OK heres the deal....my buddy just bought a 2000 Cavi with 113000 miles on it for 500 bucks...needed a starter. Before we replaced the starter we did manage to get the car running and it ran great....no problems. Replaced the starter, started the car twice and let run....ran great. Let car off jack stands, now we have no dsh lights, no fuel pump, and keep blowing the CIG fuse. Now I know this fuse has alot to do with the OBD2 port not functioning but why all of a sudden would i have nothing??? Any suggestions?
You could have damaged something when you took the car off the jackstands. Check around where you placed the jack.
Boost > N/A
180hp in 1989 or 260hp in 2008, you decide. Quad < Ecotec
Checked all that...i thought we may have cut a wire or two in the harness that runs across the front of the car but thats all intact. It has to be something stupid because we had it running. I checked all fuses and the only one that keeps blowing is the cig fuse. would that have an effect on the dash lights though? Any wiring diagrams are welcome.>:o
OK...I'm the "buddy" who bought the car...the highly frustrated buddy haha! I think it is important to add that the car was running....turned the car off to put the plastic guard back on under the flywheel. Jacked the car up on the suspension and pulled the jack stands out from underneath. Then...it wouldn't start. Didn't touch any wires, connections, etc between the time that it was running and taking it off the stands.
WORKING: interior light, radio, hazard lights, headlights, highbeams, brake lights, gauges light up, horn will blow, starter will spin and the engine will turn over.
NOT WORKING: no fuel pump "hum", no turn signals, no idiot lights that normally light when starting, no door chimes.
ACTION SO FAR: Checked all fuses (good except for CIG fuse mentioned above), checked grounds, attempted theft system reset, removed and subsequently replaced positive terminal on battery, checked starter wiring, inspected front end harness, charged battery.
from all data hope this is some help
Sig thanks to bxmobkrazey on gmscf.com
Thanks Evan! I just went out and checked again....all are fine with the exception of the cigarette lighter fuse. Strange....my interior lights work.
***UPDATE***
I just went out and switched the 50A Maxi under the hood between PCM and IGN.
Swapped the A/C and fuel pump relays.
Based on a post from another thread, I checked the harness under the rear seat. Wiggled it. No flat spots, broken sections, worn spots, etc.
Also based on another post, I beat on the gas tank.
Checked the grounds and wiring to the starter again.
Moved the shifter into all positions, trying key in each. Then I tried to push the shifter as far forward as it would go. Still nothing.
Purely out of frustration, and some miniscule chance that it would do some good, I pounded the piss out of the steering column.
Wiggled the ignition switch, tilted the steering column up and down.
Not that it really would have anything to do with it...but the e-brake was pulled when the car was let down. And the odometer lights up when the headlights are on but does not display any numbers.
There wouldnt happen to bw some sort of enertia switch anywhere that may have tripped would there? That may eplain the fuel pump but still why would there be no idiot lights.....
It's not a Ford... there are no fuel pump trip switches like that on our GM's...
Check to see if there's power going to the fuel pump at the rear. There's a plug above the rear beam axle where the wiring comes out from under the rear seat. See if you get power for three seconds when you turn the key on (the prime cycle). If there's power but no fuel pump noise.. you probably need a new pump. They're common to die, especially if the previous owner liked to let the fuel level get near empty before refilling.
Does anyone know if the idiot lights and the fuel pump are connected in any way???
For anyone who cares to know, we stripped the interior down to basically nothing....entire dash came out as well as tubular frame. Basically, I have a steering shaft and a nest of wires.
The car at one point in time had an alarm system installed in it so there were a million wire splices. Wiggling the wires would cause the dash lights and fuel pump to come back. So the natural assumption was a loose wire/bad connection/short. I painstakingly went through about half of the wires, pulling apart any splice or connection and inspecting it. Voila!....dash lights and fuel pump came back on. Turned the key, and the car started...ran for about a minute, and stalled. Look again...no more dash lights! No fuel pump....nothing. Chris and I were extremely frustrated at this point.
Soooo....we went back to the wires again. Eventually, we narrowed the problem down to one bundle of wires in particular. They ran from the firewall/BCM to the steering column. An inspection of the wires and the connector looked ok, and we could get the idiot lights to flicker on and off by wiggling the wire.
We took off the ignition switch and took it apart; one of the terminals looked like it was burnt. Further inspection showed that the plastic "cams" if you will that control the contacts inside were melted and the springs were all FUBARed. By manipulating the contacts inside the switch, we regained power to the fuel pump and dash lights.
Going down today during lunch to buy a new switch. Will install tonight, and hopefully that is the end of the problem. Didn't have to pull the dash all apart after all. Oh, well....now we can do up the interior as it goes back together
Dont forget, IIRC If your replacing the ignition switch you should be okay, but if you disconnected the cluster or the ignition tumbler you will need to do a theft system relearn. Someone correct me if im wrong, but if any of that was disconnected you might have to do that again. Goodluck man, and Im glad you got it working!!
Mike you are 100% correct. We had disconnected EVERYTHING!
Picked up the switch for $39 bucks...minus $5 just because
Installed it last night and reset theft system, touched off the key and the car runs beautifully. 113K and it purrs like a kitten. Not bad for a $500 car! I never would have imagined that it was that switch due to the fact that on key-on I had power to everything else. Ultimately, the whole switch was not bad, just parts of it. I think I have about another $100 invested so far...so all is good in the world. Now who wants to help put it back together.....?!
Thanks to everyone for their help!
Just as I was about to suggest replacing the ECU...Things turned great!!! Now for an interior renewal....Pics coming soon????
Yep! Starting a new thread in show & shine/pics and media. Then maybe I can get some pointers from those who have been through a cavi a time or two...
