURITY MODE and Sleep Mode. As it drops off loads you will see the battery current drop down from 8 amps to around 2-3 amps them in the milliamp range.

If there is a unwanted load, it could take up to 10-15 min for the current reading to settle out as low as it will go. The target reading will be 15-20 milliamperes. As you can see in the next photo, my 02 ZO6 draws .02 or 20 milliamperes.



With this small current draw and a properly charged battery in good condition, your C5 should be able to sit idle (without a battery tender or battery charger) for at least 3 weeks if not longer. My ZO6 has set idle for 30 days and started normally after that period.

C5's that drain batteries in days or a week have an excessive battery current draw issue. Here are a few places that have proven to be a cause of excessive battery current draw:

Drivers or Passengers seat control multifunction switch. The return spring in the switch gets weak or damaged and the seat sticks in a movement position. The motors are thermally protected by a "circuit breaker" in the passengers foot well and will continuously set and trip until the battery goes dead.

Drivers LUMBAR motor. Same as above!

Interior lights, dash lights, or other interior lights.

Head light motor control module. The module can short inside and draw current even though the lights are down and secure. If you feel the module and its HOT, its bad.

Alternator. The diodes can and do go bad. If hey go bad, the field windings will always be powered and draw current. If you suspect that the alternator is drawing current, remove the field terminal wire from the back of the alternator and insert the AMP Meter in SERIES with the circuit (between the red wire and alternator field terminal). The current draw should be ZERO. If you have current draw, one or more diodes are bad in the alternator. The last alternator that I checked this way was drawing 5 amps.

Bose Amplifier. Theres an amp under the dash on the drivers side dash. The relay for that amp sometimes sticks and the amp remains on even though the car is OFF.

Cell phones, radar detectors, wide band controllers ect... can get left plugged in.

NOTE! If you open the door, or trunk or even remove and then replace a fuse for troubleshooting, it will wake the car up and you will need to wait for it to enter the SLEEP mode again to read the current draw.

If you remove a BCM fuse, it will negate the test because the BCM is controlling the current draw.

Hope this helps figure out the reasons for premature battery failure.

Bill Curlee

 

Thanks Bill,

I checked the tightness and the positive terminal
was only partially tight. When I tried to tighten it,
it became apparent that the threads in the battery
where stripped as the bolt would not tighten.

A dealer had worked on the car troubleshooting a
taillight issue a couple of weeks ago.
I know they disconnected the battery during their
troubleshooting. Apparently the battery
was not reconnected correctly. Glad to have found
this forum.

Replaced the battery and everything is fine now.
Also appreciate the tips on battery drainage in
your recent post.

Have a great day!

Richard

 

I just finished reading this entire thread looking for something similar to my problem. Nothing close. I've checked the more accessible ground points and found no signs of corrosion. This includes G101, G102, and G104. I haven't found splice pack SP-208 yet. I'm not convinced I have a ground issue, but I'm keeping an open mind.

I have a 97 coupe with 118K miles, California car, garaged but a daily driver. I'm getting persistent messages claiming my LF tire is flat and the others are low. These are false messages. When the messages are cleared, the tire pressure reads normal except for the LF which reads 1 psi. (This is only on the message center, the actual pressure readings with a guage are normal for all 4 tires.) I had all 4 TPM sensors replaced but the same messages persist.

I wonder if the RFA could be bad, since I had some twitchy door locks when I borrowed my wife's set of keys and fob the other day. They locked and unlocked by themselves while I was driving. However, I've never had this happen with my own fob. No other obvious gremlins in the car's electronics.

I checked the diagnostic codes in the DIC (thanks to TAZZVETTE for the procedure). All modules show "NO CODES" except for the following:

38 RTD NO COMM
60 IPC 5 CODES

All IPC codes had the H suffix so they were history codes only.

Any advice on what to do next to diagnose this problem? Or is my only choice to shell out $250 for a new RFA and hope that fixes it?

Thanks,
Jerry

 

Anyone?

 

Honda GoldWing guys cut off connector and solder wires together eliminating problem.

 

Just picked up a 2006 C6 coupe with 12,000 miles while on vacation in Florida. It's a loaded car checked out thoroughly including a VIN History - no major repairs but the HVAC head, door remotes and battery had been replaced in the past.

Now, after driving it 300 miles it's starting to display symptoms very much like those discussed here. This thread has provided a lot of good information. Low battery voltage and/or bad chassis grounds could very well be the cause here, too - I can see why the electrical components above may have been replaced.

