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Cadillac Repair/possible short circuit

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Expert: - 6/20/2010


Question
hello, first i want to hank you for your work.
problem:
my car does not start at all, there is no spark, nothing at all, my windows dont work, the whole car just shut down. it happened on thrusday morning and i came back, tried to jump it, it didnt work and i pushed it and all of a sudden, it worked and yesterday i went out to buy some groceries and same thing happened again, everything just shuts off. i am sure it is an electrica problem, short circuit but could you please help me with this issue. thanks a lot

Answer
Hello,

There are 2 reasons why it is not a short. One is because you still have a car and it did not burn up completely, the other that if you have such an event, it does not repair itself so the vehicle has power another day. This would be simple to diagnose if I was at the car, but I am like you left guessing. Mine being a little more calculated and the very first thing I think of id a bad battery. A battery will charge itself up after sitting, and an internal failure would cause it to fail.

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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