Bob_K

A few weeks ago I fixed the A/C on my daughter's 2000 Impala, and the next day she called because her battery light came on and the engine was making a strange noise. Also when she tried to use the turn signals they would just buzz and not flash.

I found that the evaporator housing drain was plugged and the evaporator housing was not full of water so much so that it spilled on the floorboards. I unclogged the drain tube and pulled the dash panel located under the blower motor to let it drain. I dried up as much as I could with towels and put the windows down to let it dry. Given it was 100+ degrees and no rain for the last month it didn't take long for it to dry.

I checked it again the next day and everything was normal except the blinkers would still not function. I just get a buzz from the dash. Hazard lights work find and all bulbs appear to be good (all flash). Turn Signal fuze is ok.

After doing some searching I decided to try replacing the hazard switch. I put in the new hazard switch but still have the buzzing. Now I sometimes get the buzzing and sometimes not.

In the midst of pulling the dash last weekend an tumbler got stuck in the ignition and I had to get the lock cylinder replaced. Then yesterday she tells me that it didn't start and she had to jump it to get it started.

Could it be a ground on the ignition switch (switch wasn't replaced just the lock cylinder), bad ground, or BCM? At this point I'm not sure how to troubleshoot the problem, and don't want to just throw parts hoping to solve the problem.

BigCee

Boy this sounds like a wierd problem...anything in the vicinity of the drain plug for the evaporator?
How about posting a pic of where this is specifically?

__________________
02 3.4L Impala Base
Overkill 3400 PCM tune- 87octane
Modified stock air intake filter box

http://www.thetruthaboutdeath.org/index.html
http://www.truthaboutdeath.com/
http://www.sabbathtruth.com/

Bob_K

There is a group of wires that goes through the firewall in the passenger side footwell, I'm not sure what they are or where they go but I'll get it up on jack stands this weekend and check it out.

The only electrical connections that I know got wet are the blower motor and the blower motor resistor. When I pulled the tray below the blower motor off it was full of water and the blower motor itself was full of water as well. Although they seem to be functioning fine.

Bob_K

Quick update - I was driving up my parking grarage at work, taking a sharp turn on one of the ends and the dash lights flashed doors locked/unlocked, etc. and the car died. A nice lady was leaving and offered to try and jump it to see if it would start. At this point all lights were on fine, hooked up the cables but no start, no click, etc when I turned the key. I was able to get some help rolling it into a space and now it's stuck at work.

I wasn't sure how to troubleshoot so I took it into a shop that I've had good luck with in the past. They spent about an hour trouble shooting but didn't find the problem. I set up an appointment on Tuesday to take it back for them to do more troubleshooting and try and look for troubles with their scanner. I had just picked it up from the shop and drove back to work when it died.

At this point I'm not sure what to try, I may have to have it towed back to the shop on Monday.

kingnutin

I'm leaning toward ignition switch on this one, it could explain all those problems.

__________________
1978 Caprice Classic Landau
350 2-bolt, stock 4bbl
Stock rebuilt TH350
Edelbrock performer cam + intake
Dual 2 1/2" Flowmaster exhuast (waiting to be installed)
Edelbrock IAS Classic shocks
95 9C1 3.08 posi
4 wheel disc brakes!
16x8 American Racing Baja's with 225/60/16 Pirelli P4's

ChevroletCustomerService

Bob_K, please feel free to send me a direct message if you'd like me to set up a Chevrolet dealership appointment for you. I realize you already have a shop you're working with, so I just wanted to let you know I'm available if your concerns persist. Very sorry to hear about all of your frustrations so far!

Best,

Katie
Chevrolet Customer Service

Bob_K

Another update.

So yesterday I found myself stuck at work because the car wouldn't start. I agreed with kingnutin's response that it sounded like the ignition switch. So I had my daughter come pick me up and I had her bring me some tools so that I could pull the ignition switch and take it home and check the connectors. While I was waiting for her I did some more searching and came across this great Sparky's Answers: 2003 Chevrolet Impala Security Light Flashes and The Engine Will Not Run write-up about the ignition switch and lock. This write-up offers a good explanation and lots of pictures that makes it very easy to follow.

I followed the above write-up and pulled the ignition switch but then realized that I had left the windows down which wasn't going to be good as it was parked in a downtown parking garage. So I re-installed the ignition switch so that I could put the windows up. When I did this I decided to go ahead and check to see if it would start - and it cranked right up.

