I bought a 6L Calais V recently, something I'd been planning to do ever since I drove an SS at the VE launch. The original owner of my Calais V is a work colleague, so I've known the car we bought since day 1, and tracked it's entire history during this time, knowing what has (and hasn't) happened to it.


Anyway, it decided to spit the dummy for the missus this morning.
Unlocked OK, key turned & all the dash lit up, system check went through, but no crank. It hadn't run since before Christmas, so I instantly assumed a dead battery - but it wasn't.

I've gone through everything I can think of - as I'll explain, to rule out most (if not all) the common possible faults.


I was already at work when this happened, so I could only try things over the phone. Quick check of the voltage - 12.3V, went up to 12.4 when the door was closed, and only dropped to 12.2 when the headlights were switched on - so I knew the battery was OK. It was just like someone had removed the starter relay.

So I get home tonight to have a look, and it worked fine - unlock, key in, crank, fire. No hassles. Went back upstairs to stir up the missus & put s*** on her about not turning the key properly..... came back down, and much to my disgust, it repeated this morning's behaviour...(yeah, I'm in the dog house now!)

Stuffed around trying each of the keys, locking it & unlocking it, leaving the key in for a bit before trying - nothing. Swapped a few relays around thinking it could be an intermittent relay - whilst doing so I manually bridged the relay contacts for the starter & it cranked - ruling out that end. All of a sudden it came good, so I assumed the relays were a prob.
Took it for a 1/2 hour drive to make sure I'd given the battery enough charge to recover.

Back in the driveway, turned it off, went to crank it again - dead. Everything lights up, just no cranking. The comms, ign & EFI relays all click (and I tested them in other spots (horn, fogs etc) to make sure the relays were all OK). Even tried leaving the key in the "on" position & manually triggering the starter - cranks but won't fire, suggesting the VATS is kicking in & stopping it from starting.

Both keys work the locks & boot fine, and run their relevant memory positions, so that side of things is OK. Keys had fresh batteries fitted at the start of December too, so I don't think they're an issue.

I found if I left a key in it for 3-5 minutes, it would then allow me to start it when I tried it, and if I turned it off & tried it again straight away, it would crank each time (did this for like 20 cycles). Left it longer than 10 seconds, and it's back to the no-start scenario.

This further reinforces my thoughts that it's a VATS issue.

So I decided to drop the lower RH dash cover, and removed the column shroud for a poke around. I found what I can only assume is the key reader, around the barrell & under it (also containing the light), and the traditional ign switch workings on the other end of the barrell. With a multi-meter, I probed the ignition switch wiring (on the console side of the column), and even though I had the no-crank situation, I was getting signal on the crank wire when turning the key all the way. Again, pointing more at VATS.......

I managed to unplug what I assume to be the keyreader, and plugged it back in (trying to eliminate dirty terminals). The bloody thing started straight after! I thought I might have cured it, but it wasn't to be - turned it off for 10 seconds (key out) and tried it again - dead....

So I gave the clear plastic bit a few firm taps with my index finger (would have preferred a hammer by now) then tried it & it fired straight away again.... Now I can't say for sure it's helping the issue or not, or it's more of a placebo affect, but tapping on it seemed to make it come good, however the fault is still there.

Any ideas on what it could be? Is it a common issue with these VEs?


I have another VE (Omega), so I can swap this suspect part over to try it, but I also think it could well be a decaying voltage somewhere in the system that's preventing it working, and I'm also worried it may not be the same part due to being a different trim levels. Is it worth trying?


I've included 2 pics below - the general area under the column, and a closer one showing the bit I was tapping.

Any help would be appreciated.


Dr Terry - tried calling you tonight, but you were out. I'll give you a call tomorrow, but you'll probably read this by then anyway - so at least I won't have to bore you with the tale, and you can check everything I've done so far.

Pics:





Cheers,

Mick
_______________________________________________________________

Judge a successful man not on how he treats his peers, but on how he treats those less fortunate.

Have the key batteries been replaced(service requirement). A guy at work bought a new SV6 in 07 he was driving to work when the car shut down he pulled over and contacted the Holden dealer a guy came out and by-passed the problem and the dealer replaced the computer under warranty, this was not a one off for VE`s and after 07 the computers had been updated to fix this glich.
I have a late 07 WM statesman V6 but I have had no such drama`s.

Mick, how did you get on with this?

Kev

Excellent. Asked in case you needed mine for any swap-testing....

Will keep the workshop in mind if mine plays up. Same place that does a brilliant job on HEI dizzy's for red 8's ?

Kev

Like you said the VE has moved away from DIY, another good bit of info to store in the frontal lobes.

Recently I've had an issue with the VX V6, very similar symptoms. Turns out to be a wire which runs from the ignition switch to the starter motor. Where it connects to the starter is adjacent to the exhaust manifold and in a position to get mud and dirt into it, over time it bakes the crud in and loses the contact. When you turn the key all the lights come on everything works except the solenoid click. Just reach down on the passenger side of the engine go in under the the exhaust manifold find said wire & connector, roger it on and off a couple of times to get contact back, this will get you going until you can fix it properly.

Edited by user Friday, January 28, 2011 7:34:23 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified