Hi, I really need some help. My Malibu will start fine then intermittently just totally die electrically. All the gauges will swing wildly then stop. The last time this happened (this morning) the fuel gauge hand flipped so now it is below the E where there is a pin that won't let it come around to measure fuel. Also the time goes to 1:00 and it resets the trip mileage counter. I am concerned that this is an onboard computer issue but wanted to ask to see if possibly it could be an electrical connection issue, perhaps a fuseable link that could cause this. Thanks in advance for any help..

 

Welcome to the forum. You may want to start with the battery cables. Corrosion internal to the molded end tends to eat away the thinner wire first which is what supplies the control modules.

 

I did do preliminary checks, cables are good as well as the battery..

 

Okay, then, get out your digital multimeter (or analog VOM) and check the voltages downstream of the ignition switch like I posted in thread https://chevroletforum.com/forum/mal...43/#post209654. Get a helper to turn the key this way or that to the limits of the RUN position while you watch the meter. Look for a sweet spot where the voltages are significantly lower than the battery voltage or cuts out all together.

 

Thanks for your help. I removed the battery terminals and found a lot of corrosion on the positive terminal. Once cleaned I did a drive test and the car seems to be fine now. The only issue I had then was the fuel needle was stuck under the pin so I could not determine how much gas I had in the tank. I went to the station and filled it up.

I considered removing the plastic gauge cover so I could move the needle back but then noticed the small hole in the cover for resetting the trip meter. My brain kicked in and I fashioned a paperclip so with a small hook on the end and was able to feed it through the hole and push the needle back over so it was on the correct side of the pin. Started the car up and presto, full tank was showing. good to go for now. Really appreciate the advice..Mike

 

Congrats and thanks for the update.