MY CAR WON'T START
My car won’t start. And it’s not the battery or a loose wire or something real simple, like some smart guy will try to tell me! It’s MUCH more complicated than that. Let me start in the beginning:
I was talking with the service manager at the dealership where I bought my car a few years ago (yep, I’m still driving it, as it’s PAID FOR and it still runs good, most of the time). It’s a 1999 Cadillac, and many young people think I’m ancient, but I really don’t care what they think. Anyway, the service manager pointed out that the ignition key has a computer chip on it, which somehow prevents someone from starting the car with another key, I guess. He said that computer chip gets dirty, and all we need to do is to wipe it off occasionally. Kind of like the sensor on my garage door opener that got dirty one day a few months ago, and I called the garage door repair folks who came out last year, and they said to just wipe off the little "eye" on the sensor down at the concrete floor, as it gets dirty, too! Amazing stuff! We're TOO DEPENDENT on our technology, and when it goes kerfluey, it really messes things up!
I was reading in an Internet Forum about auto CD Players not playing CD’s (like mine lately; wonder if it’s related to the alternator and battery problems?): Folks with certain vehicles (Dodge Caravan, mostly) who can’t get sliding doors or back-door lift-gates to stay open or shut, can’t get other doors to lock or unlock, and such; one good solution is to find a certain fuse (under the hood), take it out, wait 5-15 seconds and put it back in! Saves them a repair bill of $85-750, depending on the dealer! They figured out that the dealers probably do the same thing, then charge the customer $85 to “diagnose the problem,” and as high as $750 to “replace a motor” (or “modulator” or some such), and those doors don’t have a “motor” or “modulator!” Some paid lotsa $$$ to “upgrade the software,” “reset the flash (whatever that is),” unplug the battery and plug it back in, install “a door lock actuator,” and\or re-program the BCM (Body Control Module). Any Dodge Dealership can do it - $91.00, and such.
One gal says: “I don't know crap about cars and husband is in deployed Iraq...HELP!!”
Another gal says: “I went to the dealership today and they wanted $89 just for a diagnosis.”
Another fellow says: “2005 Dodge Caravan. Same story with door locks. They just stopped working. Nothing in the manual. Called the Dealer twice. They wouldn't let a technician on the phone to talk about the issue. They wanted the car in for service. Tried the fuse pull and it worked!”
Another one says: “I pulled out the fuse, replaced it and now the door locks work, woohooo! Now, I should go back to the dealer and get my money back. They charged me $90 to tell me that it was an electrical issue with a component, and if I wanted it fixed, it would cost be an additional $350 to replace. However, the dealer is no longer in business, hmmmm, I wonder why...”
Another said: “For those of you who have problems with the door locks not locking at 19 mph try this. Insert the key, turn the key to “ON” 4 times WITHOUT starting the car, after the fourth time push down the lock button on the door. You may or should hear a chime/beep. Take a quick drive and see if it worked. You can also disable this feature in the same way. I did this last night and both enable and disable worked. It was in the owners manual.”
Another said: “I have two small children and I'm driving around with unlocked doors. I feel that is a safety issue and any freak off the street could walk up and get in my unlocked vehicle. I'll never buy a Dodge again.”
Another said: “This is a serious matter. How would you like for your wife to return to her van, thinking it was locked, to find someone inside waiting for her? Also she could be hurrying to get away from somebody following her to find her remote won't unlock the doors.”
My Story: I had a similar problem on the Burgundy 69 Chrysler (who also makes the above Dodges). A fuse kept blowing, shutting down the air conditioning system; and I’d take it to the nearest gas station when I was on the road. It was a 15¢ item back then, probably $3.99 now! Finally, one day I was in a dealership (I don’t even know if it was a Chrysler dealership - I think it was a Buick dealership, come to think of it) and the service manager said he would put in a circuit breaker in place of the fuse, as my air conditioner was always shutting down when the little fuse blew, and the technicians had to get under the steering wheel to fix it. The circuit breaker worked just like the ones they’re installing in houses now-a-days; when it tripped, you just waited a few minutes, then tripped it back! With my Chrysler, I waited until I was so hot I thought I was gonna fry, then I tripped the circuit breaker (I think I had to pull over to the side of the road and get under the steering wheel - not the hood, but it wasn’t difficult to do), and my air conditioner would come back on again! Sometimes it would trip quite a few times on a longer vacation or business trip, but it was still better than having to go hunt up somebody who knew a little something about it and WAS WILLING to take the time to look into it for me! I think they charged me $1.50 - $3.00 for the circuit breaker + instructions on where it was and what to do! Keep this in mind, as you can save yourself some BIG $$$ in repair bills with something simple like this! Also, you can enter into Google: “Forum - whatever” and it will find lotsa good FREE information on what to do, similar problems others are having, and such!
