# Pontiac g6 only starts when it wants to **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Automotive\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477 "2010-01-21T12:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JayS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jays/32/15375_2.png) [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/21 "2010-02-08T08:48:32Z")
He said AAA towing tested the alternator and it was fine. And I’d hope the dealer checked it too since they were doing things like cleaning battery terminals. Who know though since I’ve seen dealer techs fuck up an oil change. It takes 30 seconds to toss a volt meter on it running and not running so it’s worth checking. The thing that bugs me is you said the battery ran down, you swapped it for an autozone one, and that’s when the problems started. Might be worth swapping the battery even though it’s testing out good. ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/22 "2010-02-08T10:59:19Z")
When the issue happens, it can either be when I first start it, or when Im already driving. For example, I drove to the bandits game sat night. The gauges went haywire and the error message appeared while I was still driving. When I parked it, I tried starting it and nothing happened. I went into the game, and 3 hours later, it started first try, with all of the gauges looking good. Yesterday, I drove to Tops fine. Wouldn’t start when I came back out… fortunately, it was only a block away from my house. After the super bowl, I walked over and it started fine. So far today… 4 for 4 on starting. I took it to advanced auto where I bought the battery. The pics are below. Everything checked out. Heres another thing… right before the problems starting happening on my way to the bandits game, I adjusted the bass for my speakers. So I thought maybe thats what it was. Also, when the error message is up, everything worked electronially, except the amp and speakers. I removed them yesterday… everything went smooth. Now the radio doesnt work??? The fuse is good too… ![http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/test1.jpg](http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/test1.jpg) ![http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/test2.jpg](http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/test2.jpg) ![http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/test3.jpg](http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/test3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/23 "2010-02-08T11:08:36Z")
Eek. How powerful is this amp? ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/24 "2010-02-08T11:12:46Z")
500 watt amp… had it for 2 years with zero problems. Just thought I would eliminate that as an option. 2nd start after removal was a no go ---
**Author:** ![JayS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jays/32/15375_2.png) [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/25 "2010-02-08T11:24:38Z")
Do you happen to have another battery you could swap out of another car? I really can’t ignore the fact that this started happening after you swapped the battery. What about one of those booster packs, or even jumper cables. I’m curious if one of those times it won’t start if adding some more battery power would get it going. Also, have you ever tested the voltage at the battery when it wouldn’t start? ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/26 "2010-02-08T11:57:16Z")
I don’t have an extra one… this might be a dumb question, but can you return a battery for any reason? Maybe I’ll just buy a new one and see if it goes away. I haven’t tried jumping it… I guess I figured it wasn’t power (battery) related. An no, I haven’t. I don’t own a tester. I should have had it tested when I tried scanning it the other day when the error was up and it was still running. ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/27 "2010-02-08T11:58:33Z")
> [@JayS](#): > > He said AAA towing tested the alternator and it was fine. And I’d hope the dealer checked it too since they were doing things like cleaning battery terminals. Who know though since I’ve seen dealer techs fuck up an oil change. It takes 30 seconds to toss a volt meter on it running and not running so it’s worth checking. > > The thing that bugs me is you said the battery ran down, you swapped it for an autozone one, and that’s when the problems started. Might be worth swapping the battery even though it’s testing out good. AAA probably just put a multimeter on it…That is hardly an exhaustive test from the symptoms though, I doubt it’s the alternator ---
**Author:** ![JayS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jays/32/15375_2.png) [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/28 "2010-02-08T12:11:00Z")
I would assume most places won’t accept returns on a battery. Maybe walmart because they’ll take nearly anything back if you complain. For $30 anyone who wants to troubleshoot cars should have a basic multimeter. ---
**Author:** ![bigwoode](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bigwoode/32/5175_2.png) [@bigwoode](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/bigwoode)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/29 "2010-02-08T12:34:20Z")
Just a thought, if you know anyone else with a G6 it wouldn’t hurt swapping for a day or 2 to see if symptoms cease/transfer to the other car. ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/30 "2010-02-08T13:05:37Z")
Swapping cars? As in maybe he just has bad joojoo? Juat? And for the love of God don’t put questionable electronics into another machine. Maybe the battery is sketchy and he’ll be able to replace two $1000 dollar BCM’s instead of one. :roflpicard: ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/31 "2010-02-08T14:17:21Z")
Well so far… 5/5 today starting. Radio still doesn’t work though… both fuses look good. It sounds like the cd player is doing something which is weird. If its quiet enough, I can hear something… kinda sounds the same as when a CD is done, and it switches back to track 1. Just over and over again. I got a couple leads on the g6 forum. Some guy had similar problems and it turned out to be a loose ground. I checked the one he referenced, and it looked good. I guess my next step is to go through and check every ground??? ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/32 "2010-02-09T08:01:15Z")
Not sure if it helps… but last night when I was driving, the speedo changed to error and the guages freaked out. Obv I kept it running… and after a couple minutes, it corrected itself. However, the security light in the dash stayed on. Maybe its something with the TDM (theft deterrent module)? Or its connection with the PCM? Any last ideas? Stealership here I come… ---
**Author:** ![psychopjv](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/psychopjv/32/7251_2.png) [@psychopjv](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/psychopjv)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/33 "2010-02-09T08:50:43Z")
i’d still go with some sort of grounding issue. That could easily mean the pcm as it controls many grounds. Could also be as simple as a bad pcm ground making contact on occasion. Intermittent problems are the hardest thing to diagnose. ---
**Author:** ![BDR5oh](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bdr5oh/32/7315_2.png) [@BDR5oh](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/BDR5oh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/34 "2010-02-09T08:53:14Z")
does the car have an aftermarket remote start ?? ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/35 "2010-02-09T10:21:29Z")
Nope… factory installed. On a g6 forum, some guy had a similar issue. Turned out to be a ground in the back of the engine compartment fuse box. I checked the same one on mine, but all was good. Taking it to Don Davis tomorrow, If i cant find anything tonight ---
**Author:** ![ak93cobra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@ak93cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ak93cobra)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 10:46am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477/36 "2010-02-15T10:46:29Z")
So I went through and reconnected all of the grounds that I could find throughout the car. It has started everytime for about 5 days now. So it looks like it was a loose ground somewhere. As for the radio, somehow it was fried and I needed a new one. So, $500 later I have a new radio/cd player and a car that runs. Thanks for the help guys! ![http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/g6.jpg](http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/akstar0689/g6.jpg) [Previous page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/pontiac-g6-only-starts-when-it-wants-to/78477.md?page=1)