I was driving my 2010 Grand Sport yesterday and all of a sudden it just died while driving along. Pulled into a parking lot and tried to start it but it turned over really slow and wouldn't start. Opened to hood and could smell burning wires. Tried to jump start it and it would drag the power down on the donor car but still wouldn't start. After 45 minutes it would start but died again just sitting there idling. Flat bedded it to a nearby Chevy dealer and they said that it just needed a battery, put the new one in and no change. What do you think? Short in a battery cable or worse?

 

I'd first check the positive battery cable at the starter attachment area.

 

Let's hope that's it. Other than that, it becomes a search to see if other grounds are well-anchored.

 

They are know to get so bad and look like this.
The cable attachment stud is missing here;

 

Any more ideas?

 

GS runs dry sump system, so battery is in the back with a lead off that to the starter, then off the starter to the engine fuse box.

If I was a betting man, would bet on either the positive wires from the battery to the starter is shorting out against the chassis ground points, or the positive wire off the start to the engine fuse box is ground out to the back of the passenger side head (it runs up from the starter behind the head, then swings around to the engine fuse box terminal.) Hence although that wire is in a wire loom, if the groom was not snapped in correctly, the wire in its loom can rub against the back of the head to wear through not only the loom, but the shielding on the positive cable as well.

Bottom lug where the two wires connect together,



Or, could be that someone tweaked the settings on the radiator fan to have it come on at a lower temp setting, did a tweak to the connect that burnt up the first time, and now you have a melt through at the PWM that is causing a short there instead.

Hence the connector burnt up the first time, they soldered the wires to take the connector out of play (safety link), and now the wires burnt up at the PWM to cause the short there instead.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ing-again.html


Also to point out, the OEM raditor was never meant to be run 100% all the time, so if its run this much, it will start to wear the fan motor out, which cause higher voltage demands through the PWM from the fan itself as the bearings start to bind up, and will fry the PWM as well.

 

Check the fuel filter and delivery system while it is in the shop. The fuel filter has most likely never been changed. Since it runs for a while and then quits it could also be a fuel delivery issue.

 

Not really a user type serviceable filter;
see link;
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ter-where.html

 

But it won't turn over fast enough to start the car when it's warmed up, doubt the fuel filter is causing that. Not to mention the burning wire smell under the hood!

 

That's correct. The fuel pump has an integrated filter which is not serviceable without replacing the entire fuel pump. To replace the pump the tank must be removed and if the dealer is doing the job it would be $$$. I just wonder what the fuel pressure is at the fuel rail when the engine stalls? It seems at this point it may be an elimination of possibilities to find the problem. With no codes showing it makes the hunt even more difficult. Maybe they will be able to narrow the problem down tomorrow.

 

My car was doing the same thing, and this is exactly what I found on mine.

 

Hell of a dealer. That's their typical "throw parts at it until it goes away" approach to everything. I hope that they pay for the battery and the install.
I'm with the others on it being a short somewhere, and that starter lug is the usual culprit. If you smelled wires burning and it drains the battery, it's definitely a massive short and you're lucky it didn't catch something on fire.
BTW: I relocated my battery to the rear cubby (auto GS) and installed a Bussman 150amp marine circuit breaker, just in case something shorts out. It's also a great tool for me to shut the battery off when I go away on vacation etc. Every car should have one of those, IMV.

 

Yep the dealer has called me and said "It might need a compressor", then said "Nope that checks out, then they called and said we found metal in the oil. I jumped in the car and went up there and there's absolutely no metal in the oil. They're checking a few more things but if they can't figure it out today I'm going to flat bed it somewhere else. I don't right now know where but I'm afraid no one there has a clue what to do.

 

After 2 days in their shop the dealer still has no clue!

 

Shop is saying that there's metal in the oil pan and the engine has seized. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that one.

 

Ah, man, what a bummer. Find a Corvette/speed shop. Maybe a local Corvette club can help you out.

 

I'm past president of the biggest club in town so I know some folks.

 

I don't know how it went from turning over slow to the engine is toast....... The mighty LS3 is not known for granading much, if ever. The thing that happened to the starter on the other post is just what happened to mine the other day. New starter and all is good with the world.

WTF is going on with that? Anything can happen I guess...... weird....... keep us posted.......

 

And this all happened without any warning signs.. ????

 

Is this the dealer still, or a shop? That sounds fishy as hell. Usually, an engine seizing while it's running is precipitated by a hell of a lot of noise. Why would it seize? No Oil? And if it was piston seizure, which seems highly unlikely, then that typically ends with a rod hanging through the side of the block. I would call bullshit on this and demand proof.