Baton Rouge as well as most of southern Louisiana had a least 3 major floods and a few lesser ones last summer.

 

I hear what you all are saying, but is a flood the only thing to cause the issue? Or even the most likely issue? I feel like a flood would cause the car to have something consistently wrong. The car will start every time if the doors were not locked. You think k a flood is at the center of why it won’t start sometimes when the doors are locked?

 

Without trouble shooting your car with the right test equipment, I do not know what's wrong with it. I could make some educated guesses based on the reported symptoms but that's not worth much and besides you're getting plenty of that here and from the dealer.

Could flooding cause an intermittent electrical problem? You bet it does. That's why insurance companies routinely total cars when water goes over the floorboards. Is that the only cause of electrical problems? Of course not, there are lots of causes.

Hopefully the mechanic at the car lot has the tools, knowledge, and experience to fix the problem. In all likelihood it will turn out to be something simple. Maybe hard to find, but simple.

Then you can enjoy the car and this whole thing will be just a story for Cars & Coffee.

Good luck, let us know how it works out.

 

There’s no way I’d have them tear the car apart to install some module that they don’t know anything about nor if this part will fix the supposed problem. If it’s anything they have to remove the dashboard for, good luck receiving the car with the dash back in correctly & nothing broken.

Why not insist they take the car to the nearest GM dealership & have it properly diagnosed & repaired?

 

You may be right, that might be the best approach. I have zero mechanic experience yet I managed to install a module to repair my lock column problem. So I’m not sure why trusting technicians that services vehicle daily is frowned upon.

 

Obviously not all vehicles are equal when it comes to their systems, how they’re put together, etc. Is removing the dashboard in my Jeep Wrangler the same as removing the dashboard in my Z06? Not even close. It took me 20 min to remove the Jeep dash & 2 hours to remove the Z dash.

The dealership has already indicated to you that they don’t know what’s wrong with the car, they don’t know the cause of what’s wrong (because they don’t know what’s wrong), and that they don’t know how to fix it. They googled symptoms & guessed at a module. My guess is they also don’t know how to replace said module & will be using Google to figure that out as well.

The logical solution would be to take the vehicle to a GM dealer with a certified Corvette technician to have the vehicle properly diagnosed and repaired. My feeling is they’re going to get the car to start, door to lock/unlock and then once it’s on the truck it’s your problem.

 

Agreed. I just don't believe that mechanically inclined car technicians with a dozen or so years of experience can't figure out how to pop a module into place, or don't know how to pull apart the dash and put it back together. The forums are full of input from people that utilize Youtube to fix a problem. If you and i can make mods after using Google or Youtube, what's the difference? My concern is figuring out the issue so that it doesn't happen again. Your logical solution is sound advice and i will recommend that today.

 

You have a lot more faith than I would. The main difference is it’s our car, and people who work on their own cars tend to put a lot more care into that work to ensure it’s done right, put back together correctly, and to not break anything. We’re also not on a schedule to get things done, nor have a line of other vehicles waiting that we need to repair.

Couple examples: my current Z06 looked great when I picked it up and had very low miles, so I didn’t give it the microscopic evaluation that I would’ve otherwise. After getting it home and getting underneath I found the carbon fiber front splitter had been repaired with epoxy in multiple spots & was only connected by 9 screws instead of 13 original screws that are supposed to secure it to the front fascia.

Upon removing the interior panels to add sound deadening material and install my stereo equipment I found that nearly every interior panel had broken clips on the back that had been superglued back on. I contacted the previous owner and he had had an aftermarket stereo installed and removed by “professionals” at a car audio shop. He also claimed that the front splitter was replaced, not repaired. My conversation indicated he wasn’t a car guy and didn’t work on his own cars.

Obviously the shop that repaired the splitter told him (and probably charged him) they replaced it. Obviously he never checked the back side of the interior panels to see that the experienced audio technicians broke nearly all the clips off the panels & put them back with superglue. Point being just because someone works in a job doesn’t make them competent.

I had a good friend who was a certified Chevy tech, and I’d never let him touch my cars because I saw how he worked on cars that weren’t his.

I hope it works out for you and the car gets fixed & remains problem free.

