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Old 04-28-2014, 06:21 AM   #1
htoniv
 
Drives: Camaro
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Issue with my car - help required

Good Morning everyone

I am hoping someone could help me with this recent issue i have been having. It is bit hard to explain so i will try my best, if there are any questions please let me know.

Issue started happening Last Thursday (04/24/14) or at least when i noticed it.

I parked my car after a long day of work at my schools parking lot around 6:30pm. I returned to my car at aprox 9:15pm . I was trying to remote start the car, but it would not start. I could not lock / unlock the car either with the remote. I was hoping my battery did not die. I open the car manually. and i noticed my dome light was not coming on, few seconds later (around 5) it did come on, along with the HUD and dashboard with the 5 sec delay. Odd i figured i tried turning off the ignition and i loose power to the entire car. All the lights turn off and my key is stuck in the ignition. Ofocurse i figured i was screwed at this point. After fiddling with the key, i opened the door and the power slowly started coming on. So without wasting the opportunity i took the key out(it let me this time) and started the car. I was able to drive home fine. At the time it did start up, it asked me to adjust the windows and said something about 2 keys programmed on the DIC.

I didnt think too much to this and figured it may be just a glitch. After that day i did notice every once in a while when i am driving , the music stops for a second and starts to play again regardless if it is on FM, CD, or bluetooh or USB. (its hard to pin point how often or a pattern) seems random at this time.

Then yesterday i was getting ready to go to school, i start my car up 10 mins prior like normal and get ready to leave. I pretty much floor the car in a few seconds, but something very wrong and scary occurd. While flooring in low speeds, my car lost power entirely including electrical and motor, when i let go of the gas pedal, all of it came back and the car went to normal. This was similar to stalling but the thing is power came back -.- (I cant tell you how scary it is knowing that when i floor my car the entire power is gone, it happened twice as i had my foot on my pedal the first time and didnt recognize what was going on) So i pulled over a bit , while the car was still running and slowly made my way to the gas station. -- Now i dont know if this issue was possibly related to low gas, as i did have very low gas in the car during this time, i had prob less then 2 gallons.
After pumping gas i when to higher speeds, but was scared to fully floor the car to test it out again :( other then that normal driving conditions, the car was fine.

Then again this morning when i tried locking my car and remote starting it, it would not start. I got in my car and the lights came on slowly, with no dome light then the dash board and dic came on slowly. Again i lost entire power to my car and hand to open my door and everything like in the first part of my post to get the car started.

I am hoping someone can tell me whats going on with my car :(

Car has been running fine. I have done 2 things to it recently.
2 weeks ago i did seafoam treatment and performed oil change and last week (sunday) i installed a catch can.

Any help would be appreciated, i know this story is long , may be confusing but if there are any questions please let me know.

Thank You

-Vin
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Old 04-28-2014, 06:59 AM   #2
ADR01T
 
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Check your battery terminals. Sounds like you've got a loose connection to or from the battery. Look in your engine bay also. Could be a loose engine->body ground or at the positive connection in the engine bay. A bad connection to the battery would explain why your symptoms are sporadic. You're not losing connection altogether but when just the right circumstances occur (park on an incline, road vibration, etc...) you have the symptoms you describe, i.e. not enough juice to do what you're asking from the battery.

If it were the battery or the alternator, your battery would be dead/dying and you wouldn't have been able to get it started the first time. Definitely a loose wire somewhere. If it's not in the trunk at the battery itself, start looking at anything you may have disturbed in the engine bay while you were installing the catch-can.

Can you view your system voltage (on the DIC?) If so keep an eye on it while you're driving. Are you getting a dip in voltage when you're experiencing these issues?

Keep us informed and I hope that helps you find the problem.


(edit) here's a link to how to show voltage on your DIC. Go down to the section Vehicle Information Menu Items. I would recommend keeping an eye on voltage until you're certain that the issue is resolved. That'll be an early indicator that you're gonna be having problems like you're experiencing. Someone chime in here but I think you should expect to see something around 14.2v on a healthy system.

Last edited by ADR01T; 04-28-2014 at 07:04 AM. Reason: add link
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Old 04-29-2014, 04:12 AM   #3
htoniv
 
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Thank you for the reply, i will defiantly check my battery connections, but i wouldn't know where else to check, if anyone can tell me specific locations then please let me know. I didnt have to touch any electrical wires when installing the catch can.

When i got in yesterday morning, i noticed my time had changed and it was compleatly off a swell.

I do not have the Voltage in the DIC but i do have it on the gages. It is normally between 12 and 19 when driving.
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Old 04-29-2014, 07:45 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by htoniv View Post
Thank you for the reply, i will defiantly check my battery connections, but i wouldn't know where else to check, if anyone can tell me specific locations then please let me know. I didnt have to touch any electrical wires when installing the catch can.

When i got in yesterday morning, i noticed my time had changed and it was compleatly off a swell.

