FIXED!! Results using multi meter 98 regal no crank/no start

I'm new. I don't know what to do. (Joe Dirt) here is the post I put on one of your YouTube videos that you suggested would help you and others recognize who I am now trying to get help. here is my post from the YouTube video.

       Hello. new subscriber here. I have a 98 Buick regal LS 3800. About 2 months ago it's stalled on me at a red light and left me stranded. When I try to restart it it was a no start no crank. Headlights and everything worked fine. So the fire department shows up and they help me push it backwards after I have to put a pencil down in the shifter just to get it into neutral because it wouldn't let me have the key and I knew the transmission override. Odd thing is once I was pushed backwards into the parking lot I hit the key and started right back up I went to go home just avoid a tow and the city policeman pulled me over pull me out of the car and did a full drunk stop. And yes you guessed it it would not start after that. So I had to have it towed to my mechanic .he put on a new starter that didn't fix it and then a new neutral safety switch. That didn't fix it either. He is a very good mechanic and an honest man and his only suggestion to me was that he thought it was the security. He let me know it's out of his hands. The car needed a new starter anyway so that's $63 plus $20 labor didn't kill me. So I looked into some security over a YouTube videos but I was unable to locate the orange wire with the two white wires. Let me reassure you I took everything off to get to the enormous wiring harness with a 7mm bolt in it. I did not realize it had this huge steel plate that you have to use an extension in a 10 mm socket that's another story. After throwing my hands up in the air I sat down in the driver's seat tilted the wheel down ,turn the key over and it started. So I suspect it has a short in one of the wires surrounding the steering wheel. More over I think it would be likely the wires on top of the steering column although I might be wrong. This car has 300,000 miles on it but believe me you it has a strong engine and a strong transmission. Not that it's a race car but I've broke  many a hearts from red light to red light  in that 98 regal. Back on topic I'm stuck. Before I took all the required crap out from under the dash all the lights would come on. Now the only light that comes on is the emergency brake light and it's still down. I have a multitester and I've never asked for any help on YouTube but you seem like a pretty nice guy. Where would you start with this problem? Because as much as I thought it may be a security issue that doesn't seem very likely when it will start and run just fine once in a blue moon. So in closing, I'm glad I found your channel I'm glad I subscribed and got that notification today and this video gave me the courage to ask you for help. I just don't have the money for another car. And even if I do juggle around some finances to get one I don't have enough to even buy skateboard. My wife and I have another car it's a Toyota Corolla so we share it. But it's a real pain in the butt to not have my own car. I use talk to text because my eyesight gets very blurry if I try to type so I apologize if some grammatical errors are in this message. Please take the time to reply as well as point me in the right direction so I can have my favorite car back. It has 300K on it but it only uses a quart between oil changes always keep all the fluids up to level and never and I repeat never run it hot. So for the last time I'm going to say please help. Thank you

I really need a starting point. It's been 3 days since I've posted with no input. Am I in the wrong forum? Thank you

Are these fuses getting voltage at key on/crank position? Use a test light and load them as well.



       

Thank you so much for replying I was outside today tinkering with it. I took the relays out from under the hood inside of the main ignition block that were running to the crank and the main ignition. they were covered in a thin coat of corrosion so I took a knife and I scraped them very shiny and plugged them in.o I also understand that the cooling fans are the same large relays and I tried switching that out with crank . Then tried switching that with the main ignition. I didn't have any luck doing that but I will check these fuses. If I'm correct what you have noted in the diagram at the very top, the top right is the fuse box that is on the passenger side when you open the door there is a panel that comes off. I would like to ask though? Why do you think the vehicle will start just every once in awhile. I have no squabble in trying to find if these fuses are good or not I just thought that if a fuse is blown because the it breaks the threshold, that makes it burn out in that spot for a protection against over powering a certain accessory or fire. This leads me to wonder will a fuse work sometimes work and then not work at all. I guess that's the biggest thing that's aggravating me with this car is it does not make any sense. I have started it and moved it from one place in the yard to another so I can mow but that was a month ago. And that's the last time it started although before that the first time that it presented a problem is when it stalled at the post office as I was pulling in and lost all power so my steering wheel was all the power I could give it LOL but I would turn it over and start .moved it into a better locatio to work on it in then. Thank you very much I'll get to work on this

My initial suspicion was maybe a bad ignition switch, or some wiring issue around the steering column ("I sat down in the driver's seat tilted the wheel down ,turn the key over and it started") and that's why I wanted you to check some fuses while the problem was present, not necessarily if the fuses were blown, but if voltage was making its way out of the ignition switch and going to the fuses.

I understand finding an intermittent problem is difficult, which is why the-more-it's-broke, the easier it'll be to find out why. You write you have a no start, that's when you have to check what's missing: spark or fuel. When it's a no-crank, which was what I thought you had ("When I try to restart it it was a no start no crank"), start checking out the starting circuit wiring diagram, split the diagram in half and place a test light somewhere in the wires to let you know in an instant if something that's supposed to have power, has power or not. All this while it's broke. That will give you an area to focus on.

wrote:

So I looked into some security over a YouTube videos but I was unable to locate the orange wire with the two white wires. 