I got on some forums one night, and apparently others are having similar problems with GM products not starting, including Cadillacs, but not limited to Cadillacs, as it has happened with their whole line from Chevrolets thru Pontiacs and Buicks, up to Oldsmobiles and whatever else they’re making now-a-days. It seems that this is possibly involved with their anti-theft system and the way it is set up with the ignition key as the culprit! I hadn’t thought very much about it, except that the repair shop fellow mentioned that it might be an ignition switch (he didn’t quote me a price, but I’ll bet the cost of replacing it would be a LOT MORE than the cost of a NEW KEY)! Of course, the repair people don’t make any $$$ by selling KEYS! They do make plenty of $$$ (to be able to keep those expensive buildings open and all those mechanics working), however, by selling things like alternators, batteries, cable-cleaning services, ignition switches, hooking it up to a “computer” device to read all the signals and supposedly tell us what’s wrong, and such, ad nauseam!
Most of the fellows in the forums are “tinkerers,” “shade-tree mechanics,” and such, and many of them had already spent HUNDREDS and even THOUSANDS of $$$ on things that didn’t work or correct the problem, like alternators, batteries, cable-cleaning services... Anyway, the general gist of the forums was that these keys are special-made, with a little “tab” on ‘em that the “computer” reads, and if the “tab” gets dirty or worn, the “computer” can’t read ‘em and thinks someone is trying to steal the car, so it locks everything up real good! That’s what’s been happening to me. Granted that I probably did need an alternator and a battery, which I bought before I began researching the problem on the Internet forums, but anything else is totally UNNECESSARY until one gets to the bottom of the problem! Of course, many mechanics probably know this, but, like I mentioned above, they don’t make any $$$ out of selling KEYS - they DO make PLENTY of $$$ out of “stringing the customer along,” however, by selling them one item each time they bring the car in, like an alternator the first week, a cable-cleaning service the second week, a battery the third week... Well, you get the picture!
What really got me to thinking about this was that I remembered that I keep the “real” key in my left pocket, the one that looks like it came with the car when it was new (I bought the car in 2001 or so, with 40-50,000 miles or so on it)! The “every-day” key that I have been using, I keep in my right pocket (and it looks like it was made at WalMart, on a blank key with the Cadillac logo\image), so I can just reach in and get it, unlock the car, and start it up and go! When I leave the car for servicing of any kind, even an oil change, I take the “real” key off that key-ring in my left pocket and leave it with the car, so that others don’t ALSO have my house-key, as well as other keys to things they don’t need (when I had a lockbox, I kept a lockbox key there, too, so that if I locked my keys inside the car, or if I lost my keys, they would probably be the ones in my right pocket, not the ones in my left pocket)! I’ve got the “real” key to the car set up on a much smaller key-ring that I can unhook real easily without having to pull out a knife and/or BREAK A FINGERNAIL! So, that’s the one I left with the car the last 3-4 times I had it towed due to the fact that it wouldn’t start. Of course, the “real” key wasn’t used enough to be worn, it probably had the “eye” working on it, and when the service fellow put it in the car, it started right up! That’s why he said that he couldn’t get it to happen, so he could diagnose it! One solution is to clean the key that is used every day; another solution is to go to a dealer and buy a new key!
