car emergency, please help!!!

[ttocs]

Its a pretty big write up but im trying to explain everything the best i can...Im really lost with this

So the day after i got my car i get pulled over and get 2 tickets. 1 for my tail light covers and 1 for my turning signal not working right. I kept putting in fuses as i tryed different things. They kept blowing every single time i turned on my left blinker and sometimes my right wouldent work sometimes it would. Sometimes it would just stay lit and not blink. Sometimes it would blink really slow. So after checking everything i thought possible (replaced all lights, replaced flasher unit, checked for visable short, checked all fuses (kept blowing 1 out))

I finally bring it to a shop, was time for an inspection in another month anyway and had to get it done in 5 days or id get another fine. No big deal, just a short somewhere i supose? Took them 2 weeks to fix it and they didnt know what they did, they replaced all the bulbs, fuses, wires etc just like me. It was still blowing fuses then but somehow worked the next morning with them blinking for hours. So yeah, i was lost but whatever they worked now, i was happy.

What do you know, 5 mins into my ride home pisssst goes the fuse "FU%$&#$&#CK" so i decided to put in a 25 instead of a 20, well it blew 1 out, put in another and they work PERFECT now. Im so lost... On my way to a party she shuts off on me, the green blinker and red light on. Starts back up and im good to go. K, so as im on my way home from picking up my y pipe and headers im going up a steep hill, car dies, i was on E. Car dies, wonderful... I pray to have enough momentum to make it to the top so the tank can level out and gulp up my last liter or so of gas to make it 2 miles to get gas. Well i make it, then some red light comes on on the top left with like an arrow pointing down?

As soon as i got to the station i check everything, oil, antifreeze, etc, everythings fine. I gas up leave, 5 mins later the light shuts off. 2 hours into my journey home it comes on again and my right blicker light (inside) lights up dim green not flashing. Car shuts off on me...Now im pissed...Im 2 hours away from home and my car of 1 month just took a poop on me. Start the car, YES IT STARTED.........5 secs go by, plop, shuts off again, woohoo. 2nd try, starts, almost dies but regains its umff. The green arrow and red light are back on but turn off about 5 mins later and im good the rest of the way home and for 2 weeks.

Heres where the fun comes in...................

Tonight, everything working perfect for the past 2 weeks (i did notice slight twitches in the light beams and night, didnt really bother me though) and im coming down the mt. in neutral and it shuts off again. (mind you that it is night out now too) Once again the right blicker arrow and red light are on. I manage to roll far enough to pull off and check things out. I manually turn my lights on, get out and look around. My lights are on low beam but one of my highs are on WTF??? I get in and put my highs on and only that 1 is on. I try to start it, it does instantly. Same with 2nd and 3rd start. 4th try it stays going, perfecty normal idle, etc. I get out to look at my lights now that its running and they appear fine. I click back my high beams and it shuts off. Ah ha! I think i have finally come to something? Start it again shuts off. 2nd try it stay going, click the highs on and it shuts off. My highs worked fine up to this point.

Ok, so enough high beams. I start it and its ideling for shizzz, i manage to keep it going and creep my way back home about 2 mins away. By the time i got home my green arrow turned off but the red light was still on. I get out look at my lights (car still running) all is fine, also ideling fine. I try my high beams and off she goes. I get out, throw my t-tops back on and shut the door. As i hit my lock button on my remote i hear 1 very faint honk (you shoud get 2 horn honks) I hit it again to see if it was just w/e but it kept doing it. Its done that before with the horn when locking but nothing else was wrong at the time when it did it. Oh yeah, 1 last thing. The other morning my car wouldent start, no lights power anything, luckily my car was unlocked. I pop the hood and look around, set my hand on the battery and walla the power comes back on. Have been good since then with that.



Im so lost with this guys, im hoping someone can help me out???

[TommySS]

What mods? Was the engine pulled? Was the car wrecked? Definitely some wiring problems, but we need to see if there is a "mechanism of injury". If the car was hit, or got wet (wet as in submerged/hurricane damage, etc), you have a lot of additional problems on the horizon.

Request additional specifics

[ttocs]

What mods? Was the engine pulled? Was the car wrecked? Definitely some wiring problems, but we need to see if there is a "mechanism of injury". If the car was hit, or got wet (wet as in submerged/hurricane damage, etc), you have a lot of additional problems on the horizon.

Request additional specifics

Im guessing the motor was pulled to do the port polish and have the cam put in. It was in a small wreck but barely even touched the frame. Its perfect now. I have an intake, headers, catless y, borla cat back, cam, all egr off, all AIR off, and other stuff but nothing that would change anything. Another weird thing, when i put on my new headers and catless y, i didnt throw any lights? This was also when i removed my egr and AIR and cats. I took it that the guy with the car before me had an exhaust on and got the codes deleted and just took it off when he sold me the car. But who knows with this car. It had all these probelms before i put my exhaust on it so im almost 100% sure that has nothing to do with it.

Thanks, Scott.

[TommySS]

Fuses blow due to a short, and it sounds like some wires got pinched.

If turn signals work and then go dim, start looking for a grounding problem (or a corroded socket).

Don't increase the fuse capacity because you're not solving the problem, only delaying the electrical fire.

Anyway, start with the light sockets/connections and look for corrosion. Work your way back to places where wires may have gotten pinched or burned, and repair as needed.

Let us know how it goes

[ttocs]

Will do, ill do it this weekend. Thats also what the auto shop said they did, maybe ill have better luck... Its fine during the day, ive never had a problem with the lights off. Only prob i ever had was the 1 morning when it didnt start but as soon as i touched the battery it kicked on. I had thought maybe the turning signal lever had a bad connection or something?
But will that also cause my car to shut off and idle hard? I would have never thought that a badly grounded/pinched wire would be enough to shut down my car?

