Could It Be The BCM?

I have a strange problem with my '99 Grand Am. About 50% of the time when I start it up the gauges don't go through their initial sweep as is customary for the vehicle. Before any of the gauges begin working as well as the heat & a/c the initial gauge sweep must occur.

I've figured out that if I hit the dash right over the ETS button the gauge sweep occurs and everything from the speedometer and fuel gauge to heat & a/c begins working again. This is a sporadic problem. Occasionally, I'll see the gauges do a sweep while I'm driving down the road (that's bizarre) but generally it's something that I notice at start-up.

My question is... what is located directly behind the ETS button? Would the BCM be there?

This isn't a life and death issue of course but it's frustrating. I shouldn't have to beat my dash to be able to see how fast I'm going and get some heat. :) The radio seems to work just fine when all of this is occurring.

I put in a new battery last night (previous one was shot) and I confirmed that my alternator is in good shape. So it would appear that this is issue is unrelated to those components.

Any insight would be appreciated here before I just take it to a garage and start throwing money at the mystery problem.

Thanks!

One more thing... several months ago I had an after-market mp3 player installed. This problem started happening sometime after that (although perhaps not immediately). Could it maybe be related to that or a loose connection somewhere?

Welcome to AF !!

Thier isnt anything where the ETS button is that would effect your cluster, except for the ignition switch.

And yes the stereo install is most likly your problem(s). Its possible you have a bad/loose connection, or something is wired incorrectly which is easy to do IMO.

Btw your BCM is under the glovebox. If it was bad your SES light would be on constantly and you'd have a trouble code set like a p1610 ro some other communications error.

I had a similar problem with a '99 SE and found that it was corrosion on the contacts inside my ignition switch. I had to remove the switch from the dash, open it up, and clean the contacts (small metal pieces that rise and fall depending what position the key is in). Once I did that, everything worked beautifully. Before that, banging on the dash also worked for me sometimes. I thought it was a loose wire and was frustrated when I couldn't find a thing wrong until I took the ignition switch apart. Still, I would check for those loose connections first as you have been advised and then go to this step if that fails.

Corrosion in the igntion switch does happen. Some graphite lube and a can of air will also clean it up and get it working.
Just dont spray/stick anything wet in the key hole it could short things out causing more problems . :eek:

I would use a product call deoxit made by a company called Craig labs. It also contain a lubricant. I have been using this product for a long time, and I recommend it very highly.

Any thing that is a liquid is NOT recommended you stick it in the ignition switch, it would short out the unit.

The Only thing you should use in the key hole is graphite lube(dry powder) , that's what GM recommends, its also listed in the manual(booklet) that come with your GA in the glove box. :2cents:

Though deoxit (http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.188/.f)is a good electrical contact cleaner, radio shack sells this I think .
This could be used if the switch was disconnected from power and allowed to fully dry before reinstalling.

When I have used it on my car, I have always used it with the battery disconnected. I have always let it dry before I have reconnected the battery.

Thanks for the ideas, guys. I really appreciate it. I think that you're on to something too as far as something being corroded in the ignition switch.

I think that because I've ruled out the radio in the last few days. I had Circuit City pop my aftermarket stereo out that they had previously installed and make sure that all the wiring was secure and they said it was - didn't charge me for the bother either which was a bonus.

I will try these recommendations and report back with my findings. Thanks again.

Thanks for the ideas, guys. I really appreciate it. I think that you're on to something too as far as something being corroded in the ignition switch.

I think that because I've ruled out the radio in the last few days. I had Circuit City pop my aftermarket stereo out that they had previously installed and make sure that all the wiring was secure and they said it was - didn't charge me for the bother either which was a bonus.

I will try these recommendations and report back with my findings. Thanks again.

Sorry for the delay in reporting back. To make a long story short, you were right.... there was no wiring problem. It appears some ignition corrosion was simply to blame. Problem all fixed.

You saved me a lot of time and money. I'm not so sure that a local garage would've thought to check this first. Who knows how much the diagnosis alone would've cost.

So thanks again. You guys rule.