Hello everyone, I did search the forums for a response to my problem but was unable to find anything so I am forced to create a new topic

My 98 Chevy Blazer has had some intermitant electrical problems but they had been "cured" a few months ago when a bad sector of my battery was detected and replaced.

Since then, my rear wiper randomly stopped working. Which although it is annoying, I am getting fine without it.

Yesterday however, I noticed my check engine light was on. It has gone on in the past when the automatic shifting gets stuck on 3rd or 4th gear and the RPMS shoot up to 4500. Usually this takes care of itself in a day or so and the light goes off. But this time the engine light came on without this problem occuring.

And now when I turn off my car, the radio no longer stays on; which is a problem for me as I like to sit in my car and finish the song I'm listening to before getting out/finish my cigarette. Is it possible this issue is related to the faulty sector of the battery? The battery still is on, since if I have my phone plugged into my car charger, it still continues to charge. So I am very confused as to what the issue may be.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am not very good with cars at all, on a mechanical or electrical level. Thanks in advance.

 

A lot of random electrical issues tend to be traced back to the beginning of an ignition switch failure.

Lets start with a full listing of the current, pending, and history codes that are stored in the PCM. Please list them in that way. I.E. current - P0171, pending - P0302, history - P0701, P0134 Hopefully you haven't pulled the battery all that recently (other than when it was replaced).

 

Hi Swartlkk - Thank you for the quick response. As I said in my original post, I am not very mechanically inclined. Can you explain to me how to find these codes, or provide a link to how to do this? I did a brief search but I must be looking in the wrong place...

 

Most autoparts stores will read the current codes for you. If the employee knows more than just how to turn the scan tool on and plug it in, they should be able to tell you the pending & history codes as well.

 

Thank you - I will find out the codes and update ASAP.

 

Hi - I just got back from Advance Auto Parts. They scanned for me:

History - P0103

And that's it. I explained my problem to the woman and she said that the radio has no connection to this error.

Not sure what to do

 

P0103 is for MAF sensor high frequency and is basically the reverse of the code referenced below:
P0102 - Mass Air Flow Sensor Circuit Low Frequency

I agree that it likely doesn't have anything to do with the problem you are having, but reading the codes is always the place to start given how much it can potentially tell you about the problem.

In your case, it sounds like it's time to break out the multimeter and test the ignition switch. The wiring diagrams can be found in the link under my signature image entitled Anatomy of the Ignition Switch.

 

Just dug through my wiring diagrams. There is a relay that is supposed to be located under the left side of the dash some place. It is call the retained accessory power relay. It gets its power from the power seat circuit breaker when the ignition is turned off. This relay stays powered up for a certian period of time or a door is opened. This signal is processed by the body control module. Several things may be going on.

1 - the relay may have failed.
2 - the BCM could be commanding the relay off. (If so, Why? Maybe it thinks a door is open)

I havent had this issue before. I can only throw ideas out there for now. Maybe someone else has more input.

 

Wow great thinking. I just realized it probably has to do with the issues I've been having with my door hinge. My driver side door's hinge "popped" out and so I was unable to close my door for an hour or so. We eventually took it out based on our body shop's recommendation so my door has 0 resistance when I open and close it. This very likely then is what is effecting the relay switch. I will see if my dad and I can look it over tomorrow afternoon and update. Thanks a lot both of you, hopefully we can solve it!

 

I hope that solves it!

Good Luck!