Many of the fellows in the forums said it happened after they had been driving a while, just like mine did! They said they would stop the engine, get out, lock the car, go take care of some other business (like I did at the church, the Post Office, the chiropractor, and such), then when they got back in their car, it wouldn’t start! Just like mine did! In addition, some of ‘em said the battery in the little “gizmo” on the key-ring was dead, so they opened the car with a regular key, which is exactly like mine did, too! I’ve been thinking about replacing that battery in the “gizmo” for at least 6 months, but it’s like the battery in my pocket-watch: it’s another $3-4 hassle where I have to stop at that particular counter at WalMart, and I’m usually in there on Sunday, and I’m interested in getting home as soon as possible, so I won’t be away from my doggies any longer (I’ve already been away from ‘em for 3-4 hours or so), so I just tell myself that I’ll take care of it some other time!
Some of the fellows in the forums said it might be a little wire that runs up the inside of the steering column, and there was advice about how to replace it, which MIGHT de-activate the security system, so that one’s insurance company would have justification for denying a claim in case the car got stolen! I don’t think that’s what the problem is, anyway; I think it’s related to the “eye” on the “real” key! Also to the security system! Next time it happens, I’ll switch keys and see if it’ll start. That’s what some of the fellows in the forums suggest, too! They also say that the key can be jiggled, the steering wheel can be pulled to the right and left real hard, and such, which might help to get the key out, if it gets stuck - mine was never stuck, as I had been driving it for a while, I stopped, I got out, and this last time I realized that I hadn’t set the emergency brake, so I got back in, inserted the key, and put the car in neutral to test if the brake was set on the hill! When I did this, I tried to start it, just like a thief might do, the security system said NO, and locked it all up! It stayed that way for 24-48 hours at least, as I tried it later that Sunday night, and I tried it again on Monday afternoon and Monday night when the tow truck came. The battery must have been down in the process, as the tow truck fellow said no lights came on when he got into the car, and I later found that all the “stuff” on the gauges had been reset, except the mileage and the % of oil life left! I even had to reset the clock!
So, I stayed home today - I’ve got NO CAR PROBLEMS when it stays in the garage! But, keep in mind, the mechanics and dealerships who have those real big new buildings with lotsa mechanics and others working there, who have a LARGE overhead to pay each month! Remember this, when you have some minor car problems, and don’t let them escalate into MAJOR CAR PROBLEMS with major PRICE TAGS to match! Why should he sell you a key and make $3 - $5, when he can sell you something else and make a few HUNDRED $$$ ? Don’t you think many of these folks also know about the “car lockout security system problem” and the “keys with the glass eye?” Before you spend $$$ that you don’t have, or put it on a credit card and worry about it “later,” check the Internet by “Googling” something like “forum: car won’t start” or something similar. You’ll be surprised how some of these problems can be solved with little or no $$$ involved!
Kinda like the idiot light that comes on and says “service engine soon!” My car has one of those, too. I was driving my parents’ car over to Memphis a number of years ago, so they could go to an eye surgeon they had been using. On the way back home, the idiot light came on. My father, who knew about as little about cars as I do, got all upset, thinking the engine was gonna blow up! He convinced me to stop at a pay phone (remember those? You can’t hardly find ‘em any more, now, as they say that the vandals “did ‘em in” and they took ‘em all out). I called a local GM dealer (I think we were in a Pontiac or Buick), who wanted to make an IMMEDIATE appointment for me to come in and have the car checked over. Smelling a mouse, I went on down the Interstate a few miles to the next exit, and stopped at a service station. Some “good-old-boy” came out to greet me, and I told him about the light that came on, saying “service engine soon.” He laughed, and said that it was an idiot light, set to come on every so-many-thousand miles, so people would go into a shop somewhere and get their car serviced. He said he could unhook it, if we wanted him to. My father didn’t want it unhooked, and we thanked him and drove on home! Here was an honest man, as he could have had us to pull into his service bay and charged us a whole bunch of $$$ for something-or-other, but instead, he chose to tell us the truth and make nothing for his time! Most of ‘em aren’t like that, unfortunately!
