I hate to post a question since I’ve not been on the forum in ages, but my next door neighbor’s 2005 Buick Century left her stranded at the grocery store. The battery has plenty of juice and you can hear the starter relay under the dash, but no voltage is being sent to energize the starter solenoid. If I energize the solenoid with the ignition using a remote starter switch, the engine will start and run, but then turn off after about 2 seconds. The security light is not flashing. I’m stumped, but I feel like I’m missing something obvious and my Google skills are lacking tonight.
Thanks in advance!
Put the key in the start position when you are jumping the solenoid. The BCM is expecting to see the ignition switch in the start position. If you can hear the starter relay clicking (should be under the hood, IIRC, not the dash, I thought, doublecheck this), everything up to that point is working.
Or, switch the starter relay with the horn relay and see if the car starts and the horn doesn't work...
Tried to fool the BCM by having my neighbor turn the key into the “crank” position while I applied voltage to the “s” terminal of the starter while we were testing last night. I’ve not swapped relays yet, the best that I can find it is to the left of the steering column and everything is covered by a large carpeted panel which I really didn’t feel like messing with last night.
After sleeping on it, Im still suspecting the relay, since the BCM would not be able to “see” the key in the crank position if it has failed.
In reply to windsordeluxe :
That is not how it works. The BCM "sees" the ignition in the crank position, then it decides to engage the starter relay.
Dose the key have a small pellet in the blade?
Knurled, thanks for the help! My neighbors ended up sending the car to a “real” mechanic who referred them to a locksmith. The key was good but the lock cylinder was not able to read the key. Being a non urgent situation, they are waiting till Monday for the locksmith. If you are interested in the final outcome, I can keep you posted.
Thanks again for your advise!
