A fellow Pontiac in trouble

Posted by: D Bold

A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 06:06 PM

So it may not be a grand prix but it is a grand am, and heres the story behind it...Anyone know what could be wrong with my car? I drove through some really heavy rain and all of a sudden, I looked down, and all the dash gages had died- the speedometer, odometer, gas, temp- everything....I parked on the side of the road and turned it off, waited and started it again. It ran fine, so I drove it the next 20 mins to town, but the gages never came back on. I parked it and went into Walmart for 30 mins, and when I started it up again, it stalled and would not start at all. The headlights would not turn off either, and the FOB would work. The power windows worked, but pwr door locks, trunk button, and radio did not.
I ended up parking it there and unhooking the battery. 2 days later, it started up fine, and was working like it always has!
Then the next week we had rain again and it did it again, but this time it was sitting in a parking lot, and when I came outside the FOB would not unlock the doors. I used the key and it didn't start either for the first couple of tries. It eventually did start and drove home fine.
Last week, it was sitting outside and it rained and now the car wont start at all, there is a puddle of water on the passenger side floor mat...
Does anyone have any ideas at all???? I can't afford the cost of a mechanic to look at it, and since I am newer to my city, I don't know a trustworthy mechanic.....I would appreciate some ideas if you have any

can you guys help??
I thought it could be the alternator, or alot of water got into the engine or the wiring.
Posted by: D Bold

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 06:07 PM

btw thats an '01 Grand Am with the 3.4 V6...not mine
Posted by: 98gpse

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 06:38 PM

Ok so it only does it after or during a rainstorm? I would say that you wiring is fried and everytime it rains your getting a crap load of shorts causing multiple systems to fail. My advise if you don't want to spend a fortune is wait till the car dries out take it to a dealer and trade it in......maybe for another grand prix lol.
Posted by: D Bold

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 06:42 PM

hey this is not my car just trying to help a kid out from edmonton that I found on the, "I Drive A Pontiac" group on facebook. thats one weird acting grand am
Posted by: 98gpse

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 06:55 PM

ah thought it was like family members car or something but ya I would get rid of it.
Posted by: D Bold

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 06:57 PM

lol yea i think that car is done
Posted by: RooK

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/03/07 11:23 PM

Might be a defective BCM or it's getting moisture in it. Those are mounted under the passenger side glove box I think... could be that rain is getting on it if it's near the blower, etc.
Posted by: GP GT GUY

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/04/07 12:42 AM

like if this is your friend, talk around to different people i.e. mechanics try and just see if this is a small problem, if it's just moisture getting in something it's not supposed to, then it could be a cheap fix, if it's something crazy and expensive, let it dry up and trade it in
Posted by: Chico

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/05/07 08:52 AM

This will not be an easy problem to diagnose as it could be one of a hundred little problems,start with a visual inspection of all your wiring look for any worn through pieces and check your battery to frame ground .good luck on this one you'll need it .Chico(pops)
Posted by: D Bold

Re: A fellow Pontiac in trouble - 08/05/07 05:35 PM

hey chico thanks for the advice, but its not my car lol...its this kid that joined one of my pontiac groups on facebook. But I will be sure to tell him that lol