Oh yeah, driving to school today, and to the next town over to get ritas after school (80+ out right now, soooooo nice ) car was fine, not one prob.

[sunsetorangess]

I would say a wiring issue is present. As they said above it sounds like a ground that is sometimes making contact and if you moved your battery and it started then you might wana take off ur battery terminals and make sure there clean and check your body ground and also the wires going to your starter to make sure there good and clean and tight. Puttin a bigger fuse will just lead to bigger problems. If your ts switch is messed up it will not cause your car to die. For shits and giggles hook up a scan tool or get your car scanned for trouble codes. I would also get a carfax report on the car or contact the preveious owner to find out what all he had done to the car.
just my opin.
J

[ttocs]

I did carfax it before i bought it...Thats not where the prob is. And so much for doing that this weekend. My car is now sitting in a wallmart parking lot. Went there last night for some pong balls and when i came out it wouldent start. What a great way to start my weekend. I sat there over an hour trying to get it going, its done this before but it always started back up. The lights were being weird, on low beams they would be really dim and and the highs would have a slight light up to them. Then id flick around on the 1 wire and they would become fine. You know how your fuel pump turns on when click your key up? Well i wasnt getting that so there was my real problem---no fuel. I dont think its my fuel pump though, im pretty sure its messed up wiring somewhere. Im trying to find a ride up there now to see if it will start. Ive never once ahd a prob during the day, only at night. So im hoping i can atleast get it home to the garage and start on that today...

[bigrondownhiller]

have you looked at the wiring in the column? the car could have been stolen at some point and things got messed up. with all the problems you have coming from possiblly the same point i would start there. i had a problem with my 95 tahoe where the turn signal lights on the dash would stay lit and you could hear the flasher still going when off. i had to have the turn signal switch replaced and problem solved.

[sunsetorangess]

when you say it wont start does it try and turn over or just do nothing? If it turns then thats a diff story but if it just doesnt do anything check your battery and starter wires. Does your volt gage jump around when your having issues?

[ttocs]

when you say it wont start does it try and turn over or just do nothing? If it turns then thats a diff story but if it just doesnt do anything check your battery and starter wires. Does your volt gage jump around when your having issues?

I just got in from trying it out, no luck...It turns over fine, never had a prob with it not. Still no sound from the fuel pump. It was never stolen to my knowledge. The voltage meter never jumps around. BIGRONDOWNHILLER-I was told that before too. Once i get it back here ill start from there. But isnt there something about the airbag i have to worry about when taking that all apart? Thanks.

[bigrondownhiller]

if the battery is disconnected the airbag wont go off.

[GatorSS]

Sounds like a grounding issue that has multiplied into other problems, including damaging the VCM.

[ttocs]

Sounds like a grounding issue that has multiplied into other problems, including damaging the VCM.

What could it gave done to the VCM? Also, where do you think i should start as far as grounding goes. Grounding issue to what is what im trying to narrow down. Like what ground could couse all these problems. It would take days to check every signle ground so im trying to narrow some things down. Or atleast get some of the lower likely problem areas off to the side till last.

[Fedge]

+1 on checking the battery cables and terminals, the sockets for the turn sigs (I know mine are all effed up) and the grounds under the hood...oh and the steering column...

[oneBADDz]

The only places that could affect the different systems you are talkin g about would be a common ground, the steering column wiring and the BCM (which is located under the passenger side dash) check to make sure everything is plugged in good under the dash on the drivers side and at the BCM

[GatorSS]

What could it gave done to the VCM? Also, where do you think i should start as far as grounding goes. Grounding issue to what is what im trying to narrow down. Like what ground could couse all these problems. It would take days to check every signle ground so im trying to narrow some things down. Or atleast get some of the lower likely problem areas off to the side till last.

The same thing that power surges can do to any computer; they tax the components eventually causing some type of failure, whether it be a small intermittant one all the way to the other extreme of permanent failure. Unfortunately, we cannot give a simple answer because you have multiple symptoms and all we have to go on is your description. There is so much to check that there is no way we can tell you exactly where the problem is.

However, I have seen similar symptoms that made a friend almost pull his hair out and it turned out it was his VCM. What caused his VCM to go? I don't think he ever found out what caused the failure. Another friend had some similar issues (not as many as you) and it turned out to be a weak battery causing all his problems.

Sorry we can't be more help...I know you must feel like this =>

[ttocs]

Finally got the car home. Still no luck. The lights and things associated arent being screwy anymore (no weird dim green arrow, no partial highs being on, no low coolent light, horn has normal sound) but that was an on and off thing before anyway. Fuel pump still isnt turning on. Maybe i fried it? You would think it would have given signs of going though. I guess the only real way to find out is to get at it right? Unless i figure out its something else then im just going to cut an access hole to get at it. I did run out of gas a few weeks back but i would have thought it would have burnt up there and then, not a few weeks later... Keep the replys coming guys, every little bit of opinion/expertise helps. Thanks again!

[ttocs]

***UPDATE***

So i finally got my fuel pump changed...Well that wasnt it. Im not getting any power to the back. I have no idea what it could be. Someone before said my pcm? I really dont want to bring it to the shop cuz its going to cost me mucho $ but seems to be coming down to that. I looked up pcms on ebay and found some but they were for 99s and up. If it was my pcm what would cause that to go? And is it as simple as just replacing with a new one and id be good to go? Thanks

[sgt0704]

hey, you already paid the shop, and it's not fixed, take it back. make them do it.

[bigrondownhiller]

have you checked the pump relay? do you have a test light?