need help asap with 97 cavalier

my 97 cavalier 2.2 auto has 170k on it and runs great. a couple days ago the low coolant light, theft light, and battery light all stayed on after i started driving. also the temp. gauge isnt working. all these things worked before. the car still runs good, but now the air conditioner isnt kicking on either. had it to 2 mechanics and one said maybe the ignition and the other says maybe alternator. i just dont wont to start dumping money in this car. i want it fixed but not a fan of just changing parts to see if it works. thanks in advance for any feedback.

my 97 cavalier 2.2 auto has 170k on it and runs great. a couple days ago the low coolant light, theft light, and battery light all stayed on after i started driving. also the temp. gauge isnt working. all these things worked before. the car still runs good, but now the air conditioner isnt kicking on either. had it to 2 mechanics and one said maybe the ignition and the other says maybe alternator. i just dont wont to start dumping money in this car. i want it fixed but not a fan of just changing parts to see if it works. thanks in advance for any feedback.take you car to auto zone or advance and see if they will test your alternator and load test your battery. Start with that . I think there was a recall on igniton switch for these cars around that era so that could be part of the reasoning from other mechanic. I beleive they were prone to possible fire in ignition switch. Check for a recall ,it should be free if it has not been done yet

had the alt. and battery checked, both checked good. now what

check the battery cables ,both ends for tightness and corrosion. Look into the ignition switch recall.

Possibly a fuse problem?

well now i have new battery cables, and new ingition switch, battery is good, alt. is good. the problem is still not fixed.

try putting more ground to your block / body ground.. go to a car audio shop and buy some good 4 gauge

hows your coolant level?... ac need refilled? .... theft light hmm... has anyone heard of that mode that your car can go into? we had this conversation a little while back, it was like gimp mode or slow mode or something like that...

is your theft light blinking or just staying on?

theft light stays on, coolant level is good ac is charged and worked fine until these lights came on. the ignition switch fixed part of the problem, because after driving it like this for about a week it was starting and then it would die in a few seconds. with the new ingition switch that problem seems to be fixed. now just the lights and the temp gauge and ac.

should i reset the computer since the new ingition switch is in. also how do i reset the computer on this car

now it is back the starting and then it dies immediately. 2 mechanics i have talked to have no idea. they just want to change a bunch of parts to try to fix it. i dont understand why you cant find a decent mechanic anywhere. these "parts changers" charge enough to know what they are doing.

theft system will do that... start and die and not start again :) you need to reset your theft system :)

how do i reset the theft system

really sounds to me like you may have a bad ecm(engine control module). I think that if you tried to change that you might solve all of your problems. I am In ottawa canada and know some good mechanics dont know where you are but if you are around here i could def. help with your problem.

unhook battery for 15 minutes
hook back up
roll your window down so you can climb out
turn key in on postion wait til your interior light goes out
try to start your car...it dies...
leave your key in on postion do not try to restart it, don't even touch it
your theft light should be either blinking or on...
you can either crawl out of your car "not doing anything that would cause your interior light or any other battery functions" or sit and wait like... 15-20 minutes until the theft light goes out.. then turn the key off and try to start again vaoila...

unhook battery for 15 minutes
hook back up
roll your window down so you can climb out
turn key in on postion wait til your interior light goes out
try to start your car...it dies...
leave your key in on postion do not try to restart it, don't even touch it
your theft light should be either blinking or on...
you can either crawl out of your car "not doing anything that would cause your interior light or any other battery functions" or sit and wait like... 15-20 minutes until the theft light goes out.. then turn the key off and try to start again vaoila...


he is decribing the key learn procedure.. and it doesnt work if your car is in a no-start condition. if you got a new ignition installed, your passlock resistance might be different than what your bcm wants. i advise you to take your car to the dealer to have them re-program the key

now i have installed a new steering column because that is what GM recommends and a new computer and nothing is fixed. they did reset my code for a bad fan switch though so not a total loss. lol now they are wanting to have it towed like 2hours from here to hook it to a machine that bypasses the theft system but i have already spent too much money on this car. any suggestions?