Hi all,

First-time poster who enjoys doing much of his own auto repair -- at least the little things.

I have a 2005 Chevy Malibu Maxx with GM Remote Start. The remote start has been spotty lately. About a month ago, the remote start stopped working for about 3 days. Then it worked all of a sudden. This morning, it didn't work. This afternoon, it worked.

Observations:
-On the start sequence, lights flash as normal, and a clicking sound is heard from under the hood. i.e. signal is definitely received.
-Car starts normally with key.
-Remote start works later
-Lots of moisture on the car, overnight rain in both cases of starter failure. In other cases of rain, though, starter worked normally.

Ideas?

TIA.

-bkw

 

Hi bkw,

Welcome to the Chevy forums.

Sounds like corroded battery cables to me. They rob you of just enough power to keep your system from starting dependably on damp or humid days at first.

 

Hi River,

Thanks for your reply. Would this symptom arise only due to remote start? In other words, if I could:

- not start it using a remote starter, then
- start it using a key, then
- not start it using remote start

in a 10 minute window, say, would the corroded battery cables be consistent?

Thanks again for your reply.

 

The problem is it's slightly different from occurrence to occurrence. It sounds like it could be the problem, and for the minimal cost, it would help level the playing field if the problem persists. I.e. you would have eliminated the big three as a possible source of trouble and could move on from there.

Moisture not only accelerates cable corrosion, it also causes corroded cables to "act up" by making the verdigris on the copper wire more resistant to current flow.