02 Impala, will not turn over when turing key - Intermittent

[Mike_2002_Impala]

I'm having this Intermittent issue, I get to a store, come out and all the sudden the car will not start. I can hear the relays when I turn the key, and the lights on the dash come on, but nothing turns over (The starter makes no sound at all). Then after I wait about 10, 15 mins, the car will just start.

I've heard a few different things about this, some have said it's the security module, others have said it could be something with the transmission filter. I have seen the orange security light come on my dash a few times over the past year, but it has not illuminated recently. I don't know how to troubleshoot this problem because it only happens every 3 or 4 months. The dealer says they've never seen this before. I don't see how they have not seen this before because I've run across more than a dozen posts on the net of people trying to find an answer to this. Any ideas what could cause this? Someone mentioned hooking up a voltmeter to the starter and solenoid when the issue happens. What specific contacts do you hook it to?

Advanced thanks

 

[zora]

In your other posts you mentioned the ignition switch recall, did you ever have the switch replaced?
Have you checked the battery connections at the battery, the starter and the ground?
Have you had the body control module checked for codes in history?
You would hook up the voltmeter to the S terminal on the starter solenoid while someone turned the key to start.

 

[Mike_2002_Impala]

I had the recall done, but it didn't fix the issue. I have a new battery, the alternator is only a year old. This issue only happens maybe every two ..or sometimes three months. It's always at night.
I have an appointment to bring the car into Chevy tomorrow morning. But a few people have told me I'm wasting my time and money because they're most likely not going to find a problem which only happens every 2 or 3 months. The service manager really didn't sound confident on the phone either. There are posts all over the net about electrical issues with the 2002 Impalas, so the dealer has to have seen these issues. They change $118. an hour for diagnostics. I'm worried they're going to call me back and say, "we didn't find the issue, we need more time", and then I'm into it for $240. ...and even then they might not find the problem.

You know, I fix computers for people and if I can't find the problem, I don't charge them. That's my mentality.
I don't understand the mentality of doctors and mechanics who still feel they can charge you when they didn't find or fix an issue.

 

[zora]

In February I asked if you checked all four battery connections and your response now is it's a new battery which doesn't answer the question.
I also asked if you had the BCM checked for codes?
The mechanics get paid to do work, if you decide you dont want them to check past the first hour they still have to get paid by the dealer. In your business there should be a minimum charge to check computers regardless of whether the problem is solved.

 

[Mike_2002_Impala]

I took it in today and they found two error codes in the security module. They replaced it with a Module 2.560. The Chevy database said the issue can most often happen from either the security module or the ignition switch as past results have shown, but obviously other things like grounds. They could not reproduce The ignition switch issue because it's intermittent, so the bill I paid could all be for nothing. Even after the job, they were not sure, but they felt confident it was the module. They had a history of codes from the security module, so that was on it's way out for sure. That cost me $530.00 ...with the $50 dollar discount.

And yes, I checked the battery connections. That's the first obvious thing anyone would check.

zora, I can appreciate that people should be paid for their time. But $118 an hour?
I drive a 3000Gal propane truck with extremely volatile explosives in SoCA. (Placard 1075 division 2 explosives) Not only that, the stuff is like liquid nitrogen when it hits the air and turns -42, Not good if it hits your skin. I drive on 100+ foot cliffs on dirt roads to get to homes at the top of the world, if I'm not paying attention for one second, I'm dead. I make $22 bucks an hour. The top pay in my company is $27 after you've been their 6 or 7 years. I have to continually go to classes and deal with federal regulations and I'm always at risk of being sued if I screw up and someone gets hurt. So, How do dealers justify charging $118 an hour while working in their safe little shop? Why don't I get 100 bucks an hour for the BS I have to do? FTW, you know what that means?
I don't know how old you are, but I can tell you that the world I came from and the world we live in today is much different when it comes to people values. iPhones are king, people are just objects now. Things are not built to last anymore, it's all disposable junk - Mass marketing mass consumption. Don't try to justify a car dealer's ridiculous prices, no different then the rats (called banks) who took the 700 billion dollar bailouts that our kids will be paying for the next 50 years. People I know who drive Toyota's get 200+ K miles with no issues, and yet when you try to support an American company by driving their car, you get nailed on repairs because they make junk parts. They have engineers who's only job is to figure out how to make an engine that the average consumer can't get their hands into. There was a time in the world when things were built to make peoples lives easier and they lasted - but being screwed over has become the status quo, so it's all gone unnoticed - Period.

In your business there should be a minimum charge to check computers regardless of whether the problem is solved.

A minimum charge yes. But $118 an hr?
No there shouldn't - in any business. That leaves doors open for lazy people who don't have to accomplish a task. In that case, why not just let some bum on the street work on your car for doing absolutely nothing. I'm a conservative, I don't believe in entitlements. Go TRUMP!

 

[zora]

back to the battery connections, you say it's obvious, so that means you checked the connection at the starter solenoid and the ground cable?
arent there any private repairs shops in your area with ASE certified mechanics charging a lower rate?