I was talking with the service manager at the dealership where I bought my car a few years ago (yep, I’m still driving it, as it’s PAID FOR and it still runs good, most of the time). It’s a 1999 Cadillac, and many young people think I’m ancient, but I really don’t care what they think. Anyway, the service manager pointed out that the ignition key has a computer chip on it, which somehow prevents someone from starting the car with another key, I guess. He said that computer chip gets dirty, and all we need to do is to wipe it off occasionally. Kind of like the sensor on my garage door opener that got dirty one day a few months ago, and I called the garage door repair folks who came out last year, and they said to just wipe off the little "eye" on the sensor down at the concrete floor, as it gets dirty, too! Amazing stuff! We're TOO DEPENDENT on our technology, and when it goes kerfluey, it really messes things up!
I was reading in an Internet Forum about auto CD Players not playing CD’s (like mine lately; wonder if it’s related to the alternator and battery problems?): Folks with certain vehicles (Dodge Caravan, mostly) who can’t get sliding doors or back-door lift-gates to stay open or shut, can’t get other doors to lock or unlock, and such; one good solution is to find a certain fuse (under the hood), take it out, wait 5-15 seconds and put it back in! Saves them a repair bill of $85-750, depending on the dealer! They figured out that the dealers probably do the same thing, then charge the customer $85 to “diagnose the problem,” and as high as $750 to “replace a motor” (or “modulator” or some such), and those doors don’t have a “motor” or “modulator!” Some paid lotsa $$$ to “upgrade the software,” “reset the flash (whatever that is),” unplug the battery and plug it back in, install “a door lock actuator,” and\or re-program the BCM (Body Control Module). Any Dodge Dealership can do it - $91.00, and such.
One gal says: “I don't know crap about cars and husband is in deployed Iraq...HELP!!”
Another gal says: “I went to the dealership today and they wanted $89 just for a diagnosis.”
Another fellow says: “2005 Dodge Caravan. Same story with door locks. They just stopped working. Nothing in the manual. Called the Dealer twice. They wouldn't let a technician on the phone to talk about the issue. They wanted the car in for service. Tried the fuse pull and it worked!”
Another one says: “I pulled out the fuse, replaced it and now the door locks work, woohooo! Now, I should go back to the dealer and get my money back. They charged me $90 to tell me that it was an electrical issue with a component, and if I wanted it fixed, it would cost be an additional $350 to replace. However, the dealer is no longer in business, hmmmm, I wonder why...”
Another said: “For those of you who have problems with the door locks not locking at 19 mph try this. Insert the key, turn the key to “ON” 4 times WITHOUT starting the car, after the fourth time push down the lock button on the door. You may or should hear a chime/beep. Take a quick drive and see if it worked. You can also disable this feature in the same way. I did this last night and both enable and disable worked. It was in the owners manual.”
Another said: “I have two small children and I'm driving around with unlocked doors. I feel that is a safety issue and any freak off the street could walk up and get in my unlocked vehicle. I'll never buy a Dodge again.”
Another said: “This is a serious matter. How would you like for your wife to return to her van, thinking it was locked, to find someone inside waiting for her? Also she could be hurrying to get away from somebody following her to find her remote won't unlock the doors.”
My Story: I had a similar problem on the Burgundy 69 Chrysler (who also makes the above Dodges). A fuse kept blowing, shutting down the air conditioning system; and I’d take it to the nearest gas station when I was on the road. It was a 15¢ item back then, probably $3.99 now! Finally, one day I was in a dealership (I don’t even know if it was a Chrysler dealership - I think it was a Buick dealership, come to think of it) and the service manager said he would put in a circuit breaker in place of the fuse, as my air conditioner was always shutting down when the little fuse blew, and the technicians had to get under the steering wheel to fix it. The circuit breaker worked just like the ones they’re installing in houses now-a-days; when it tripped, you just waited a few minutes, then tripped it back! With my Chrysler, I waited until I was so hot I thought I was gonna fry, then I tripped the circuit breaker (I think I had to pull over to the side of the road and get under the steering wheel - not the hood, but it wasn’t difficult to do), and my air conditioner would come back on again! Sometimes it would trip quite a few times on a longer vacation or business trip, but it was still better than having to go hunt up somebody who knew a little something about it and WAS WILLING to take the time to look into it for me! I think they charged me $1.50 - $3.00 for the circuit breaker + instructions on where it was and what to do! Keep this in mind, as you can save yourself some BIG $$$ in repair bills with something simple like this! Also, you can enter into Google: “Forum - whatever” and it will find lotsa good FREE information on what to do, similar problems others are having, and such!
