quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:

quote:

Originally posted by gunnutty:
Checked with a friend of mine and he said there is a ground wire on the back of the engine block that will get loose or frayed. It will cause all kinds of weird lights on the dash and can shut the engine down. He said it is hard to see on the passenger side of the block at the very back.

This was my first thought, ground issues.

Yes, major ground issue is a strong candidate, so is the positive battery cable on either the battery or starter.

The telltale is a light on the dash that either says security or has a lock/car emblem or key looking emblem. I bet there's more types than I can think of atm, it means the pcm thinks the car is being stolen and will not let the engine run. It starts up every time but only runs for 2 seconds is a dead giveaway. Ive replaced 100s and 100s of ignition cylinders and passlock modules on gm trucks vans and cars. A cheap code reader may pull a code off the pcm that will confirm this. Or try the 30 minute procedure i posted, sometimes that will allow you to start the vehicle a few times before the affected part acts up again.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
The telltale is a light on the dash that either says security or has a lock/car emblem or key looking emblem. I bet there's more types than I can think of atm, it means the pcm thinks the car is being stolen and will not let the engine run. It starts up every time but only runs for 2 seconds is a dead giveaway. Ive replaced 100s and 100s of ignition cylinders and passlock modules on gm trucks vans and cars. A cheap code reader may pull a code off the pcm that will confirm this. Or try the 30 minute procedure i posted, sometimes that will allow you to start the vehicle a few times before the affected part acts up again.

You can bypass the system by cutting the two wires from the cylinder and adding a resistor.

Update: I just stopped by the maintenance shop. The shop owner called a locksmith to replace the ignition switch and reset the tumblers to work with the old keys.

We'll see if that does the job.

I had an 02 Silverado that was twitchy.
Took it to the dealer and they found that the electrical home run, on the left of the parking brake, had wires that had been worn through by my use of the parking brake.

Problem(s) solved.

First, what it was not: There was never any SECURITY indication, not even sure if there is one on this year. Some people mentioned stepper motors re the gauges in the instrument cluster. Nope, this is a 2001, stepper motors did not appear until the 2003 model year.

Locksmith replaced the ignition switch, but that did not have anything to do with the problem. When he realized that, he said "you can have that at no charge. I'm not going to spend the time to take that bitch out."

OK, so what did the three problem manifestations (low reading on voltmeter, speedometer dropping to zero then coming back up, and engine refusing to start) all have in common, all cured by one simple thing?

The fuse box was a corroded mess. Removed all fuses, soaked it down with electrical contact cleaner, and put in all new fuses. Bingo! All problems solved except the low-reading voltmeter which was almost solved. The fuse holder for that circuit had sort of loose jaws that held the fuse. Tightening the jaws did the job.

I was sure as sure can be that it was no coincidence that three electrical problems showed up within a few days, and I was convinced that there was a single cure for everything; it just took some searching to identify the cause. Once found, the cure was simple.

Thank you, everyone who offered help.

Glad you got it fixed. Things like that can drive you crazy.

Its flarider, if it's metal, exposed it's going to corrode..

Pick up some di-electric grease it goes on the contacts and ends of fuses and will stop that problem from happening again.

Caig Deoxit is absolutely the best electrical contact cleaner you can buy. I highly recommend it.

It's not cheap, and yes I spelled it right. Caig Deoxit

Every time somebody has an electrical issue , people start posting about a " bad ground " . Doesn't matter whether it's a car or a house .

quote:

The fuse box was a corroded mess.

Thanks for posting the fix. It will go into my personal database, i.e., my head. Was it from water intrusion, or did rats get to it? Like the PCM, it is in a location vulnerable to both.

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Originally posted by egregore:

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The fuse box was a corroded mess.

Thanks for posting the fix. It will go into my personal database, i.e., my head. Was it from water intrusion, or did rats get to it? Like the PCM, it is in a location vulnerable to both.

Just plain old corrosion. Probably not direct water intrusion, but this is, as HRK said above, Florida. Summers especially, are very humid. Combine that with a sixteen year old truck that sits outside and I was not at all surprised. I probably should have taken photos of the fuses instead of just tossing them.

I have had similar problems with radio / navigation equipment in airplanes. Quirky behavior, that is cured by spraying connector pins with contact cleaner.

If I had thought to look in the fuse box it would have saved me $350 and a lot of aggravation. Not all of that was shop charges, there is a fee for the tow truck included in that.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
The fuse box was a corroded mess.

The problem with the fuse boxes on most 70s and 80s Ferrari's is so bad that there are more than a few companies that make replacement fuse boxes.

More common on the 308 series, but can occur on other cars.

I have a Mondial, and have a "rebuilt" (i.e. new wiring, the only think original is the plastic frame) fusebox ready to install... $1,000 for the fusebox... I have no idea what it will cost to install...

Congrats on solving your problem!!!

James in Denver

That's not where I would have immediately gone...but sure is down the line of things to check.

Thanks for posting. As others have stated, that's getting logged in the back of my head for the next time.

Thinking about florida, it makes sense. My saltwater boat had to have electrical components changed every 2-3 years, it just ate through them no matter which brand we tried. Poor design in the location.

Did you get any pictures?

Who was it that finally went to the fuse box?

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Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
Thinking about florida, it makes sense. My saltwater boat had to have electrical components changed every 2-3 years, it just ate through them no matter which brand we tried. Poor design in the location.

Did you get any pictures?

Nope. No pictures. You've seen one corrosion, you've seen them all.

Florida yes, salt water no. Orlando is in the center of the peninsula, not really near salt water. High humidity though.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Every time somebody has an electrical issue , people start posting about a " bad ground " . Doesn't matter whether it's a car or a house .

Because it happens so often, that's why.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

The fuse box was a corroded mess.

Thanks for posting the fix. It will go into my personal database, i.e., my head. Was it from water intrusion, or did rats get to it? Like the PCM, it is in a location vulnerable to both.

The fuse box is inside the cab on the left wall just forward of the driver side door. About ankle height. Outboard of the parking brake pedal.

[/QUOTE]The fuse box is inside the cab on the left wall just forward of the driver side door. About ankle height. Outboard of the parking brake pedal.[/QUOTE]

I had an intermittent fault with driver's door switch and driver's door airbag which I traced to door harness connector block which is in that same location.