GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I hope i have posted in the right area. I have a 2005 Vibe 2wheel 1.8L. My girlfriend tried to jump it when it died at the gas station and when she did the jumper cables were put on backwards. Of course with this it blew almost every engine fuse with the 100 amp Alt-s. The care will not start, i have checked and changed every broken fuse and relay that i could think of that has to do with the Engine. All the lights will come on power everything when i turn the key nothing not even a click. I have pulled the starter and had it tested, the solenoid is part of the starter so i know that is good as well. Any suggestions of what could be the problem? I am down to 2 options, first the ECU could be blown, second could be the ignition relay? Thanks guys for looking any advise would be appreciated.

Check the AM2 Fuse under the dash or the EFI fuse under the hood. If you have a OBD 2 scanner, turn on the ignition and see if you can "talk" to the ECU. If you can "talk" I'm fairly certain the ECU is OK. As far as the ignition Relay that should be easy to test. Yea dude that's bad stuff when it happens. Good luck!

I always wondered what would happen if you reversed the cables I knew it wouldn't be good. Let us know the final "damage count" and when it is back up & running

Might be a fuseable link on the starter also

I checked everything except the ECU anyone have a diagram where the ECU would be? I know its behind the glove box but need a little more guidance.

Before you start messing with the ECU get a cheap code scanner (about $40) and see if you can "talk" to it. Did you check those fuses? There are no fuses near the ECU. Looking at will tell you very little unless you have burnt wires. Can you smell anything burnt inside the car?

Yeah checked all the fuses, except for the fusible link. Any ideas where this would be? i have searched everywhere. Could it be inside the plastic wrapping around the wires? it just seems awfully thin for that.

If FL is out you won't have power to anything. The starter, according to my diagram, doesn't go through any FL or fuse of any kind. There's a 30A fuse the a 15A AM2 fuse. Not sure how you checked the AM2 but it's a PITA to get at. You should have 12volts on the starter at ALL times.

I wonder if he got this fixed?

I am still working out the issue. I decided to check the AM2 again and it was blown. When I replaced it I tried to start it again and nothing so I checked the fuse again and it had blown again. So that tells me then there is a bad wire some where. Any suggestions? I tested all the grown wires for continuity and they all passed.

Is the Fuse blowing when in the key is in the ignition position or start position?

Are you getting my PMs?

It is blowing when I am in the start position. I haven't seen your PM's but I will check my inbox.

Well really they are IMs (should pop up). I have diagrams of the start system and other electrical systems. You may want to start by isolating the injectors first. They come off the AM2 also.

oh yeah i am posting these off my phone most of the time so i wont get the pop ups. I am later today going to look at the wires to see if there is a break somewhere that could be causing the issue. i will start with the injectors.

Set up an account on Matrixowners.com. You should be able to get PMs there.

Ok I have set up an account same user ghornsby

You're still not vaildated on MO.

So did you ever get it running?

Quote, originally posted by ghornsby »oh yeah i am posting these off my phone most of the time so i wont get the pop ups. .if you don't get pop-ups, or if you want to see a previous IM, you can read them by going to My Profile -> Instant Message HistoryIf you remove the starter relay and put in a new AM2 fuse, then turn the key to start, does the AM2 fuse still blow? if not, it doesn't mean the problem is the starter relay, but doing the test will isolate a part of the circuit. some threads about removing the starter relayhttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=39007http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=42723Not sure if I'd worry about hte injectors, they would get power when the key is in the run position, but the fuse only blows when in the start position. If an injector or injector wire was shorted, then I'd expect that to blow the fuse when in Run also.

Thanks Joatmon for the info on the IMs. In regards to his issue he needs to start isolating his systems off the AM2 Fuse. There's about 4 or 5. Injectors, Start relay, ECU and a couple others.

Quote, originally posted by Salsa Guy »In regards to his issue he needs to start isolating his systems off the AM2 Fuse. There's about 4 or 5. Injectors, Start relay, ECU and a couple others.I understand the AM2 fuse supplies several things, my point was that it might be best to start by looking at those things that are only powered by the AM2 fuse when the key is turned to the start position, since he said that is when the AM2 fuse blows.

Ok guys sorry the delay had to wait to get the OBD2 scanner. So I plugged the scanner in and did the test and there is no communication with the ecu, I tried both with the key off and turned to start position. So my ECU is bad I assume, but would that cause the fuse to blow??

Check both the EFI and the AM2 fuses before turn the ignition to the on postion, not assy and not start (2nd click on the key). using the OBD2 scanner. Then use the scanner. If it still won't work turn the ignition off and check the fuses again to make sure they are still good. If they are still good then then yes the ECU may be bad or the power leads to it are burnt.

Hello everyone.

Same thing happened to my wife's 97 vibe the other day. Currently at the dealer out of town and they said it could be the ecu but havn't done a full diagnostic yet. Originally the alt fuse link broke so I had them replace that but still won't crank. I'm getting it towed home so I can look at it myself. Anyone know the final outcome to OP original problem?

I had to let my Vibe sit for almost a month and a half. When I first tried to start it, the battery was dead. It could be jumped but soon went dead again. I bought a new battery and the new battery went dead. The issue was a short in the wires to the AC. The wires had been chewed by a rodent. The short took 2 hours of professional diagnostics to find: cost $400.