I got on some forums one night, and apparently others are having similar problems with GM products not starting, including Cadillacs, but not limited to Cadillacs, as it has happened with their whole line from Chevrolets thru Pontiacs and Buicks, up to Oldsmobiles and whatever else they’re making now-a-days. It seems that this is possibly involved with their anti-theft system and the way it is set up with the ignition key as the culprit! I hadn’t thought very much about it, except that the repair shop fellow mentioned that it might be an ignition switch (he didn’t quote me a price, but I’ll bet the cost of replacing it would be a LOT MORE than the cost of a NEW KEY)! Of course, the repair people don’t make any $$$ by selling KEYS! They do make plenty of $$$ (to be able to keep those expensive buildings open and all those mechanics working), however, by selling things like alternators, batteries, cable-cleaning services, ignition switches, hooking it up to a “computer” device to read all the signals and supposedly tell us what’s wrong, and such, ad nauseam!
Most of the fellows in the forums are “tinkerers,” “shade-tree mechanics,” and such, and many of them had already spent HUNDREDS and even THOUSANDS of $$$ on things that didn’t work or correct the problem, like alternators, batteries, cable-cleaning services... Anyway, the general gist of the forums was that these keys are special-made, with a little “tab” on ‘em that the “computer” reads, and if the “tab” gets dirty or worn, the “computer” can’t read ‘em and thinks someone is trying to steal the car, so it locks everything up real good! That’s what’s been happening to me. Granted that I probably did need an alternator and a battery, which I bought before I began researching the problem on the Internet forums, but anything else is totally UNNECESSARY until one gets to the bottom of the problem! Of course, many mechanics probably know this, but, like I mentioned above, they don’t make any $$$ out of selling KEYS - they DO make PLENTY of $$$ out of “stringing the customer along,” however, by selling them one item each time they bring the car in, like an alternator the first week, a cable-cleaning service the second week, a battery the third week... Well, you get the picture!
What really got me to thinking about this was that I remembered that I keep the “real” key in my left pocket, the one that looks like it came with the car when it was new (I bought the car in 2001 or so, with 40-50,000 miles or so on it)! The “every-day” key that I have been using, I keep in my right pocket (and it looks like it was made at WalMart, on a blank key with the Cadillac logo\image), so I can just reach in and get it, unlock the car, and start it up and go! When I leave the car for servicing of any kind, even an oil change, I take the “real” key off that key-ring in my left pocket and leave it with the car, so that others don’t ALSO have my house-key, as well as other keys to things they don’t need (when I had a lockbox, I kept a lockbox key there, too, so that if I locked my keys inside the car, or if I lost my keys, they would probably be the ones in my right pocket, not the ones in my left pocket)! I’ve got the “real” key to the car set up on a much smaller key-ring that I can unhook real easily without having to pull out a knife and/or BREAK A FINGERNAIL! So, that’s the one I left with the car the last 3-4 times I had it towed due to the fact that it wouldn’t start. Of course, the “real” key wasn’t used enough to be worn, it probably had the “eye” working on it, and when the service fellow put it in the car, it started right up! That’s why he said that he couldn’t get it to happen, so he could diagnose it! One solution is to clean the key that is used every day; another solution is to go to a dealer and buy a new key!
Many of the fellows in the forums said it happened after they had been driving a while, just like mine did! They said they would stop the engine, get out, lock the car, go take care of some other business (like I did at the church, the Post Office, the chiropractor, and such), then when they got back in their car, it wouldn’t start! Just like mine did! In addition, some of ‘em said the battery in the little “gizmo” on the key-ring was dead, so they opened the car with a regular key, which is exactly like mine did, too! I’ve been thinking about replacing that battery in the “gizmo” for at least 6 months, but it’s like the battery in my pocket-watch: it’s another $3-4 hassle where I have to stop at that particular counter at WalMart, and I’m usually in there on Sunday, and I’m interested in getting home as soon as possible, so I won’t be away from my doggies any longer (I’ve already been away from ‘em for 3-4 hours or so), so I just tell myself that I’ll take care of it some other time!
