2000 Montana Electric Problem
mikeh1960
10-14-2006, 01:51 PM
I Need some Help here. So here's the story.
2000 Pontiac Montania, PL/PW/ ,Remote keyless entry, Theft alarm system.
I few months ago I was driving and all of a sudden my locks started locking and unlocking and the horn would blow. This happened abotu 3-5 times over a few days.
Then about a month ago I went to go to work and when I turned the key and "Nothing" ,seemed that the battery was dead. No Radio nothing, The radio clock reset to 12:00.
Turned the van off, and then tried to start it again right away and it started right up, no lagging starter, battery seemed to have lots of juice.
As I was driving to work that day, all my instraments on the panel went out, radio went completely dead, and would then come back, did this 3-4 times on the 12klm drive to work. I made it to work adn went back out to try the van about 3 hours later, and it started no problem, it worked fine for about 3 weeks.
Then one morning it would not start again, I got a boost from CAA and it worked but took it to my local repair shop to see whats up.
After $700.00 they put on a new Alternator, saying that it was bad and not putting out enough charge to the battery.
I have had a few times again that when I turn the key I get nothing, then turn it again and it starts fine. when it happens the radio and all elecric is dead, not power anywhere, then a couple of Min later it starts just fine.
Can anybody point me in the right direction, I cannot afford to have the local garage keep replaceing parts till they fingure it out.
:disappoin
2000 Pontiac Montania, PL/PW/ ,Remote keyless entry, Theft alarm system.
I few months ago I was driving and all of a sudden my locks started locking and unlocking and the horn would blow. This happened abotu 3-5 times over a few days.
Then about a month ago I went to go to work and when I turned the key and "Nothing" ,seemed that the battery was dead. No Radio nothing, The radio clock reset to 12:00.
Turned the van off, and then tried to start it again right away and it started right up, no lagging starter, battery seemed to have lots of juice.
As I was driving to work that day, all my instraments on the panel went out, radio went completely dead, and would then come back, did this 3-4 times on the 12klm drive to work. I made it to work adn went back out to try the van about 3 hours later, and it started no problem, it worked fine for about 3 weeks.
Then one morning it would not start again, I got a boost from CAA and it worked but took it to my local repair shop to see whats up.
After $700.00 they put on a new Alternator, saying that it was bad and not putting out enough charge to the battery.
I have had a few times again that when I turn the key I get nothing, then turn it again and it starts fine. when it happens the radio and all elecric is dead, not power anywhere, then a couple of Min later it starts just fine.
Can anybody point me in the right direction, I cannot afford to have the local garage keep replaceing parts till they fingure it out.
:disappoin
ponchonutty
10-14-2006, 02:08 PM
A real common problem is bad plates inside the Delco batteries and also faulty battery cables.
1999montana
10-14-2006, 05:30 PM
....when I turned the key and "Nothing" ,seemed that the battery was dead. No Radio nothing, The radio clock reset to 12:00.
Turned the van off, and then tried to start it again right away and it started right up, no lagging starter, battery seemed to have lots of juice....As I was driving to work that day, all my instraments on the panel went out, radio went completely dead, and would then come back, did this 3-4 times on the 12klm drive to work. I made it to work adn went back out to try the van about 3 hours later, and it started no problem, it worked fine for about 3 weeks.....
First, a similar problem was written about in this weekend's Toronto Star Wheels section.
The problem may have two origins.
One, the ignition switch, since the van runs, but the gauges and radio lose power. I wonder what would have happened if you had wiggled the key in the ignition while the van was still running :uhoh:.
Second, a bad connection at the battery. The tech who wrote about it suggested that if it is a bad connection at the battery, turning the vehicle off and trying to restart may cause a small amount of arcing at the battery that causes it to connect properly for a short period of time until the corrosion gets in the way again.
I can confirm that corrosion happens as I replaced the battery in ours about two and a half months ago. Although the cable appeared to be solidly connected to the positive post of the battery, there was in fact a significant amount of corrosion on the bolt and cable. It's a wonder that the electricity found a clear path to the starter!
The battery is a bit of a pain to get at (don't know what the engineers were thinking about :screwy:), but I would recommend having a look at the physical connection between the positive post and the cable. Take it apart if you have to, (probably a good recommendation) but take the negative cable off first to isolate the battery and eliminate the possibility of a short.
Clean the positive cable with baking soda and water and wire brush it to bring it back to a clean bright appearance. While you are at it, remove the red rubber boot around it and make sure there is no corrosion hiding under it. Clean the boot with baking soda too. Then reconnect the battery in reverse order negative last.
Now that you have a good ground and a good path for the power to get to the engine and chassis, see if the problem you described returns. If it does, try wiggling the key in the ignition (actually wiggle the entire ignition lock with the key in it) to see if the van returns to normal. If it does, you have found your problem, a bad ignition switch. Usually not too hard to replace, but who knows on these vans!
According to the write-up in the Star, it is best not to leave this too long as it may cause a serious short or fire inside the van due to arcing.
Turned the van off, and then tried to start it again right away and it started right up, no lagging starter, battery seemed to have lots of juice....As I was driving to work that day, all my instraments on the panel went out, radio went completely dead, and would then come back, did this 3-4 times on the 12klm drive to work. I made it to work adn went back out to try the van about 3 hours later, and it started no problem, it worked fine for about 3 weeks.....
First, a similar problem was written about in this weekend's Toronto Star Wheels section.
The problem may have two origins.
One, the ignition switch, since the van runs, but the gauges and radio lose power. I wonder what would have happened if you had wiggled the key in the ignition while the van was still running :uhoh:.
Second, a bad connection at the battery. The tech who wrote about it suggested that if it is a bad connection at the battery, turning the vehicle off and trying to restart may cause a small amount of arcing at the battery that causes it to connect properly for a short period of time until the corrosion gets in the way again.
I can confirm that corrosion happens as I replaced the battery in ours about two and a half months ago. Although the cable appeared to be solidly connected to the positive post of the battery, there was in fact a significant amount of corrosion on the bolt and cable. It's a wonder that the electricity found a clear path to the starter!
The battery is a bit of a pain to get at (don't know what the engineers were thinking about :screwy:), but I would recommend having a look at the physical connection between the positive post and the cable. Take it apart if you have to, (probably a good recommendation) but take the negative cable off first to isolate the battery and eliminate the possibility of a short.
Clean the positive cable with baking soda and water and wire brush it to bring it back to a clean bright appearance. While you are at it, remove the red rubber boot around it and make sure there is no corrosion hiding under it. Clean the boot with baking soda too. Then reconnect the battery in reverse order negative last.
Now that you have a good ground and a good path for the power to get to the engine and chassis, see if the problem you described returns. If it does, try wiggling the key in the ignition (actually wiggle the entire ignition lock with the key in it) to see if the van returns to normal. If it does, you have found your problem, a bad ignition switch. Usually not too hard to replace, but who knows on these vans!
According to the write-up in the Star, it is best not to leave this too long as it may cause a serious short or fire inside the van due to arcing.
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