Need some advice

[George_911]

I have a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire with a 2.2 liter engine and an automatic transmission,and my problem is a couple of weeks ago when the weather turned colder my car is very hard to start when it is cold. Also my Check Engine Light came on and now stays on after starting and driving the car after this problem started...I bought a brand new Actron CP9135 OBD 2 AutoScanner and when connect the AutoScanner to the DLC it will not power up my scanning device...I checked for voltage on the #16 and the #4 pins on the DLC Connector and it shows I don't have any power there to make the Scan Tool start working...If possible could anyone who might know why I am not getting any voltage at the DLC Connector let me know what I might do to get voltage there so my ScanTool will work?? I have checked all the fuses and relays and I am now stumped on this problem..Any help at all with this problem would be greatly appreciated........

[OverAllComa]

Sounds to me like a simple case of the battery not holding charge. When it gets cold, its harder for a battery to crank out current (ya know, which is why the measure batteries in "cold cranking amps"). I would take it to any parts place like an AutoZone, Advance Auto, or O'Reily's and have them test the battery for you. Its free.

I can't say for sure if low voltage would throw a CEL, but I know when I fried some wires from my alternator a couple weeks back my car threw a CEL and it turned off the ABS, but never did kick on the battery light. Anyways, free way to check a problem off.

Don't forget to consider the alternator as a problem. If the tools not powering up, its probably not getting the current that it needs, so its probably in the charging system. If you're doing it with the car off, its more than likely the battery that's your problem.

[unbe]

Coma,
What "does throw a cel" mean?
Unbe

[jakegday]

check engine light?

[OverAllComa]

Originally Posted by jakegday

check engine light?

what he said.

[johnnyh]

well the best way to check anything without a tester is to disconect your battery for 15 - 20 min. then connect it again that way it will reset the computer and then go from there it should put your computer in default mode for a few days

[chevboy]

It does not reset your computer it pushes the code aside and thats not good you should trace the wires and check for breaks if not jump some power to them and clear and check for codes properly with your scanner the scanner is the way to go

[George_911]

Originally Posted by chevboy

It does not reset your computer it pushes the code aside and thats not good you should trace the wires and check for breaks if not jump some power to them and clear and check for codes properly with your scanner the scanner is the way to go

I want to thank everybody for their help with this problem..I just wanted to let everyone know I just finished getting the car fixed and the reason I wasn't getting any power to the DLC Connector was because the cigarette lighter fuse was blown and that's what supplies the voltage to Power Up the Actron Scanner. So again thanks to all who helped me with this problem....