V1 #180, SpeedHacks City, 06' SS, Take 2

[jaredthenav]

The gray wire there went to the taped union. Is that wire needed (for the info buttons, I mean)? I think Lonny said to keep the green white stripe and pink wires... Both go to the cluster plug.

 

[Rttoys]

I think it need to be kept. Hell, extend it to the cluster, when you wire it up, you’ll know if you need it or not.

 

[speedhacks]

Yep. The other connector is for the “info” buttons. These will go to the gage panel buttons if you got that.

You're awesome. Thank you!

 

[speedhacks]

I kept the grey wire with the spliced union, but not totally sure it's needed.

 

[speedhacks]

An emotional day but I'll figure it out. Got the wiring harness laid into the car so I could test fire it up. Turn switch on, fuel pump primes, turn starter on, gauge cluster turns off and reboots basically. Nothing happens. Starter does not engage. I did the wait 10 minute thing. Didn't make a difference.

I continue looking at fuses in the fuse box and BCM. Figure out that a fuse is missing on the circuit for HVAC/IG in the BCM. Plug 10A fuse in there, starter comes to life. Smell of gas in the exhaust. No fire. Try again. Nothing. I start to hit the accelerator pedal and whoosh. Car stops trying to start. Relays are clicking but nothing.

I think maybe I killed the battery.

I try to charge it and I hear the relays in the BCM and the fuse box clicking in weird patterns - like it has a dead battery.

I find and try a new battery. I hear a HARD click and nothing. It then also starts not wanting to try or even run ACC. I'm wondering if maybe the starter solenoid is shorted internally and I just got lucky. Or something else is shorted (which could be real difficult to find. I'm going to replace the starter and do some new grounds. They're all really rusted and corroded. I got my battery unhooked and charging. Intermittent issues are always the worst!

I've got the battery connected to the starter. The starter then runs to the fuse box. There's a connection for the alternator in there somewhere (I think off the starter).

 

[speedhacks]

And yes I know the axles are totally f'd. Lol

Find the missing 10A fuse I know where it is....

 

[Rttoys]

I can find it

 

[speedhacks]

I also discovered that the starter is intermittently engaging but then not disengaging... Which is really bad for a multitude of reasons. Mainly being that it creates a short and is horrible for the battery. New one on order.

I figured that out by turning the engine by hand (because I was worried something was making the engine locked and not turning over). Turns out you could hear the starter gear turning against the flywheel. It eventually disengaged and the motor spun freely. Fun times.

Does the O2 sensor need plugged in for the motor to fire? With the long tube headers I have from the donor previous owner must have had an extension cable on them because there's no way it reaches back to the engine harness.

 

[Ross]

The O2 sensor shouldn't matter for the motor to fire. (unless it throws a check engine light)
It is used after the engine is running, to adjust the fuel mixture, and record the fuel trims.

 

[Rttoys]

The cobalt has “auto start”. So just a tap of the key and it will crank on its own until it starts. It could be doing a long crank because it’s not starting properly.

ho2s won’t keep it from starting.

 

[speedhacks]

The cobalt has “auto start”. So just a tap of the key and it will crank on its own until it starts. It could be doing a long crank because it’s not starting properly.

ho2s won’t keep it from starting.

This is good to know (it's not hooked up). Tonight I removed the old starter and freshened up the wiring between the fuse box and starter. New starter should be here Saturday.

 

[Rttoys]

Woof. Ya clean up those terminals on the starter and add some dielectrics grease when you install it.

 

[speedhacks]

It was bad!

 

[Rttoys]

Coming from somewhere where we never see rust, that’s like been in the bottom of the Gulf for years, type bad.

 

[Vwsaabvt]

Coming from somewhere where we never see rust, that’s like been in the bottom of the Gulf for years, type bad.

pffft, that thing looks almost new. That's not very rusty there are still flakes of paint on it.

 

[speedhacks]

While I'm waiting on my new starter, I worked on wrapping some of the aluminum panels for the firewall. Going to do the same to the floor pan. Really happy with the way it looks. Whether it holds up or not being so close to the engine

 

[Ross]

Should be fine. Things don't get too hot on the intake side that faces the firewall.

 

[speedhacks]

New starter works like a champ. No issues with it sticking engaged. However still no start. Fuel no ignition. I start looking at the coil on plug cable and what do you know, it's not plugged into the right area. Swap the connectors and BAM. The neighborhood is awake.

 

[speedhacks]

 

[Rttoys]