Key turn does nothing and does not start car

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MFerguson

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My grand am has had its fair share of hard to diagnose electrical problems.

Usually I've been able to easily find some record of others having this issue but not this time.

Issue is when I insert the key and turn, nothing happens; No crank noise, no headlights or beeping noises.

There are a few clues which may indicate what is wrong...

1. The power locks on the door do not function, neither does the key FOB.
2. The speedometer & RPM gauge needles on the dashboard are "floating", slowly jumping around to random values, even before inserting the key into the ignition cylinder.
3. I recently replaced the blinker switch assembly that is attached to the steering wheel, possible that some of the wires coming from these connectors got pinched somehow and created a short.

Obviously it might seem like the battery is the issue, but that was the first thing I replaced and inserting a brand new battery did not fix the problem.

Either way my grand am is currently at the dealership, as they are usually the only ones able to fix these weird electrical problems with Pontiacs.

If anyone has had an issue like this happen to them before please do let me know so I might pass it on to them to expedite the repair.

I will be posting an update after they fix my vehicle on what the resolution ends up being.
 
Battery cables, fuse box corrosion, without testing hard to say.
 
Did you check all the fuses?

Ignition switch?

I'd remove the ignition switch connector and jump out power to the ignition wires to see if the car powers up. If so then you need a new ignition switch.
 
Dealership reported that there was a key off power drain condition on the battery.

They determined that the Body Control Module (BCM) was not going to sleep when the car was turned off and draining the battery completely.

The BCM was replaced and security system reprogrammed and now my car is back to working order :^)
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Thanks for the feedback. Good to know BCM is still available.
 
Yup, parasitic drain on the battery, it's fairly common and most techs don't look for them. Sometimes have to wait upwards of an hour for the computers to go into their sleep mode drop the quiescent current down. Most cars should not have more than 20-30mA of quiescent current during sleep mode. It's a simple test too, just place ammeter in series with battery and watch it for a few hours to see if it drops down to sleep mode. If not then pull fuses until you find the circuit that has the parasitic drain.

Glad you got it straightened out. There is another member here that may have the same issue but I'm not sure if he has tested the sleep mode battery current draw yet. I'll link this thread to that one so he can read about the solution.
 
Why could you not put a switch in line to the BCM fuse to shut the power drain of the BCM off when you shut the car down? i removed the battery cable and with everything off i found that it sparked and showed over 11 volt drain. I pulled all the fuses one by one and found that the BCM fuse was draining the battery and that is why i felt you could inline a switch to the fuse via the power wire to the BCM to keep the BCM in sleep mode all the time until ready to wake it up with the switch. Will this work?
Prior to all of this i had a no crank at all. Manually and relay i could get the starter to crank but not from the key. I have fuel pressure from the start position of the key when i turn it all the way to start. No crank, not even a sound. Has anyone ever had this to happen? if so, please send that info my way as i am working to help my daughter out to get her a car for her work.
 
MFerguson said:
My grand am has had its fair share of hard to diagnose electrical problems.

Usually I've been able to easily find some record of others having this issue but not this time.

Issue is when I insert the key and turn, nothing happens; No crank noise, no headlights or beeping noises.

There are a few clues which may indicate what is wrong...

1. The power locks on the door do not function, neither does the key FOB.
2. The speedometer & RPM gauge needles on the dashboard are "floating", slowly jumping around to random values, even before inserting the key into the ignition cylinder.
3. I recently replaced the blinker switch assembly that is attached to the steering wheel, possible that some of the wires coming from these connectors got pinched somehow and created a short.

Obviously it might seem like the battery is the issue, but that was the first thing I replaced and inserting a brand new battery did not fix the problem.

Either way my grand am is currently at the dealership, as they are usually the only ones able to fix these weird electrical problems with Pontiacs.

If anyone has had an issue like this happen to them before please do let me know so I might pass it on to them to expedite the repair.

I will be posting an update after they fix my vehicle on what the resolution ends up being.
Click to expand...
I had no crank from the key switch when turned to start but i found that the small yellow wire at the PCM had been cut so i tied it and then i had it to crank on start key position but i have no spark at the plugs so i have to dig some more.
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MFerguson said:
Dealership reported that there was a key off power drain condition on the battery.

They determined that the Body Control Module (BCM) was not going to sleep when the car was turned off and draining the battery completely.

The BCM was replaced and security system reprogrammed and now my car is back to working order :^)
Click to expand...
Did you ever find out why the BCM never slept and ran down your battery? I am sure it must be a bleed resister on a one way diode.
 
Floyd1000 said:
Did you ever find out why the BCM never slept and ran down your battery? I am sure it must be a bleed resister on a one way diode.
Click to expand...
Dealer isn't going to open up a BCM to determine the cause.
 
omologato said:
Did you check all the fuses?

Ignition switch?

I'd remove the ignition switch connector and jump out power to the ignition wires to see if the car powers up. If so then you need a new ignition switch.
Click to expand...
Which wires on the switch will power up the engine? which color on it?
 
G-40367 said:
Which wires on the switch will power up the engine? which color on it?
Click to expand...
Omologoto posted the question to the original creator of this thread. It appears Floyd1000 has also posted questions. Now a guest is asking a question to make this thread more confusing. I think a new thread is needed.
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