1997 Z28 'quit' on me while driving - electrical/ignition problem!!!
 

Ok, background:

Started the car after work, and it would crank/start, but 'blacked out' (automatic lights, dash lights, and engine would STOP) when the engine was started & the key was released from the 'start' position.

Pushing up on the underside of the ignition (turning the entire shroud counter-clockwise a little bit) fixed this well enough to start driving home...

On the way home (say, 40min into the drive), the following happened, very rapidly (over the course of a minute or so):

1) 'Erratic' gauge indications - speedo 'kicks up' 10mph, then drops back down (but the car was not accelerating)

2) Brief flashes of the red 'Check guages' light (just a blink)

3) The engine, headlights, and dashboard illumination (headlights in the 'Automatic' position) shut off.

After coasting over to the side of the road, I discovered the following:

1) The car will not crank when the key is turned

2) All 'internal' electronics (radio, horn, dash lights, headlights, flashers, OEM alarm, etc) work if manually turned on/off... However, the automatic lights do NOT work, nor can I try to start the car.

3) When the key is turned, the red alarm LED flashes, but nothing else happens. The car does NOT go through the normal 'bulb-check/self-test' sequence when the key is put in 'RUN'.


Is this a problem with the ignition switch? BCM? Will a bad BCM prevent the car from running?

Is there any way to 'fix' it quickly/temporarily, so I can get my car off the side of the road?

check both battery terminals and the distribution block terminal. it could be the ignition switch also.

I had the same thing happen on my 95.

I'd guess that either your ignition switch is bad or the connectors that go on the ignition switch are burnt up (or both).

Either one will usually get worse when hot. I was able to limp my car back home after it had sat for a while.

This is probably your best bet. Have had this happen more than once. Just replace your ignition switch, and check the plugs on it for ANY signs of burn marks or melting. If there is any sign at all, replace both plugs. If the car is a manual, switch should be about 10-15 dollars, if auto, I think its around $40-50, BUT, if your in a pinch, you can use the switch for a manual car, in fact, my 95 V6 car is currently using a switch from an 84 Chevy truck. Pretty standard GM switch. The reason the Auto switch is so high is because it has the lock/cable thing to keep you from pulling the shifter out of park with the key off, or from turning key off without it in park. Hope you get it goin.

Update:
 

Well, I got the car towed home... Roadside assistance is worth having on your insurance...

Further examination shows that fuse #13 (PCM IGN) has no power with the key in 'run', and that when power is applied to this fuse, the car will start/run.

So, the wires back to the PCM are OK - it's something between the fuse box and the battery... Which fits the 'above' about something being wrong with the ignition switch...

So, which wires feed that circuit, from the ignition switch?

Shoebox has a 96 ignition switch diagram, which I assume would be the same as the 97. Fuse 13 gets power through the ignition switch, from the fusible link that attaches to the red battery terminal box. Fuses 9 and 10 run off the same circuit. If you lose power to all three (and only those 3) of those fuses, you have narrowed the issue down to a part of the ignitiion switch.

http://shbox.com/1/ignswschematic96.jpg

If you have all the fuses at the bottom of the page that are powered through the ignition switch losing power, its a problem between the battery and the switch. The exception would be if all 4 wipe strips in the switch are faulty.