[17txcamaross]

So, I have not seen this issue on the forum and am unable to find through search.

Just wanted to to inform everyone of my battery issue that caused a huge headache.

Sorry for the lengthy post...needed to vent after this 24 hour debacle.

So the other day I was driving the Camaro to the medical district in downtown Houston and the car literally freaked out while I was driving down the road. It started with the car locking and unlocking the doors on it's own while I was going a steady 30 MPH down the road. After a few minutes the car decided it would start locking/unlocking the doors and turning itself off and back on while still driving 30 MPH. For those who have not been in this area there is almost no real safe place to pull over aside from parking garages. Anyway, at this point I am thinking a poltergeist is in the car.

I get the car down the road and pull into the med district parking garage where I was originally headed to visit a friend. pull up to the first available spot on the 4th floor and park the car. Power the car down thinking the ECU/whatever system just needs to restart itself and BAM the car will not start any longer. To make matters worse there is no power to the dash cluster, no power to the door locks or trunk release, but there is still power to the HVAC and Window motors. In fact the power to the HVAC and windows could not be turned off without disconnecting the battery.

So at this point I just decide F it and I leave the car in the garage and head up to see my friend. Come back down and HVAC lights, window operation lights, license plate lights are still on so I disconnect the battery. Got a ride home with a friend so I could deal with it the next day. Unable to lock the entire car even using the keyhole on the drivers side door handle.

Now come to yesterday. Get back to the garage and attempt to jump the car. Somehow or another during this process the fuse box in the trunk arcs and blew the box, however, all the same lights remain on.

Call GM Roadside and get them to send a lift truck and a flat bed to get the car out of the garage and then to the dealership. Between GM and drive time for tow truck this took about 2.5 hours. No big deal as I was trying to see my friend again that day.

Tow truck driver gets to the garage and it takes about an hour to get the car down the 4 floors...my fault as I backed in and his jack wasn't low enough for my lowered car. Finally get it jacked up and disconnect linkage...tow downstairs.

BLAH BLAH...anyway after a grueling 6.5 hours Tuesday I got my car to the dealer and low and behold it was a messed up 1 year old battery.

I can't believe for the life of me all these problems could come from a battery, but lesson learned and next time I will try the battery first...

Sorry for the rant.

[SLO]

Wow, not funny but I did laugh a bit at the poltergeist comment...... I would have been freaking out, glad you got it worked out.

[Glen e]

Hopefully, it may be over But do a bit of watchful waiting. Get a volt meter and test the battery through the front under the hood, every week or two, many of us have replaced the battery only to have some alert/problems come back. I personally think there something else in the system that is a parasitic drain in this car, and the battery goes low, and then all sorts of phantom alarms can occur, as it did in your case.

[camaro5]

Your demons were low voltage - it wreaks havoc.

You have exorcised the demons!

[17txcamaross]

And the demons are back...had the car unlock and lock itself driving at 70 on Friday. Car also seemed to shift to neutral and rev to about 3k RPM. Following that the car went back in gear. Took it back to the house and left it in the street in case it wouldn't start...of course I was on my way to my baby sisters wedding...ugh! Just the worst timing for these problems.

The car was taken again on a flatbed to the dealer on Saturday. Car did not drain the battery this time and would start again. Seems I had multiple problems occur and the dealer fixed one of them.

Hopefully this is just a reflash, but right now I have a pretty bad taste in my mouth about the whole situation.

Looks like another member has their car shutting itself off and right before unlocks and locks itself...maybe related?

[17txcamaross]

So, wanted to update. GM believes it is the TCM causing my issues now.

It does make sense as the doors unlock when the TCM sends a signal the car is in park. The doors then lock when the TCM sends a signal the car is in gear. The revving of the engine would be cause by the slight blip of having the gas pedal down during the TCM's freak out stage.

Hoping to confirm their findings today and see what all needs to be flashed/replaced on the Camaro.

[17txcamaross]

Update, tech will be taking the car out to relearn shift points after a reprogram of the TCM and assuring the car does not act possessed any longer.

Hopefully in the end the TCM has freaked out due to the original low voltage from the battery going dead.

Would like to know why the battery went dead after 1.25 years on a garaged vehicle almost never exposed to extreme temps aside from summer driving. Wondering if there is a system draining the battery which should not be.

Possibly all the beeping that comes from under the hood when the car is parked and senses the remote or whatever all that noise is from.

[17txcamaross]

Got word yesterday that my service advisor thinks the issue is from when a different dealer replaced my torque converter.

During the reinstall he said they installed a heat shield upside down and did not put a wire harness back in its correct bracket. The wire was contacting the heat shield and shorting the system. Said when they were live streaming and testing the car about half the systems would lose power for a split second under acceleration. He was then able to recreate the doors locking and unlocking and the car shifting itself into neutral.

Here's to hoping once they replace the wiring, harnesses and reinstall everything correctly that the issue goes away.

Mac Haik's service department has been amazing to work with in what seemed like could have been a catastrophic issue. I would highly recommend them to anyone in search of a dealer in Houston.

[Vyncynt]

I have also had problems where my Infotainment radio has become possessed like an unseen force pressing all over the display, changing channels, etc... Last time this happened, they just pulled the negative battery cable. Eventually had to have the battery replaced for other issues. Just started doing it again the other day and lo and behold my battery was dead again. Towed to dealer again.