Some of the fellows in the forums said it might be a little wire that runs up the inside of the steering column, and there was advice about how to replace it, which MIGHT de-activate the security system, so that one’s insurance company would have justification for denying a claim in case the car got stolen! I don’t think that’s what the problem is, anyway; I think it’s related to the “eye” on the “real” key! Also to the security system! Next time it happens, I’ll switch keys and see if it’ll start. That’s what some of the fellows in the forums suggest, too! They also say that the key can be jiggled, the steering wheel can be pulled to the right and left real hard, and such, which might help to get the key out, if it gets stuck - mine was never stuck, as I had been driving it for a while, I stopped, I got out, and this last time I realized that I hadn’t set the emergency brake, so I got back in, inserted the key, and put the car in neutral to test if the brake was set on the hill! When I did this, I tried to start it, just like a thief might do, the security system said NO, and locked it all up! It stayed that way for 24-48 hours at least, as I tried it later that Sunday night, and I tried it again on Monday afternoon and Monday night when the tow truck came. The battery must have been down in the process, as the tow truck fellow said no lights came on when he got into the car, and I later found that all the “stuff” on the gauges had been reset, except the mileage and the % of oil life left! I even had to reset the clock!
So, I stayed home today - I’ve got NO CAR PROBLEMS when it stays in the garage! But, keep in mind, the mechanics and dealerships who have those real big new buildings with lotsa mechanics and others working there, who have a LARGE overhead to pay each month! Remember this, when you have some minor car problems, and don’t let them escalate into MAJOR CAR PROBLEMS with major PRICE TAGS to match! Why should he sell you a key and make $3 - $5, when he can sell you something else and make a few HUNDRED $$$ ? Don’t you think many of these folks also know about the “car lockout security system problem” and the “keys with the glass eye?” Before you spend $$$ that you don’t have, or put it on a credit card and worry about it “later,” check the Internet by “Googling” something like “forum: car won’t start” or something similar. You’ll be surprised how some of these problems can be solved with little or no $$$ involved!
Kinda like the idiot light that comes on and says “service engine soon!” My car has one of those, too. I was driving my parents’ car over to Memphis a number of years ago, so they could go to an eye surgeon they had been using. On the way back home, the idiot light came on. My father, who knew about as little about cars as I do, got all upset, thinking the engine was gonna blow up! He convinced me to stop at a pay phone (remember those? You can’t hardly find ‘em any more, now, as they say that the vandals “did ‘em in” and they took ‘em all out). I called a local GM dealer (I think we were in a Pontiac or Buick), who wanted to make an IMMEDIATE appointment for me to come in and have the car checked over. Smelling a mouse, I went on down the Interstate a few miles to the next exit, and stopped at a service station. Some “good-old-boy” came out to greet me, and I told him about the light that came on, saying “service engine soon.” He laughed, and said that it was an idiot light, set to come on every so-many-thousand miles, so people would go into a shop somewhere and get their car serviced. He said he could unhook it, if we wanted him to. My father didn’t want it unhooked, and we thanked him and drove on home! Here was an honest man, as he could have had us to pull into his service bay and charged us a whole bunch of $$$ for something-or-other, but instead, he chose to tell us the truth and make nothing for his time! Most of ‘em aren’t like that, unfortunately!
Copyright 2011 by Preston Smith, Walker Enterprises/Silver Dollar Press. All Rights Reserved.
Here’s a good website to check out: “Studio Quality Portraits For Less” - http://studio-quality-portraits-for-less.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “Green Cleaning Products” - http://green-cleaning-products.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “How To Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine” - http://www.silver-dollar.zoomshare.com
Here’s a good Forum to check out: http://dachshund-forum.forumotion.com
Here’s a good website to check out: “Studio Quality Portraits For Less” - http://studio-quality-portraits-for-less.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “Green Cleaning Products” - http://green-cleaning-products.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “How To Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine” - http://www.silver-dollar.zoomshare.com
Here’s a good Forum to check out: http://dachshund-forum.forumotion.com
Labels: auto repairs, car repairs
posted by PRESTON at 12:00 AM
<< Home