No Crank Key locked

ahowardv

Original poster
Member
Jan 23, 2020
2
Michigan
Quick question, 2004 trailblazer was driven 2 miles to work and back without serpentine belt. (Broke while going to work so drove it home after). The car never got hot as it was 2 miles each way. However lost all power to everything on the way home. Replaced serpentine belt and the car wouldnt crank. Charged the battery no crank, replaced battery still no crank. Have power to dash and all lights, can shift, However nothing at all no clicking from starter when turned to start. I have power to the fuse box on 86 but nowhere else and another thing that is weird the key won’t turn all the way to off it’s like locked. Have to push the manual release under the column to turn the key to off. Also I am attempting to crank with the belt off, and it has a viper remote start 7111v. I’m assuming the remote start at this point? Wondering if anyone has encountered this before? Any suggestions would be appreciated thanks.
 

mrrsm

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
7,639
Tampa Bay Area
An Automotive Battery is like having a Huge Glass Container of Kool-AId at a Kid's Birthday Party. It does not take long for all of the Empty Glasses around the Party Table to Drain It Dry. The Alternator in any SUV behaves like "Mom"... Dashing Back and Forth from the Kitchen while Bringing MORE Kool-Aid BEFORE that Large Glass Container goes completely Dry.

Likewise, without the Alternator CONSTANTLY Re-filling the Battery at the rate of around 13-14 Volts DC... Then the Energy-Thirsty Components necessary to keep the SUV Operational will Drain That Battery Bone Dry. Without getting Constantly Re-Filled... they will NOT work. No Serpentine Belt? No Alternator. No Alternator? Then the Battery SUFFERS from such a Great Demand for Fresh "Juice" that it can DAMAGE INTERNAL CELLS if the Draw Down is constant enough to cause harm.

The reason you could not Release the Key from your ignition is because there is a Battery Powered Safety Circuit that requires that the Brake Pedal in your SUV be depressed to activate a 12 Volt DC Solenoid and allow the Transmission to be Shifted Out Of PARK and thereby... Move under Adult Human Control with Safety. No Alternator? No Battery Voltage. Then No Brake Pedal Release because there is NOT enough Battery Power to disengage the Park Lock Solenoid.

This Kool-Aid Analogy is perfect in explaining that if your 12 Volt DC Battery is not carefully and FULLY Re-Charged...you will not be able to Run ANY Critical Electrical Systems inside of the SUV. Without having the Serpentine Belt conveying the Energy of Rotation from the Crankshaft to the Accessories and Most Critically... The Alternator... You will NOT be able to Maintain a Steady Re-Charge of the Battery. Once that Battery passes a certain threshold...it may not take ANY charge and will need to be replaced. But NOT before replacing the Serpentine Belt FIRST...
 

mrrsm

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
7,639
Tampa Bay Area
...and removed the Serpentine Belt... again... while trying to start the vehicle. Time to break out a DVOM and start checking the Battery Voltage AND the Alternator Output... and perhaps return the Starter Control back to Stock until things get sorted out.
 

Maverick6587

Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
@ahowardv Can you check for voltage to the starter while someone else tries to turn the key to start it? Do you have power to anything else, like the interior lights? Can you disable the remote start and does the remote start, start/crank the engine?
 

ahowardv

Original poster
Member
Jan 23, 2020
2
Michigan
@ahowardv Can you check for voltage to the starter while someone else tries to turn the key to start it? Do you have power to anything else, like the interior lights? Can you disable the remote start and does the remote start, start/crank the engine?
Sorry for the delay, been cold and raining here haven’t done anything with the vehicle until today. There is power to everything all lights work fine. I have no power on the orange, red, yellow, or white wire under the ignition. No matter what position the key is in. Does that mean ignition switch or could remote start computer be preventing power from going through. At this point I’m planning on changing the computer then ignition switch. There is power at the starter solenoid.
 

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