I decided to go ahead and try to drive it home, it was driving fine and I was headed down the freeway at 70mph and the gauges jumped up and down and the dashlights flicked and the engine died. I coasted to a stop on the side of the road and pondered what I was going to do next. While sitting there I rapped on the back of the ignition switch (that was still hanging out of the dash) and turned the key and it fired back up again.

When I got home I left the car running and tried the blinker...nothing, then I pushed on the black cover on the back of the ignition switch and the blinkers worked, if I let go they would stop.

I put in a new ignition switch and everything seems to be working fine. I'll update if the problems return.

Sorry for the long posts but while searching the internet for solutions I must have read 500 discussions about similar problems but only 1 or 2 bothered to update their posts with how they fixed the problem. Hopefully this will help someone else when the run into these problems.

Here's some pictures of the old switch, you can see the burned contacts. It's hard to see but the back contact in the right is also burned.:

Brett_the_bomb

So i happen to have a problem with my impala that i have lived with since basically i can remember. My signals with occasionally stick or blink really fast, and my wiper sprayers don't activate. When the car was my dads the problem arose and he didn't fix it before i acquired the car. he didn't fix because a dealership quoted $700 for that and the fuel gauge(fixed with a new fuel pump). I don't remember the details of what they told him was wrong with the signals/wiper sprayers, but they said it had something to do with the wires or electronics in the column if my memory serves. Reading this post makes me wonder if it would be worth my effort to dig into my ignition module and see if any of the contacts are burnt.

Ive also had intermittent issues with the pass lock system where i couldn't start my car either. Oddly enough that issue has came and went with out any fix. It got to the point where i was about to scrap the car over it and then it went away.

Any thoughts?

__________________
2000 Impala LS 3.8 260k miles and counting.

auntjemima

Based on the first part of your post I was leaning towards your switch on the steering column. However based on the rest it could very well be the same issue as the OP experienced, if not to a lesser extent, or both.

Brett_the_bomb

What switch in the column are you referring to? This is a pesky issue I've been dealing with for approx 8 years. Any help is appreciated.

__________________
2000 Impala LS 3.8 260k miles and counting.

auntjemima

Using switch probably wasn't the right term. I was referring to your multifunction arm. Judging by the price they quoted your dad, they may have thought the same thing.

kingnutin

Sounds like the turn signal switch, as well as the standard passlock problem. I doubt it's the ignition switch in your case.

__________________
1978 Caprice Classic Landau
350 2-bolt, stock 4bbl
Stock rebuilt TH350
Edelbrock performer cam + intake
Dual 2 1/2" Flowmaster exhuast (waiting to be installed)
Edelbrock IAS Classic shocks
95 9C1 3.08 posi
4 wheel disc brakes!
16x8 American Racing Baja's with 225/60/16 Pirelli P4's

Bob_K

Brett_the_bomb, first I would check to see that you have the correct blinker bulbs. I think if you have the wrong wattage it could cause the fast blinking. If it's not that I think the fast blinking may be due to the hazard switch.

The other problems sound like the multi function switch. If you decide to change it yourself there are a few videos on YouTube that show how to remove/replace. There's also a write-up on the site that I linked above.

Update -It's been several days since I changed the ignition switch and everything has been working fine. Now I just need to fix the a leaky A/C system.

BigCee

awesome Bob K! I had an a/c system w/ no pressure...and so far all I did was refill with a refrigerant bottle with stop leak in it....so far, a/c is working alright!

__________________
02 3.4L Impala Base
Overkill 3400 PCM tune- 87octane
Modified stock air intake filter box

http://www.thetruthaboutdeath.org/index.html
http://www.truthaboutdeath.com/
http://www.sabbathtruth.com/

pigseye

[QUOTE=Bob_K;496921]Another update.

So yesterday I found myself stuck at work because the car wouldn't start. I agreed with kingnutin's response that it sounded like the ignition switch. So I had my daughter come pick me up and I had her bring me some tools so that I could pull the ignition switch and take it home and check the connectors. While I was waiting for her I did some more searching and came across this great Sparky's Answers: 2003 Chevrolet Impala Security Light Flashes and The Engine Will Not Run write-up about the ignition switch and lock. This write-up offers a good explanation and lots of pictures that makes it very easy to follow.
....

This is a great post and I thank you for sharing. Our family has 2 recently purchased 2004 Impalas with over 100,000 miles on them. Although we haven't experienced this issue yet, we're due for some weird problem.

Thanks!