Hi folks. New member and fellow Monte owner here.

Several years ago I picked up my '97 Monte for a song. It's been a reliable ride. She gettin' old, and now has 133,000 miles on it, and a few probs are popping up.

Bare with me while I try to explain what has happened recently. A few weeks back I peculiar thing began to happen when I turned the key to start the car. A second or two would elapse before it would start. Not a slow start, just a hesitation, then it would fire up.

The past few days that hesitation grew into two or three seconds, then ignition. The other day however, I got in, turned the key, and the car simply wouldn't start . . . for about 5 minutes. Then, ingnition? What the?

Yesterday, same thing, except this time I have not been able to start it at all. There is no power in in the car either. Windows, locks, radio, dashlights are not working. No sound from the solenoid or starter. The buzzer for the ignition works though .

The battery and alternator are both fairly new, a few months old. The battery is supplying around 13 volts, checked with multimeter. Tried to jump it, just to see, but nothing.

The ignition fuse on the driver side module is good. However, the module itself is not in very good shape. Some of the fuses and receptacles have corroded to a point that I'm almost certain that the box will have to be replaced soon. Could this cause the non-start and the loss of power in the vehicle?

Sorry for the long winded explanation. . . just hoping some of you good folks can point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

 

i would doubt it's the battery or alternator.

i'd probibly start by cleaning up the fuse blocks in the car with some sandpaper and a small screwdriver to get down in the holes, also use a test light to make sure the fuse recepticles are getting power.

 

Check your grounds too!

 

Thanks . . . could you elaborate a little? Are there common ground problems to be aware of?

I did clean the fuse holder terminals, but no dice.

 

I'm not familiar with 3100 or 3.4 grounds, but there's probably one right on the transmission - just follow your negative battery cable from the battery. There's a few wires grounded on the tranny.

There's probably another ground somewhere else in the engine bay, with 3800's the ground is around the ICM.

 

I was thinking ignition switch problem, but if you have no door locks or dash lights, that's something else. Perhaps all the items in question run through some common wire or fuse block?

 

Have you had any other electrical issues? Sound? Lights?

 

Well, I feel pretty stupid. Turns out the positive battery cable bolt was a bit on the short side. Even though I took a 13 volt reading from these bolt heads; there apparently is only a couple threads holding the bolt in. Thing is they look fine, feel tight, and check well with a meter, but once you crank the car I'm thinking there just isn't enough thread there.

I didn't notice this until I unhooked the battery .

Anywho, I hooked 'er back up, tightened the bolt down, and presto.

Thanks for the replies!