 

I talked to the operations manager this morning and requested that they take it to GM or a certified corvette dealer. He said that he would happily do that for me but wanted to let me know that he has the same diagnostic machines that GM uses and he's confident that the module he purchased is going to fix the problem. He called it a Theft Deterrent Module, not a Security module that the salesman called it. He says that it takes him 5 minutes to install the module and he can do it no problem, or can send it with the car and i can do it. Or he can send it with the car and i can take it to my GM dealership and then send him the bill for having it done. My choice. But his preference is to install it himself and verify that he is shipping a perfectly good car.

 

That's where you stop him and say: "OK, sounds good to me. Let's do it. Thanks for helping out". You asked, he agreed, now let him happily do it. Everything that follows just confuses the issue.

BTW, there is no "theft deterrent module" either. He's maybe (probably?) talking about the aforementioned RCDLR module. Theft deterrence is part of what it does, so you could call it that I guess.

Here is the R&R procedure from the shop manual. Very simple - once you have the console trim out which is a bit involved. Then there is the programming/setup procedure which does require some specialized equipment.




It's encouraging that the manager seems to want to do the right thing. You've made some good progress already this week.

 

I spoke with the operations manager again yesterday and he informed me that he "ran a code check on the car upon taking the car in as we do with all vehicles. I saw that i needed to purchase the module which i did at that time. The dealer you've been talking to either forgot that it was purchased, or didn't know. The issue with the car was new to him, but we were already ahead of him. However, i show that the module was delivered so i need to find out where it is. If i can't find it, i will see about having a new one overnighted to me."

 

Interesting how the stories change.

Dealer story 1: The car ran perfectly until we tried to load it on the transport. We diagnosed the problem and ordered a "securtiy control module" which the mechanic feels will correct the problem. Will send you pictures of the module when it arrives.

Dealer story 2: The car acted up before you bought it, we replaced the battery and everything was fine, until we tried to load it. Module has been ordered but still hasn't arrived as of 7-6. Now it starts ok unless you lock the doors. BTW, the previous owner said he had the same problem. Not really sure what's wrong with it.

Op Mgr. story 1: Ran a "code check" on the car when they took possession and determined it needed a "theft deterrent module" which was ordered. (This would be before they took videos of it running perfectly, before you bought it, before they tried to load it.) No mention of locking/starting problems or battery replacement. He's confident the new module will correct the (unspecified) codes. The module was delivered on an unspecified date but no one knows that it was delivered or where it is. Dealer must have forgotten about it or didn't know it was ordered. Mgr. will find it or order another one.

The dealer guy forgot, really? With you calling/texting everyday? And didn't he tell you at least twice that he and/or the mechanic had ordered it?
What is the real story? If everyone is telling the truth, the module has been ordered twice. I wonder if the module was in fact ever ordered? These guys need to at least get their stories straight.

Anyway, here's hoping they find the elusive module and it solves the problem.

 

The dealer has told me many times that they are just waiting on the module to arrive. He first mentioned the module last week, wednesday i believe. He was getting ready to ship the car when the problem arose. So he ordered the module. After a week of waiting, i asked to speak to the Op Mgr. Yesterday is when he told me that he ordered the module when he conducted his 128 point inspection last month. Apparently he didn't tell the salesman...or the salesman forgot. I don't think you forget something like that, so i'm guessing the salesman didn't know the module was ordered. However, where the F is the module that was ordered last month? It shows delivered.

 

So to sum it up:

One module was ordered last month by the Mgr., and another module was ordered by the salesman a week or so ago. The first one has been delivered but no one has seen it, and the second one is still on the way.

Is that about right?

 

That's exactly what i've been told, after piecing their stories together. And lastly, a 3rd module was ordered yesterday after i called and he was requesting overnight shipping and will send back the 2nd module when it arrives. He has no idea where the 1st module is.

 

OK, so #3 is on the way and should arrive today or tomorrow at the latest. That's good, it's all coming together.

 

Any update on this?

 

The module was installed and a transport truck was on standby. Car was delivered 2 weeks ago from yesterday and it runs like a dream!

 

 

Glad it all worked out. That's a beautiful car btw, really like those wheels w/ JSB. Now go put some miles on it!