crazy malibu

just bought my daughter a used malibu 2003 3.1 engine she was diving to a friends house and parked went inside for an hour or 2 came back out and trie to start the car and all the insturment panels went half way up and stopped so at this point rpm reading 4000 and gas 1/2 tank all gauges locked in 1/2 way point so i raise the hood and shut it the all go back to normal so i try another key a locksmith made in the past for an extra key car cranked up no problems back to her original chevy key and turned the key the trunk came open and gauges 1/2 way stuck again.. try again and the original worked fine also the cloned key works fine also this was the 1st time this has happen we only have had the car a few weeks so it could be why the original owner got rid of it.

just a question was it raining? we have one that leaks under the wipers and wets all of the electrical and crazy things start to happen.

well it was not raining but just a few days ago we hade a major snow storm so maybe melted snow water was the culprit??

check the passengers side carpet is it wet?

ok i will tomorrow also if it is how did you stop the leak??

I still have not worked on it yet. But here is an idea I can take pictures and do a writeup. But anyway if you remove the wipers and the cowl then you should be able to see some foam that is no good. I will probibaly get to it in the next few days. I will let you know. BTW I see your in NC if you want to take a ride to Raleigh let me know and I can fix it. We only charge $40/hr as apposed to the rest of the shops charging high dollar.

ok i may make the trip one day to raleigh and let you all fix it . also sometimes when she starts the car it will start and cut off imediately then trying again it will try to crank but not fire for a couple of tries so im wondering is this a passlock issue like others are having?

thats what it does sound like. Check and see if the theft light is blinking

no theft light does not blink..

also today seem like all power was lost to car the radio lost memory and gauges went haywire and stuck wide open positions but when the hood was opened all came back to normal and car cranked. it could be a short maybe even battery cable loose do you think? i can check tomorrow also..

could be but also think of this water is dripping and then when you pop the hood the jar of it moves the water and all is well. Check the battery first.

ok thanks for info ill let you know tomorrow

ok today i found that black wire negative on the battery was loose i could move it by hand easily. so i tightned that up and drove over 200 miles and stop and started at different points of my travel cutting car off for a few minutes each time and it always restarted today with no problem maybe that fixed it..

it sounds like you fix the problem. By the Way does the car have a aftermarket alarm . some times thoses things mess up your wiring really bad