Genopsyde Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Hello, just looking for ideas and suggestions right now. I have a 1994 CS with the 3100. It had been sitting in storage since October and I had to pull it out to drive because my truck is down for repairs. The battery had gone dead from sitting which I expected. I was able to jump start to get it running, but when I was driving it out of the storage lot the completely died. No power, no lights on the dash or anything. I jumped it again and got it home and it ran fine without anymore problems. From there I put the battery on the charger for a few hours to get it back up to full power. I then started it up and it ran perfectly fine, so I back out of the driveway and when I shifted from reverse to drive, it died out again. I still had dash lights, but my dad said the headlights went completely out. It started right back up and ran fine for the 15+ mile drive back to my house. The next day (yesterday) it started up fine and I drove it back to my dads house, and then back to my house a couple hours later. Then about 6 hours later I go to start it up and it won't start. I got all dash lights and everything like normal, just no start. I could hear a faint click, but no starter engaging. I figured the battery didn't have enuff power to turn the starter. Now today, over 12 hours later, I decided to try again for the hell of it, and it fires right up like nothing was ever wrong. Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to give a complete background of the situation to avoid any confusion. So before I got spending money on random things, does anyone have any experience with any issues like this. The 2 things that come to my mind is a possible VATS/Passkey malfunction, or simply needing to clean/replace battery cables. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34duck Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 check battery connections to be sure they are tight and clean at all points like at the starter and the big aux post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 If there was a VATS issue doesn't it blink "securit" or something like that? Could be a weak battery, dirty or loose connections, or something else like an intermittent draw with the key off...that'd be last resort though. Try checking terminals like mentioned above. If it still happens get the battery tested. If it has been sitting discharged if could be screwed up (sulfated). You should also check your voltage when the car is running. Use a voltmeter at the battery and you should see 14.4volts..if not your charging system isn't working properly and the battery isn't charging. I'm not sure why the car would stall after it was boosted other then the battery was still dead and the alternator isn't charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93cutty Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 When I left for Iraq my 97 TA was left in storage with the battery in for almost a year. When I got home I had to jump it and when it started it ran really poor and died a couple times until I got the battery back up to charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genopsyde Posted January 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thanks for the replies. I'm going to change the battery cables first since they're probably the originals. As for the security lights, there isn't one anymore since I put the UB3 cluster in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 i used the shift light for te security light and the blank socket for the airbag. worked perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCRagtopguy Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 First off, clean the cables up really good, as you said you would. Check all connections for corrosion from sitting, etc. Perhaps the battery is borderline on holding a charge. Get a voltmeter and check your voltage on the battery when it is sitting. Do it again later on, see if it is losing voltage. I've seen batteries that were borderline on holding a charge and drove me nuts until I replaced the thing. That would be my next step. Also, did you know that you can overload the alternator diodes by jump starting it then removing the jumper cables and running solely off the alternator with a severely undercharged battery? I'd check the charging voltage from the alternator also, should be around 14V with it running. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Make sure your aux post is tight and clean as well. That causes a lot of these types of problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genopsyde Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 well so far it has been starting an running without incident. I haven't done anything to it yet due to the lovely n.e. ohio weather. once the weather breaks i'm going to change out all the stuff mentioned, battery, cables, starter, and alternator. all those parts seem to be the originals and even if they still work fine, they're probably tired and getting ready to quit anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SigEpCutlass Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 What you are describing to me sounds like a passkey issue my '94 CS had right after I got it. I got rid of the problem by using the spare key I had & then getting a new key from my local GM dealer. I haven't had the problem since then and it's almost 75,000 miles later. I would still check the battery cables though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genopsyde Posted May 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 I know this is old, but the problem was found and I wanted to get the info out there for anyone else that experiences a problem like this. The connection to the aux post from the battery was loose. that was it, literally that simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 I know this is old, but the problem was found and I wanted to get the info out there for anyone else that experiences a problem like this. The connection to the aux post from the battery was loose. that was it, literally that simple. I knew it would be this when I saw it. pity I missed this thread first time around. as for the security and airbag light.... you need to add those to your cluster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genopsyde Posted May 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 well the car is sold now, so it's his problem now. lol. I should have kept the car, it's not like I needed to sell it either. this guy has destroyed this poor car piece by piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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