2009 Malibu Wont Start

gumby002

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Hello
I have a 09 malibu (2.4L L4 DOHC 16V . Today, my wife got in the car, drove it to her destination and was away for a few hours. She told me that it was acting funny.

When she got back to the car, it wouldnt turn over.
I checked the fuses. All were good.
I replaced the battery and all of the lights on the car will light up when the car is turned on.

I checked the spark going to the starter and it seems that i'm not getting one, so I think its a short somewhere between the battery wire cluster and the wire that goes to the starter...Can someone please give me an idea where to start looking? Is there a way i can bypass that wire and check the starter? Just to make sure its not that?

Other issues that may be related, may not: The parking brake light on the cluster shows that it is engaged eventhough its not. The ESC light is on and the readout is telling me that there is an issue there even though we have not driven it on a wet road. I have a bad feelign that its the ECM for no other reason that I've had vehicles before that act up and it was the
ECM.

Here is what i have done:
All fuses continuity check out ok but changed out 1 fuse for Ign start-just in case
All relay continuity check out ok on 2 of 4 poles
Replaced battery (and cleaned off the nodes of corrosion)

Still will not start - I turn the key and the only thing i hear is 1 click (like a relay) and then nothing.

Thoughts? Help me Obi-wans.
Thanks
Gumby
 
neutral safety switch, have you tried starting in neutral and have you tired moving the shifter a couple of times with the key turned to start to see if there is a sweet spot.
 
I have not tried that, but will when i get home.

some corrections to my writing: Its the emergency brake light on the dash that is lit and the ESC readout on the screen in the dash.
 
have you checked the fluid level in the brake master cylinder?
 
I had a buddy come over with his code checker and it couldnt even talk to the car....which leads me to believe it is the ECM. We tried twice to get the car and the code reader to talk.

I have ordered an ECM on Ebay. Hopefully, it is the solution.
 
did you check if the cigarette lighter fuse is blown it powers the port.
 
I went thru all of the fuses late last week, but I will double check at lunch today.
 
Replaced the ECM. Car actully runs smoother than it has in a long time.
All the idiot lights are turned off and all i have left to do is re-start the timer on the oil change signal.
 
Replaced the ECM. Car actully runs smoother than it has in a long time.
All the idiot lights are turned off and all i have left to do is re-start the timer on the oil change signal.

I thank you so much for your follow-ups and final report on your problem. I found all posts on this topic very interesting and helpful!

Anthony
 
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