Won't Start

Indycars

Indycars

Administrator
Staff member
I came out to the my 1998 Buick Park Avenue from voting this morning and it would not start. The dash said unknown driver yet the FOB would unlock the doors. The starter would click, but not turn the engine over.

I disconnected the battery for several minutes, but there was no change. After trying several different things the car will not do anything now. The electrical has completely shut down. No starter clicking. Very few dash lights or radio now.

I walked home and got my other FOB and it's the same way ...... nothing! These FOB's are a couple of years old now. I bought them new and programmed them. I tried the exact same procedure to program them, but the car will not respond with Lock/Unlock doors like it should when I hold both button down for 30 seconds. See procedure below.

I'm wondering if I need to clear some codes? Anything else I might try?

1996 – 1999 Park Avenue FOB Programming

1 Turn OFF the ignition switch.

2 Use a fused jumper wire in order to connect the data link connector terminal 8 (BLK/WHT) to terminal 4 (BLK).

3 Close all of the doors.

4 Turn ON the ignition switch. The door will cycle to lock.

5 Press and hold the following buttons on one of the transmitters for 30 second:
LOCK
UNLOCK
After a 30 second delay, the doors will lock and unlock.

Important
Do not turn OFF the ignition. If the switch is turned OFF, the first transmitter becomes inoperative.

In order to program extra transmitters, repeat Step 5.
 
before you go nuts looking for reasons it won,t work,its always a good idea to replace the key fob battery as a first step,
then verify that your cars battery has about 13.3 volts as it cranks ,
Ive seen several cars with those key fob security act crazy if the cars battery voltage is low.


https://www.lifewire.com/broken-car-remote-4111537
 
Last edited:
Check the battery.
Check battery cable connections.
Possible bad cell in the Car battery.
All made in China now and imported.
Think OReiley auto sells a USA brand yet.

Optima Red Top made in Mexico.
Seems bad but way better than China.
Only other good option made in USA is Racing Braile batteries.
Not good for a driver because they have no reserve capacity needed for electronics.
 
Yep, it turned out to be my car battery, it checked at 7 volts. It was purchased in 2013.
 
Indycars said:
Yep, it turned out to be my car battery, it checked at 7 volts. It was purchased in 2013.
Click to expand...
They don't last like they used to.
Interstate spotty reliable too.
Just Optima Red Top I have found reliable. Kinda of overkill for a V6 Buick daily driver, but they are very good batteries.
 
If you have the AAA premium plan they will give you a free battery if yours turns out to be unable to hold a charge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top