I went to Chicago for a trip this week. It rained a lot while I was there, although I don't know if that contributed to the problem or not. On Friday, I got in and the truck started right up as it usually does. I made one stop to see a friend on my way out of town and when I came back to get in the truck it would not start, crank or anything. All I could hear was a whirring noise and the check engine light was on.

I called Roadside Assistance from my insurance company and they sent a guy to try to jump the truck, but I already knew it wasn't the battery and that didn't work. My friends brother-in-law is a mechanic and he was in the area and came by. He checked the starter, but that was not the problem.

Five minutes later he had the truck running. Here is what he did.

He disconnected the battery terminals and held the battery cable ends together for 30 seconds to "reset the computer" and the truck started right up. I haven't had any problems since.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and solution?

Is this likely to recur?

Yes I have replaced the stock battery terminal connectors.

 

Interesting story........ Holding disconnected battery terminals together does not reset anything.

The PCM stores the last 300 ignition cycles, power, no power, holding disconnected terminals together, etc....

 

When a 'no start' condition occurs, and people say "Hey, I touched the positive and negative leads together and it started!", I think what they are missing is that there was probably a poor terminal to battery post connection to begin with that caused the no start (POS terminals). When they removed and replaced the terminals they re-established a good connection allowing truck to start. Nothing to do with touching the terminals together. Just my 2 cents.

 

Go ahead. Kill the magic. What's next, santa?

 

Actually there are reports of touching terminals together fixing XM radio issues:

=====
XM band not showing on radio

I had the same problem. Had a dead battery. After recharging the battery no XM was showing on my radio. When I would push the band button only FM and AM would show.

Called dealer told me to pull both positive and negative battery cables off of battery. Then touch them together and hook back up.

That solved the problem. My XM band is now showing again. Hoooray!!!
......
I'll be damned, it worked! I went to 3 GM dealers and all said they didn't know what I was talking about. This is after XM told me I needed to go to a dealer and they would have to reset my XM band. One dealer wanted to charge me $90 to hook up to their computer and try to figure out how to reset my XM band.

After reading this suggestion, I tried it and it worked!!! Gotta love the internet.
.....
I have a Silverado LTZ Z71 and my battery went dead. Recharged it and I had the exact same issue. No XM whatsoever.

I tried this solution and IT WORKED! Thank you so much for posting this solution. It saved me a trip to the dealer.

=====


Info from here:
XM Radio Problem - Chevrolet Forum - Chevy Enthusiasts Forums

 

Interesting is all I will say. The battery terminals were on very tight. The guy had to use a wrench to loosen them so they could be disconnected. All I know is it's starting and getting me where I need to go whenever and whatever and that is why I drive the H3 in the first place.

 

seems like guys did this for door/window trouble?
only need to pull one if you try it, cant hurt,might save money!!


actually should pull the pos if just one so might just pull both

 

Just need to chime in on touching the battery terminals together. The electronics in today's vehicles contain capacitors. Capacitors hold a charge and can keep memory alive in some systems. Joining the terminals drains the capacitors, thus, resetting memory. Could this have caused the vehicle to start? Not likely, but not impossible. It could be anything, like those pesky battery terminals or a faulty starter solenoid. If it happens again take a look on the dash to see which indicator lights go on and off. Also turn on the interior light and watch what it does when you turn the key. Does it dim, go out or stay on? This may help with diagnosis. The best guess is you disturbed the battery terminals enough to reestablish a connection.

 

All of the lights in the interior came on. The only indicator that came on in the dash was the CEL. No other lights illuminated when the key was turned. It's a strange case. The battery cables were firmly connected with no corrosion. The truck would not jump start either, so I am pretty sure it was not the battery. If it happens again, I will update this post.

 

This just happened to me today. I drove it to the tire shop, but when the mechanic got in it wouldn't crank. The dash shows only the CEL, but the windows work and the fob lock buttons work (the alarm button does not). We don't know what to do. He is going to run a scan, then leave the battery disconnected overnight.

edit: Sorry for adding to this thread; just noticed it was a couple of months old.

update (instead of a new post): The mechanic swapped two relays (just said there were two of the same kind next to each other) and then it acted normal and cranked up!