Unfortunately, I don't see much of this type information on the C6 Forum so I'm taking a chance to post this question here.

There's a month left on the warranty so the car will go to a dealer but we want to gather as much information as possible in advance in case the local dealer doesn't have a well-trained Corvette tech.

Anyone know a dealer with a well-trained Corvette tech in the Fort Myers, FL area?

Not sure if C6 electrics are similar to C5 or if the C5 has a CAN BUS like the C6. Are the chassis grounds on C6 similar to those on C5?

Whatever help Corvette Forum members can provide pointing us to any TSBs, Tech Tips, etc. available on C6 would sure be appreciated

Thanks,

 

As much as I know about C5 I know very little about the C6 in comparison. My 06 C6 just went out of warrenty yesterday to be exact,,, so,,,I will get more aquainted with it Im sure. While it was under warrenty, I did learn a few things.

How to index the windowds if they loose the index sequence.

Your differential fluid has a recall (just tell them it makes popping noises when you park the car in a tight spot.

Your rear axel spindel nuts come loose and are a recall that you chould have done.

Never had any issues with the HVAC other than noise when the fan is on high in the bi level mode.

My clutch chatters when i let it out slowly. Have bitched about it since new nut, they say its normal.

I dont even have a service manual for it yet. How lame id that??? I have added a tune vararam and headers though! Very nice improvement!!!!

As for the grounds, GM did well and deleted those goofy ground connectors. They are now nerminated io a ground lug and stud configuration. Corrosion could still be an issue but farr less than on a c5.

You need a meter to examine the battey output and generator output. All my C5 electrical theory still holds true for any car. As for the CAN Buss it works simuarly but not exactly like the C5 serial buss. Still need to investigate that one. I know that the C6 can no longer pull up its own DTC codes. You need a scanner. Your best bet is to purchase an inexpensive sanner that will read all of the C6 modules and the service manuals. I plan on up-grading my EFI live to version V2.

BC

 

copied from a different header this may be more appropriate.

I have been struggling and now am throwing in the towel.
My 98 has had everything changed except maybe the frame.
I have a non start issue that is breaking my spirit now.
Low Engine Oil on the DIC, starts, runs dies, with sensor completely unplugged.
This started out on the toll road at 65 with a engine shut down at speed, no power steering etc. After several minutes it fired and I drove home.
No DTC codes? Battery charged to 15V.
With the sensor unplugged and hours between restarts why is this going on.
Checked the fuel Pump Connector found the rubber grommet missing and highly corroded contacts. Cleaned added Seal and greased, reassembled.
Car started and idles fine for several minutes two times, next day, same old stuff.
Low Oil has never gone away.
Wife wants me to cover it up and never touch it again. I have had to be flat beeded home a few times this last year. She is ready to shoot us both. I have read this thread and the others with great interestIf we can fix this I will send tributes to those that helped. I love my car I don't want to cover it up, I want to drive it. I am patience but am lost in the woods here.
Dennis

 

want to sell it cheap? i am looking for a track car i really will strip it to the frame

 

DMurf:
I wish I could help you out here; but I've been through so much money and time attempting to fix my C5 electrical problems that I've just come to accept the three lamps on the dash, beeps everytime I start and turn off the engine, and press the reset buttom three times after starting to see my other information. It's a sad state of affairs--but what I've come to expect from manufacturing and serviceless shops in the US. I still won't buy anything other than American; but I'm sure going to gripe about is.

Good Luck, My Friend!

 

There are some good shops for c5-c6 ,but then again it can be fixed by the owner with Patience and a service Manual.
Try this with a toyota or honda .
German cars the service manual is the size of your wallet

I can't figure why the perception is that these German and Japaneze
Cars are a better value . (wait for the repair bill)
I truly believe our dealers should be on the chopping block.
Our dealers are junk and so are the foriegn dealers ,but the perception is that foriegn is better.
"We don't support are own".
I believe the chevy is the best car out.
AS long as you're not on some profile runway.
I don't work in any part of the auto industry ,I am not in any union ,but I support our country and their products .

John Sr.

 

all news and magazines are now tabloids.... all lies and bulsh!t

USA has made unbelievable good cars and unbeatable trucks for the last 6 years! but no one cares.

Say hello to the brainwashed TV society

the next generation is doomed before they even get here...poor bastids!