electrical problems

[harry2967]

over the past weekend my 1999 seville went haywire for some unknown reason! my a/c shutdown, radio only flashes, will not play unless car is not running!! also no power windows unless car is not running! abs indicator comes on, air bag indicator comes! does this sound familiar to someone if so please let me know what course of action should I take or what faulty component is the culprit? Thanks

[JimD]

There will be a clue or two stored in your trouble codes (DTCs). Here's how to display them

http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html

Loose, dirty, corroded battery cables can cause unpredicatble problems.

Any unusual driving conditions just before your problems started showing up?

[harry2967]

There will be a clue or two stored in your trouble codes (DTCs). Here's how to display them

<a href="http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html" target="_blank">http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html</a>

Loose, dirty, corroded battery cables can cause unpredicatble problems.

Any unusual driving conditions just before your problems started showing up?

[harry2967]

I disconnected the battery for one hour, but no dice!!! As far as codes, just about every code for the car popped up!! I know for sure there is nothing wrong with abs, air bag, or a/c, windows because I had no problems before the weekend!! could it be a modulator or relay or SOMETHING?

[BodybyFisher]

I disconnected the battery for one hour, but no dice!!! As far as codes, just about every code for the car popped up!! I know for sure there is nothing wrong with abs, air bag, or a/c, windows because I had no problems before the weekend!! could it be a modulator or relay or SOMETHING?

As JimD said, if you have a bad connection at the battery you will set RANDOM codes due to poor or intermittant current. The INTERIOR of the positive cable under the red insulator gets corroded you do not see it until you take it apart.

Disconnecting the battery cable will only temporarily delete the codes, you need to CLEAN the battery cables, especially the positive cable take it apart there are multiple cables in there.

You NEED to retrieve the codes in order to know what is wrong, clean the cables first, make sure they are tight, drive the car and IF something is wrong codes will set. Multiple random codes will show with bad or intermittant power. Don't overlook that your battery could be on its last leg.

This sounds like classic battery or battery cable connection problems

[winterset]

Did you go thru any deep puddles recently, or take you car thru a carwash or undercarriage cleaning with high pressure water? - this can also be moisture in your fuse manel under the hood or behind the back seat. - also can be the corrosion under the fuse panel. - you might want to inspect.

[BodybyFisher]

Did you go thru any deep puddles recently, or take you car thru a carwash or undercarriage cleaning with high pressure water? - this can also be moisture in your fuse manel under the hood or behind the back seat. - also can be the corrosion under the fuse panel. - you might want to inspect.

True. It would be interesting to research what systems are failing to see if they have a common point of power or ground. Something tells me that the ABS would be all by its lonesome, but its worth a look at failure commonality

[navion]

Did you go thru any deep puddles recently, or take you car thru a carwash or undercarriage cleaning with high pressure water? - this can also be moisture in your fuse manel under the hood or behind the back seat. - also can be the corrosion under the fuse panel. - you might want to inspect.

True. It would be interesting to research what systems are failing to see if they have a common point of power or ground. Something tells me that the ABS would be all by its lonesome, but its worth a look at failure commonality

I had a recent education on a similar problem in my "03 SLS.

I would get all kinds of warnings for no reason. I found the problem at the underseat fuse & relay center that is next to the battery.

In my case, the main power wire from the battery positive to the fuse & relay center was loose at the connection to the centers buss bar.

Any place that there is a main power connection could be the cause of your problem. I would look specifically for loose, corroded or overtemped connections. Don't forget the hot wire from the alternator or the fuse & relay center that is under the hood.

The fact that you are getting all these codes at once and the fact that the trouble manifested its self at once leads me to think that it has a common source.

In my instance, simply tightening the loose cable eliminated the problem.

Don't overlook the battery ground or engine bonding straps.

Good Luck,

Britt