It's 2 white wires going into a black connector and then it turns to a white/black and a purple/white.

The connection for the key cylinder at the base of the column is at a small two-terminal connector or a large bulkhead type connector, depending on the year and make of the vehicle.

 

Test procedure from identifix:

1. Check the operation of the security light in the dash. See if it is blinking or on solid with the key on.

2. If the security light is on, check the wiring running up the column to the back of the tumbler for being broken.

3. This can be done with an ohmmeter hooked across the two White wires at the connector at the base of the column. Insert the key and check for a resistance value, then make sure that the resistance value does not drop out when rotating the key.

The security system will disable the starter.

Can you suggest a good test light on Amazon that's cheap that would allow me to just touch that to each of the wires like you were saying that way I would know if that wire was broken and also to the fuses to see if the fuses blown without having to take it out of the car?

this is the one SD uses but it appears to be on backorder:
www.amazon.com/OTC-3633-Mini-coil-Circui...id=1630637870&sr=8-2

this one is fairly inexpensive and looks a little better quality than most of the cheap junk:
www.amazon.com/CRAFTSMAN-Circuit-Tester-...d=1630637896&sr=8-11

I purchased a eBay pack that had the 15 resistors that are capable of overriding security system. I have a multitester. I measured the resistance of my pass key and it was .497 so I suspected it was the .500 resistor. Although I'm not sure where the security wire is? And as you said what color it is. I'm not a electrical genius by no means because I don't even have a pen light( which I am going to purchase today off of Amazon today) But I concluded in my brain that if there's a security wire going through a wiring harness bundled with other wires towards a plug under the dash, I deduce that there's likely the same wires of likely be plugged in near the ignition somewhere. Would you consider that a correct statement? As far as security goes, my mechanic only suggested it. And he is only a parts changer, but luckily he is a very honest guy and said it was out of his hands. Although scanner himself posted on a YouTube video that if it were a security issue the car would not stall, and if it were the neutral safety switch the car would not stall while driving. So the only two parts that I changed were the starter and the neutral safety switch.

You feel the craftsman will suffice as a reliable tester for an amateur as myself. Being accurate, tough, and ready to use and see led light. I read in a review,led is superior to incandescent bulb testers. Is that true?

I think unless you are testing sensitive computer circuits incandescent is fine. 

I think the Craftsman model that I ordered for $14 was a LED light. I felt that was a bit more important as someone mentioned in this thread that the incandescent lights can pull a certain amount of voltage when testing a circuit.

I apologize for the delay between our messages( it took a week to get a Craftsman test light from Amazon)". Although there's good news and bad news. Good news is all the fuses under the hood block checked out perfectly, with no low signals or anything. Now the side panel on the passenger side of the car not so much. In the diagram reference A block ( crank signal BCM cluster 10 A) fuse is not testing. I replaced it with a new 10 amp fuse and it still refuses to light my tester. As for position A block( ignition cluster PCM and BCM 10 A) it tests with strong current. Now as for block D position 5/6( cluster 10 amp) fuse has a weak signal, as does all of the fuses in the D block( they're all testing with very low signal in all positions on my test light) they have just enough current to dimly light the small LED inside the tester.

Great you've identified an open and some voltage drop going to those fuses.

Time to check the wires upstream of the voltage source which would be connector C201.



The Pink and Yellow wires pass through a big inline connector. They stay the same color in and out of the connector.

Take a voltage measurement or use test light and make sure it's battery voltage and lights your test light. Check both ends.

If its bright going in and weak coming out, then the problem is inside of that connector.

If it's weak going in and weak coming out, then you need to get a new ignition switch.

The fuse box for this repair is under the hood right? It pops off on both sides lifts up and there's a bunch of connectors plugged into to the bottom of it correct?

That connector 201 should be under the dash.

I'm so glad I just checked this. So when I remove the long dashboard piece as seen in the start if the video, it should be behind the passenger side fuse block inside the glove box area correct? The schematic made me think it was part of the under hood fuse assembly. Thank you so much for getting this far. A test light is a life saver. But you have helped so much I appreciate it and can't express my gratitude enough..

Simply from where do I access connector 201? I thought it to be on the backside of the passenger side fuse block access panel.I wanted to show you pictures of different connectors I found after removing the glove box and trim . Does connector 201 plug directly into the back side of the passenger fuse block, or is it one of the many connectors under the dash. 1 held with an Allen/star bit. Then there's a cluster of 4 grey connectors under there as well. These are in different areas under the glove box. Many bundles of wires going under the carpet and to other areas under the dash. Am I even in the right spot to access it. Mostly though, how do I access connector 201? Specifically what area of the car? Also, how do I format pictures for upload. Thank you so much.