Testing for Intermittent Conditions and Poor Connections: Notes
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2004 Pontiac Sunfire and 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
Tools Required
- J 35616 GM-Approved Terminal Test Kit. See Special Tools and Equipment .
- J-38125 Terminal Repair Kit. See Special Tools and Equipment .
- J 42675 Flat-Wire Probe Adapter. See Special Tools and Equipment .
Most intermittent conditions are caused by faulty electrical connections or wiring. Inspect for the following items:
- Wiring broken inside the insulation
- Poor connection between the male and female terminal at a connector.
- Poor terminal to wire connection - Some conditions which fall under this description are poor crimps, poor solder joints, crimping over the wire insulation rather than the wire itself and corrosion in the wire to terminal contact area, etc.
- Wire insulation which is rubbed through - This causes an intermittent short as the bare area touches other wiring or parts of the vehicle.
- Refer to Inducing Intermittent Fault Conditions in order to duplicate the conditions required in order to verify the complaint.
- Refer to Testing for Electrical Intermittents for test procedures to detect intermittent open, high resistance, short to ground, and short to voltage conditions.
- Refer to Scan Tool Snapshot Procedure for advanced intermittent diagnosis.