I do not have the Voltage in the DIC but i do have it on the gages. It is normally between 12 and 19 when driving.

Your DIC will give you a digital readout of your voltage. Click the hypertext in my previous reply to see how to display it. It's more accurate than the 4-pack. Should be staying well above 12v but 19v seems too high. It'll also be easier to keep an eye on while you're driving if the car starts acting weird.

Quote:
Vehicle Information Menu Items
Press the MENU button on the turn signal lever until Vehicle Information Menu is displayed. Use the thumbwheel to scroll through the following menu items:
- Unit
- Tire Pressure
- Remaining Oil Life
- Coolant Temp
- Battery Voltage
- Speed Warning
You're looking for any loose wiring in the engine bay, paying attention to the engine to body grounding straps or the positive (red) cable that runs directly in front of your brake fluid reservoir. The terminal could be loose there. Our cars use a common-ground setup and what's happening is that the link between your battery and that circuit is being opened
intermittently. Wiring issues are notoriously difficult to chase down.

In my first 240SX I had a broken wire (inside of the insulation so it wasn't visible) between my CAS -> ECU. Sometimes I'd hit a bump or mechanically agitate it enough to cause an open and it'd cut fuel to the engine. Left me stranded a couple of times and took me over 2 months to reproduce/find the problem. That's what you get with a $600 car though. I don't think your issue is as complex. If you can't find any loose grounds or connections on the positive (red) cable between your battery and the engine bay, you may consider taking it to a dealership or local shop that you trust.

In my opinion this is a wiring and not a component issue. Good luck and keep us updated with your progress.
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Old 04-29-2014, 12:46 PM   #5
flyinlow
 
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Loose battery connections or possibly bad cell in the battery, both can cause weird electrical issues. If its not either of them you could have a flaky body control module (computer).
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Old 05-02-2014, 06:26 PM   #6
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Any updates? Did you find the cause?
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Old 05-03-2014, 05:38 AM   #7
htoniv
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ADR01T View Post
Any updates? Did you find the cause?


Sorry no updates yet, i havent had time to take a look. With working 14hrs on weekdays and school after and all that driving in between i really did not have time to look through the weekdays. After i get out of work today i am going to have a look. Starting from my Battery.

Also my DIC does not display the voltage. I dont think this was added in 2011 model for cars. But i also meant to say its between 12 and 19V right in the middle about so i suspect its around 14v when driving.


The power did get cut off again last night when i was going to work. I noticed it seemed to happen more after i park i suppose and then when i try to start the car with the remote. It beeped once or twice but afterwards it stopped beeping when locking the car so i could not start it. When i went to my car i had to manually open the door again and noticed the cd was out, and no power. Afterwards i had to insert the key and open my door and everything to get the power rolling again. Once again the time on the digital clock changed.


Thanks for your help everyone. Any additional help is always welcomed.
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Old 05-05-2014, 11:19 PM   #8
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Interesting, I just had a similar thing happen with mine tonight, '11 LLT automatic.

When I was leaving work I found an ejected CD was just sitting in the tray, my TPMS was blank and begging to be recalibrated, radio station had been reset, and battery voltage was sitting around v14.9-15.2 (Feels high?). Lights came on fine and it started right up. I figured there was battery issue creeping up and was making plans to have it tested later in the week.

While driving home, electrical system starts flipping out. DIC keeps resetting, my bluetooth call kept switching between the bluetooth and the phone, the radio turning on and off, door open messages, stabilitrack failure messages, check engine light, pretty much every light that can go on would. Then the radio would flash in and out before resetting.

It did for a bit then stopped, came back on a minute later, very sporadic, and after a few minutes of repetition I took a quick video on a side street.

Later when I got home, I turned the car off to get out and check everything, and it just died. All power, everything. No lights, no horn, no trunk. Can't even get the key out of the ignition. Never heard the engine cut off that fast before either. I'm just happy it drove mechanically perfect and not once did I feel like the car was trying to kill me. Guess there's a "limp home mode" after all. Called local dealer and they're having a tow truck come out first thing in the AM to bring it in and set me up with a loaner.

Funny, my coworker was grilling me that this is why I should have got a Toyota, but i'm fairly confident that if this was a Toyota there'd be some insurance or medical claims involved rather than a safe return home.
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Old 05-05-2014, 11:38 PM   #9
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sounds like a lose battery connection.
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Old 05-06-2014, 07:43 PM   #10
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Your battery is going dead or have a dead cell. The car is retaining power for what is needed, that's why remotes is acting up. Take the car somewhere to get the battery checked- autozone do it for free. Het it done fast bc when the battery dies all the way, you won't be able to put the car in gear (if its a auto).
You might have to get a new battery. Very likely.
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Old 05-12-2014, 12:02 PM   #11
htoniv
 
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So i received a couple of DIC messages.

They were

- Battery Saver Active
- Service Battery Charging System

I got both messages at different days.
So it is possible its my alternator that is going bad?
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