So a month ago, my 08 Impala gave me a pretty big issue - Once it said ‘low voltage’ then ‘starter disable’ and totally cut the car off while driving down the highway. Another time it was ‘low oil pressure’ and then reduced the speed to about 25mph - so I was able to get it off the road. I used up all my AAA tows on the POS in 1 week. No mechanics would deal with it - telling me to take it to the dealer. I took it to the dealer, had the oil changed (it was due, had been on 0%life for 3-4 days by the time it got to the dealer) and had them look at it, to tell me I need a new oil pan gasket, it would be $800 and they couldn’t promise it would solve the issue. I didn’t have them fix it. I cleaned the terminals, cleaned the throttle body out (had a fair amount of buildup in it). Anytime I had it cut off on me, it would start back up and run after leaving it sit for 18-24 hours. I tried to find some pattern in distance I drove, time it was running, ect. before it cut out on me.
First time it cut off - no warning, driving 7 miles.
Second time - Drove 5 miles, shut it off, wouldn’t turn back on.
Third time - Drove 8.5 miles, gave me a warning, pulled into dealership parking lot.
I drove it home from the dealership, and today I drove it about 20 miles, turned on/off 3 or 4 times, with no issues. There are no “warning signs” that it’s going to happen either - it runs fine, idles fine, no power loss/lights dimming, odd smells, ect. I know the problem hasn’t just fixed itself - and I’m assuming that maybe it’s just waiting the 50-75 miles for a code to go off if they reset it at the dealership? I don’t know what code it was throwing either, but until this issue it had never thrown a single code before. The only issue it had prior was a clicking noise from under the dash when changing AC settings (some sort of actuator/motor bad?) but that has mysteriously fixed itself as well.
Any help is appreciated - I read a bunch of stuff from bad sensors to throttle bodies - but I can’t really afford to sink 1-3000 at the dealership to take stabs at whats wrong.
Check your voltage with the car off and running. If that checks out find the major ground wires in the engine compartment and make sure they’re making good contact.
To to me it sounds like an intermittent voltage issue which makes me think bad grounds.
Thanks for the input - I just got it to start throwing a code tonight…not while it’s running, but prior to starting. I will get it read tomorrow to see what it’s saying.
Oh man, I was just reading up on scan tools online. I know there are bluetooth/wifi readers to go with my iphone, but I’m not sure how well they work. I also see this actron one on Craigslist for $75 http://rochester.craigslist.org/tls/5199763069.html I literally just said to my wife - I’ve brought every car we have owned (4) to Autozone/Advanced Auto to have the codes read…if nothing else it’s worth my time to just get one and have for future needs.
if you’re just look for a cheap/basic one to read/clear codes and avoid going to Autozone every time. If you had an Android I’d recommend one of the cheap Bluetooth adapters from eBay and the Torque app. On iPhone I haven’t researched what apps are good but I know you’ll need an obd2 adapter that works via wifi because of how Apple does Bluetooth.
I haven’t read about the security system at all, but the STARTER DISABLED message is pretty generic and I’ve read through 50+ pages on various forums with different folks & different fixes. Many have had the “Service Stabilitrak” which i think came up once. Honestly I don’t remember all the messages it gave me/codes it threw. I wrote them down but can’t find the sheet of paper I was keeping track on :banghead:
Nice! My wife has an Android phone, so iphone or Android readers will work. I prefer iphone since that’s what I have personally…but I’m just looking for under $50 with decent quality.
I had the torque app on my S3 and it’s really good. Unfortunately they don’t make an iOS version, but I’ve considered just picking up a cheap droid phone just for using torque it was so good.
Have the Torque app on my phone with Bluetooth adapter similar to Jay’s. Sadly I’ve never had a code come up to need a reading. I tend to use it more for monitoring basic operations. Worth a try though.
I picked up a reader today for $20. Its giving the code P0641… Sensor Reference Voltage ‘A’ Circuit/Open. I think I remember a harness in rough shape last time I looked…so maybe that’s it. I’ll have to take a look tomorrow. Anyone else have any suggestions? It’s a super generic code. Win!
Thanks Jay, I had that link up as a reference - it was probably the most helpful thing I had found. It looks like the engine oil pan gasket needs to be replaced, and there is a harness that plugs in right in the center of it - everything else looks okay except that one harness covered in oil. I wish it was the transmission oil pan gasket - SO much easier :ham:
