A friend's C6 won't start
 

He posted this on another non-car forum and I cut and pasted it.
What do you think?


My 2005 Vette won't start. I have a battery that is a few months old and tested out fine. I can get in the car with the FOB and the dash lights, radio, headlights, etc. all work fine. The check engine light comes on. I go to push the push button start button, which lights up like normal and then nothing happens, no sounds at all. It's not the battery. I don't think it's the alternator because that shouldn't matter in starting it up if there is juice in the battery, right? The info center did flash No FOB detected a couple times off and on, but it let me in the car and every thing else lit up. Just to be sure, I replaced the FOB battery. Haven't seen the No FOB detected message, but same results with nothing on trying to start.

I took the battery to Autozone to check out and charge up for the juice I had used up playing around trying to solve the problem. It checked out fine with 63% charge. I asked if they had one of those computer readers to detect problems and they said no, they just have what the codes mean and that I would have to go to a dealer or shop to run diagnostics.

It has a coolant leak with the water pump and my redneck buddy who has done some simple work on his Vette was going to change out the water pump for me. The check coolant message did come on a couple weeks ago and I added coolant (and have kept it up) and was able to start it up fine four or five times after that. Then yesterday, try to start and nothing. Buddy says he doesn't know what's up with it. Ideas on what it could be and possible tests or fixes to run so that I at least have a guess as to what I am looking at before I have it towed somewhere? The starter? Electrical problem? Some type of starter kill that got tripped by coolant leak?

I don't have a trusted local shop and last time I took it to the dealer, they screwed something up. So recommendations on mechanics in Largo/Clearwater area would be appreciated too. Thanks.

Presumably he knows to press the brake pedal (or clutch if stick shift). So perhaps it's the switch that allows the car to start when either pedal is depressed.

Has he tried to reset the error codes?

The absolute first thing I would do is fully recharge the battery. Corvettes are different than the average car. It can drain a brand new battery if it sits for a week. Or if the battery has been drained below a certain point, the car isn't going to start even though there is enough juice to power the interior lights, radio, etc.

If you have a Battery Tender Plus, disconnect the cable terminals from the battery and connect the Battery Tender to it and let recharge for 24 hours or until Battery Tender light turns green. Then try starting.

If it still doesn't start with a charged battery, then I would purchase a diagnostics tool and read the codes yourself. I think years ago, diagnostic tools were expensive, but you can pick up at a decent cost and read & interpret the codes yourself. And then just work from there.

The very first thing I would do (as I posted yesterday in another thread) is remove both battery terminals, clean and retighten -- assuming the battery really is ok.

If you then cannot draw enough current to spin the starter, I would remove, clean, and re-install the other ends of both cables. These are the most obvious, common, and easily checked "weak links" as to why a starter won't turn over.

After that I would be screwed and would make a thread here, hoping one of electronic geniuses here would help. :(

Thanks too all. I really appreciate it. I am the friend and know Gary through a non-car forum and will try to address all posts. I did look through threads here and was going to post here first, but I have just lurked and know the newbies get hazed on many sites, so I asked on the other forum where a few friends have Vettes.

my 05 is a stick and a tried depressing and pushing hard on the clutch. I had the issue once a couple years ago and the DIC said something about steering column lock. I moved the column around and it started no problem. Tried that this time with no luck. Battery was strong when I started trying. I am having it fully charged and will pick up tomorrow and try again. Battery terminals are clean as I bought a new battery a few months ago and cleaned the cable ends too and tightened well.

I can search and find out, but don't know how to reset error codes. If you could let me know, that would be awesome. I don't have a Battery Tender Plus, but Autozone is fully recharging (I bought Duralast Gold from them) the battery they tested as good and I am picking up tomorrow.

Bruze, I'm not sure what you mean by remove, clean, and reinstall "the other ends" of both cables, but if that is high difficulty, I'd be nervous about trying to mess with something that might screw up the electrical system myself, as I haven't really had more experience than very simple stuff like changing batteries, cleaning the connection end of cable and changing air filters and such .

Sunburst, do you know what kind of diagnostic tool would I need to read the codes and how to do so? I did a search and see ones listed from $60 to $3,000. http://www.autozone.com/test-scan-an...ls/code-reader. I thought maybe Autozone would have ones to lend or even getting it towed there would be a lot cheaper than going 15 miles to the dealer who might rip me off (still unhappy with prior work).

Also checked the fuse box and fuses that seem related to ignition and starter seem fine.

I appreciate the input from all. Thank you.

The answer to both the bolded questions is to get a OBD-II tool. I just got one from Amazon for just under $50, but you can get them for as little as $15. I think the one that I got is an Autel (or similar name). Under the steering wheel, on all cars since the mid 90s, is an OBD-II port (OBD stands for On Board Diagnostics). Just plug the tool in and choose the option to "Reset Codes". Some things you can do with the engine off, some need the engine running. The ones you've been seeing at such high prices must be the professional models that the dealers use.

Hope this helps. I bought one because I kept getting a Check Engine Light on my wife's Caddy ATS because of a loose gas cap, and it was a pain to go get the code cleared for something that simple. The codes don't clear until several start/stop cycles have been done. AutoZone can also clear the codes for you and it's free.

it sounds like you have a steering lock module failure not allowing the car to start. the 05 M6 is the only C6 that has that system and they were know to fail. order a bypass module from Corvettes of Houston and fix the car ASAP. removing the battery cables usually resets the computer allowing the car to start.

Thanks, Rocket. The Autozone guy didn't seem helpful at all except agreeing to fully charge the battery I bought there a few months ago. Maybe I'll try someone else there to see if they have the tool and know how to reset codes. I don't mind spending a little to buy if it solves problems or gives me more info about problems and understanding repairs that need to be done. I'm just tired of dealers charging a ton for easy fixes and then sometimes screwing things up anyways.

Thanks, truck. That could be the solution. I'll try reinstalling fully charged battery and/or resetting error codes as temporary fix and maybe your suggestion will be a permanent fix.

I'm not very knowledgeable as a Corvette owner and appreciate all the great suggestions.:cheers:

I didn't see anywhere that he tried the fob in the glovebox slot...since he saw the NO FOB DETECTED message at least once, this should be tried.:thumbs:

UPDATE:

Had Autozone fully charge the battery and when I hooked it back up, whatever the problem was reset and it starts now. :thumbs:

If it is the steering lock module failure, I'm going to do the bypass to fix that. There is a great how-to Youtube clip on it.

Could be solenoid
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=3183336

Earlier discussion
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=3729905