Thread: Lightning Strike

This is my first post so if I do anything wrong, please let me know.

On 09/02/14 my car was struck by lightning and I have been fighting with the dealership and insurance to get the car fixed.

So far the dealership has replaced the alternator and battery. The car runs and drives.

My current issues are:
-Shifts a little firmer than normal
-Cannot read PCM through OBD port
-DIC is flashing 0
-DIC doesn't show boost or performance shift mode
-TCS Off Light is on

A different DIC fixed the TCS Off light but it still flashes 0 and the TCS button doesn't toggle TCS.
A different computer can be read through the OBD port but doesn't fix the flashing DIC.

Any ideas what could be wrong guys? Thanks

Everything on the car worked before the lightning strike, all fuses looked good.

Typically when lightning hits a vehicle, you can guess that any control module in the car is now dead. PCM...probably toast. ABS module...probably toast.

Well the car wasn't hit directly and the lights on the dash for the ABS module aren't on. I agree that the pcm is trashed but the dealership doesn't. But even when I put a different pcm in that I could read the DIC still flashes. I tried a different DIC with a working PCM and it still flashes as well.

All fuses looked good to me, under the hood and in the car.

Haha not exactly what I wanted to hear but it is kinda what I expected. I don't think it fired any wires as it wasn't a direct strike, my car was within about 10 feet of the strike and doesn't show any markings.

Originally Posted by 99coupegtp

All fuses looked good to me, under the hood and in the car.

they look good or did you physically check them all?

Originally Posted by brugg125er

You should definitely make the insurance company pay to fix it or total it out. What happens if you get in an accident and the airbags do not deploy, or none of the other safety equipment works? You don't want to find out the hard way.

Yeah that would not be fun at all. They don't want to put a lot of money into my old car is basically what insurance said. It runs and drives so they're pretty happy with just that. I did get them to approve the stealership more time to diagnose my other issues.

Originally Posted by Jomamma

How do you know it got hit by lightning? That would be hard to prove also.

I parked the car at my mom's house in perfectly running condition. While I was inside the house near the front door lightning struck a tree outside the front door which also hit the house because some smoke came in the front door from the top. My car was next to the tree that was hit and would not start afterwards. Killed the battery, alternator(which caught fire at the dealership), DIC, ICM, and possibly the PCM.

Originally Posted by camopaint0707

they look good or did you physically check them all?

I pulled almost every one of them and inspected them visually. Unfortunately I did not have my multimeter with me to test them.

Finally got the fools at the dealership to agree the PCM was bad. I told them two weeks ago it was. I was also assured earlier this week that they checked it.

Alright, so I have my car back and it runs and drives with minor issues. I doubt anyone will see this as this post is old but I have a few other questions.

I have replaced my PCM and had it reprogrammed with my old tune. It can now be read through the OBD port and the car shifts normally as well.

Issues:
The DIC still flashes 0's.
The CJ2 climate control unit is throwing a UART Serial Data Line Fault code (07).
The PCM is throwing three fault codes. P0172, P1133, P1571. (One of these is the ABS module.)


It seems as though neither the DIC nor the CJ2 module can communicate with the PCM, assuming both of them actually do. Is there a module between them and the PCM? I have tried another DIC and still had the same issue. I have also tried 2 other CJ2 modules which also had the same issue.

I know most people have said to just scrap the car but I have put too much time into this car and love it too much. It has never given me any issues that I haven't caused with upgrades lol. It's in too great of shape to just trash as well. That being said, please don't comment saying the car should be scrapped, please give suggestions on what to try to fix the issue.

The EBCM is dead...AKA ABS module. When you access the ABS module for data, the DIC flashes...I know this for a fact. If the ABS module goes down, it's gonna make the DIC blink.

Originally Posted by Sven The Sexman

The EBCM is dead...AKA ABS module. When you access the ABS module for data, the DIC flashes...I know this for a fact. If the ABS module goes down, it's gonna make the DIC blink.

Really? I drove the car without one for a while and the DIC worked. I figured my EBCM was trashed since traction control doesnt work. ABS still works though, I've confirmed that. Thanks a ton, I'll try a replacement when I get the chance.

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0172 o2 or vac leak

http://engine-codes.com/p1133_pontiac.html o2 h02

http://engine-codes.com/p1571_gmc.html ecbm maybe fried.


i still want to know why insurance is not fixing this. its there job to make sure your made whole again.

They basically said they don't want to dump money into a car this old even though it looks great and drives perfectly. They wanted to total it but we weren't accepting that. Thanks for your help