2001 Chevy Prizm not starting - intermittent, possible cause found?

timropp
Tue, 14 May 2013 16:39:13 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Have a 2001 Prizm with 120k miles on it. Just had the recommended 120k service done a month or two ago (local shop that has been reliable to me) and they commented on how mechanically solid my car was.

Thursday drove to work like normal. When it was time to leave, car wouldn’t start. No dash lights, nothing at all when I turned the key. Got a ride, came back later that night and jumped it and it started right up (didn’t wait at all, but I also didn’t check it before hooking up the cables - it might have started without a jump). Radio had reset and so forth, but it was running.

Drove Friday, it was fine.

Car sat all weekend. Monday morning, dead as could be again. No dash lights when I put the key in, nothing when I turned it. Maybe a single click, but nothing more (can’t remember for sure).

Drove wife’s car to work. Came home Monday afternoon and the car started right up with no problem. Was curious if the battery voltage was low or anything, so I turned the car off, hooked up my bluetooth OBD reader (generic ELM 327 off ebay), and tried to start. Car was dead. Unplugged the reader, still nothing.

Took the battery out and ran to the store, assuming a bad or weak battery. They tested and said it’s completely fine. Went back home, hooked it back up, car started right up.

So now I’m suspecting something’s up with the ELM327… I just got it last week, a few days before this all started. Had it hooked up all week long and didn’t unplug it till the first time the car wouldn’t start. Didn’t plug it back in till Monday afternoon’s issues.

Could a flaky OBD reader cause these kinds of issues? Anything else I should be checking, or do you think I’m ok as long as I toss out that reader? When I was using the reader last week, it seemed to be reading everything fine and sending the data over to my phone. When the car was dead each time, it acted like the battery was completely disconnected - radio reset, NO lights, etc. Could something with the OBD reader mess up the computer and make it act like that, and then a little time lets the computer reset or something?

9 posts - 4 participants