No ignition at all

I have a 1998 Chevy 1500 Conversion Van. After returning from a road trip, I went to start the van and got a few clicks and then nothing. I have a remote starter (BullDog) which operates when the van runs but right now nothing seems to work, When I open the door, I don't get dome lights. When I turn the key to the accessory position, nothing. When I turn it to ignition, nothing followed by a buzzing sound that lasts for approximately 2 minutes. This is about the same amount of time as the lights would had stayed on if I turned off the van. I checked all the connections on the remote starter and they all seem fine.

BTW on the trip home, while my wife was driving, she flashed the brights and the car stalled momentarily. I thought that something was going on with the light switch but I pulled it out of the system and still nothing.

I know this is hard to diagnose over the internet, but if anyone has any ideas I would be grateful.

I am trying desperately to solve this one myself since I would need a tow and a repair bill for the fix.

Sounds like either the battery terminals are really dirty or the battery has given up the ghost. Will it start with a jump? How old is the battery? Do you have a voltmeter? Can you pull the battery and have it tested?

DF, I don't think it is the battery. I have a voltmeter on the dash and it was reading in the 11-12 volt range for the entire trip. I will check the connections to be sure. The battery is less than two years old.

Is it possible to read the diagnostic codes without the car running? I might be able to use a code reader from the local auto parts dealer. I didn't know if the car had to be running to do that.

DF, I don't think it is the battery. I have a voltmeter on the dash and it was reading in the 11-12 volt range for the entire trip. I will check the connections to be sure. The battery is less than two years old.

Is it possible to read the diagnostic codes without the car running? I might be able to use a code reader from the local auto parts dealer. I didn't know if the car had to be running to do that.


Use a decent handheld VOM to check the battery. The dash gauges are not particularly accurate. It should read about 12.5+ volts. Charging voltage should read about 13.5. That isn't going to tell the whole story, though. A load test on the battery would reveal more. Can you swap in another battery or get jumper cables on it? I understand the battery is only two years old. I've seen bad batteries that were two minutes old.
I believe you should be able to read stored codes with just the ignition in the "ON" position but if it is the battery or alternator I don't believe it will set a code.

DF,

If the battery is bad, would all of the lights and the ignition not work? Also would that produce the same symptom I mentioned in the first post (drop in power when brights were hit)?

Yes and yes

Yep, I 2nd the battery or battery cables as well. GM was notorious for having poorly made batteries that would leak acid down the inside of the cables. This causes the cables to rot from the inside out.

Yep, I 2nd the battery or battery cables as well. GM was notorious for having poorly made batteries that would leak acid down the inside of the cables. This causes the cables to rot from the inside out.

Being a conversion van it is more than possible that someone overloaded a circut and it has blown a fuseable link.

Well after several hours and much frustration, the problem was two things working very well together. First, my starter showed some intermitten issues. When it was bench tested the circuit failed once in 6 tries. Second, a wire used in the remote starter (solid yellow in the ingnition bundle) had been spliced and had worked loose. It remained in the splice but was shorting as the bundle would move.

Thanks to all who replied. BTW I see a dramatic increase in the volt meter on the dash. I am up at 14V and it remains steady regardless of load. It used to jump when the directionals were used.