# 1999 Chevy Malibu - won't start



## sprntrl (May 29, 2006)

I have a 1999 Chevy Malibu (v6 3.1L) and recently I have been having problems with it. Over the past year and a half I have been having some electrical system issues.

Timeline of events:

1. One cold winter afternoon (about 1.5 years ago) i was driving on the highway and residential streets, and every time I applied the brakes my stereo would turn off and guages would dim. Even after the car warmed up this problem persisted. I arrived at my destination and parked the car for ~1 hour. The problem ceased.

2. About 1 year ago, out of nowhere, my battery straight up died. It was working 100% then not working at all. I pulled it out, got a ride over to NAPA and they tested it. Came up as dead. They swapped it out for me under warranty as it was only 6 months old.

3. ABS sensor/indicator light came on for the first time randomly when driving.

4. About 9 months ago, I pulled into a gas station, filled the tank, and the car wouldn't start after that. I had the battery tested at NAPA, this time the battery tested fine. Charged the battery on a battery charger until the charger showed full. Put the battery back in the vehicle and it started right up.

5. ABS sensor/indicator light intemittently comes on while driving or braking (light braking). Problem contiunes to this date.

6. About 7 months ago, same battery problem as #2 and #4. This time it happened 3 times in the same week. Replaced alternator under the advice of a friend. 

7. Car started showing significant dimming of headlight and guages when applying breaks. When shifting the car from Park to Reverse (you have to hold the break pedal down for the car to allow the this shift) , the car often kills if I dont rev the engine a little before making the shift. This problem of killing on shift exists to this day.

8. About 6 months ago, battery problem happened again. Charged it full and started right up.

9. For the last 1.5 months, ABS sensor/indicator light comes on the first time I apply the brakes after starting the car when moving forward. The light stays on until I turn the car off. Upon restarting the car the light is off but only until I applythe breaks when moving forward again.

10. Today, THE CAR WILL NOT START. I drove over to a relative's house for a BBQ and when I come to start my car up and leave, the dome light comes on, I put the key in the ignition, as soon as I turn the key it "kind of tries to start". After this there is no Dome light, no power anything. 

_By "kind of tries to start" I mean that it never actually turned over, no clicking or anything. The guages came on briefly before everything went dead._

After charging my battery to full on my charger, the dome light came on, my power locks, trunk release, etc... worked. As soon as i turned the key the battery went completely dead again. No dome, no power locks. The only sign of electrical life is that when i pump the brakes the needles on the guages move irratically and the light bulb in the glove box glows very very dimly. The first time I tried to start the vehicle i put my foot on the break when starting it (as i usually do) and the second time I did not. The result was EXACTLY the same either way.


Notes: 

Every time the battery has died it has been after leaving the car sit for between 7mins and 8hours, no longer. 

I dont have any devices (like a cellphone charger) plugged in that draw power from the battery. 

The problem has occurred with both my original car stereo (Delco) and my aftermarket (Pioneer) which I installed last fall. 

When I attempt to jump start my car, the dome light and the guages get a little bit of power and glow dimly, but the battery is never able to gain enough charge to start my vehicle. I have always had to charge the battery outside the vehicle to have any luck.


*Any insight or help with this problem would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.*


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## Technician (May 30, 2006)

Ummm... my advice, get a new car!


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## Volt-Schwibe (Jan 12, 2003)

honestly, it almost sounds to me like a corroded main lead in the fuse box.

here, let me explain briefly about a van, and how it was "fixed"

there was a 1979 plymouth van, and it had intermittent electrical problems like you mention. it pointed at everything, bad battery, bad alternator, bad voltage regulator, bad battery cables, i mean everything.

well they changed it ALL, to NO AVAIL.

sometime later, it became mine. the first time it showed me symptoms, i dug into it deep. what i discovered, was right where the wire harness dove through the firewall, and entered the back of the fusebox, the wire there was corroded more or less completely away. as a temporary fix, i used a large fat peice of wire, and bypassed the corroded area on the wire, and sure enough, the thing fired right up, and had a better connection than ever.

i didn't keep the thing, it had holes in the pistons, but the next person that ended up with it finished the patch job on the wiring harness and had excellent results.

the way i discovered this problem might be the key here in your situation.

*first i charged the battery 100% on a charger. 
then i attached a test light to the battery itself. i actually had to have someone stand there and stab the test light's probes into the battery posts a little. 
then i set up another test light on the fuse box, and turned the key. 
well, the one inside the car went off, but the one on the battery didn't change. 
so i checked the terminal voltage at the battery clamps, was good. 
checked the power cable at the starter, was good. 
checked the load side of the fusible links, and they were good. 
so i started the old stab-and-read test on the wires running into the firewall, and right where they dove through the firewall, i found my problem.*

if you follow that pattern, it will take at most:

2 test lights, or a test light and a voltmeter.
45 minutes of your time.
a roll of electrical tape to cover the stab holes.

it's worth a shot.


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## Volt-Schwibe (Jan 12, 2003)

also,



Technician said:


> Ummm... my advice, get a new car!


comments like that belong more in the "talking about cars" section.

in this section, please refrain from posting just to make fun of someone's situation. this is a seven year old car, and should still run for many miles more, so the solution is not to just get a new car.

if you cannot post some advice that might help, please don't post in this area.

be respectable, and people shall respect you.


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## doughboy0163 (Oct 14, 2007)

This sounds like something similar that happened to me with my 2003 Malibu. When you try and start does the anti theft warning appear on the dashlights? If so try leaving the ignition on auxilary (sp?) for 15 minutes or so. If the anti theft warning light goes out, the car should start right up!


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