Thread: Is it an electrical nightmare?

Could very well be a bad ignition switch... as far as one going out and then the other, not sure...

I'm guessing you have a short somewhere.

check your grounds...my brothers old gp would have intermittent starting problems cuz of a bad ground.

sounds like a bad ground. check your battery, check your bulbs by ohm'ing through them.

Thanks for the replies guys. So consensus is a bad ground, is their a series of test I should do?

I will start by checking the battery but where should I go from their?

I did notice the autolights turning on and off when I did first get it? As in when the light outside was dim enough the lights normally kick on, but mine kicked on and off all day long? I do live in Seattle where lately its been very dark and gray outside so I chalked it up to that but if that info makes a difference im not sure?

cloudy conditions can do it...mine do it too....theyll randomaly turn on and off on cloudy days.

let us know what you find. overcast turns my lights off and on quite frequently too.

check and clean any grounds you find....i'd use some sandpaper...IMO finer grit works better for this kind of thing.

i'd pull the battery terminals first...clean them with a wire brush. I could BARELY see any battery acid on my terminals one day and my car wouldn't even start!!! cleaned them no issues...

Also don't forget to check your connectors sometimes some cars have corriosion issues inside of those, electrical contact cleaner is handy and won't hurt a bit...

ya grounds are usually black...there's usually quite a bit of them...what i would do is pop out your headlights and then trace the wires...youve got to fidn a ground somewhere.

I know on my 97 theres a ground on the front of the radiator support more toward the driver side.

Originally Posted by h0wl0ngcanitbe

@ 4THGENCAMAROFAN

So I am assuming by cleaning any grounds I see, ya mean that any black wires screwed to metal parts I should check out and clear? Cause I am seeing quite a few.

@ offroadfurry6

So even a slightly corroded battery ground could wig out a specific component while the rest of the car still works?

I am goin to hit both of these issues tonight and let ya guys know how it turns out thanks again and keep the thoughts comin!

with Eletricity...Anything can happen...ANYTHING...dude I had Full HID's and interior lights were working feriously but wouldn't start...nothing...cleaned the ground and fired right up...Eletrical components are funky, it can cause some weird effects...not saying ur issue is the ground...but cleaning the terminals is tooooooo easy and is a great place to start...no fix? move on to the other guys, find the headlight ground on the chasis somewhere, make sure it's making a solid connection, that means no grease or dirt/grime under or around it...

Gm released a TSB for certain '97 models that had to sensitive of a sensor. I don't recall what the fix was, but I'm sure it is floating around somewhere in cyberspace.