06 Lucerne CXL electrical(?) problems

[jjbubaboy]

Ok, so this has been a great car. Until now...
Started a few weeks ago. Car just died on the freeway. Display said 'starter disabled service throttle'. Ok got it started back up and shut off A/C and made it home. Took throttle body off and it was black inside and sticky. Cleaned it up and reinstalled it. Seemed ok, until the other day. While running the A.C it did it again. Pulled over, waited and it started. Shut the AC off and it seems fine.
That was until yesterday. Cruising down the freeway and the entire dash went dead. Running fine just no gauges or tach or speedo or display. DEAD.
Pulled off, shut it down and restarted. Everything OK. Ran fine.
But now no cruise light and no display on the heater temp.
Whats going on???
Lost in Lucerne land....
Thanks for any input.
J

 

[HotZ28]

That sounds like a bad battery, or corroded cable issue. It's hard to determine from here!

 

[chartny]

Similar issue, different car, some years back. Turned out bad connection on the positive cable from the battery post clamp to the fuse panel. Nearly new car, bad connection. Loss of solid connection caused charging volts to spike high and the digital displays shut down due to internal protection system. That is what the service told me. Seems logical that electronics have protection from excess volts. They shutdown and have to be powered down and restarted.
-chart-

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

The ignition switch has also been known to cause this type of problem, as in the previous post check both ends of the battery cable not just at the battery. The negative cable mounting point should be removed and looked at the bottom to make sure it has a clean contact.

 

[Zeroboostbuick]

Yep, either bad connections somewhere or a bad/shorting battery or a bad ignition switch. GM ignition switches do weird stuff like that too.

On a 98 Regal I had would turn off/die when I used the turn signal. Then didn't want to turn over the odd time, then more often, and the dash lights were not as bright when the engine would not turn over, and were normal bright when the car would turn over. Then I changed the Ignition switch and all was well.

 

[jjbubaboy]

Thanks for all the input!'
I checked and cleaned the battery terminals, ground points, and connection at the fuse box. No corrosion or obvious signs of a problem, but all shiny and tight now. Unplugged and re plugged the dash and heater harnesses and changed a couple fuses and now all lights are working and no more gauge issues.
BUT....she shut down on me again with the 'starter disabled service throttle' crap again...AAAH
I already cleaned the massive carbon out of it and did the relearn procedure.
Wondering if its just bad or worn out..
Thanks,
J

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Not knowing the history on your car, milage and already replaced parts, besides the TB being cleaned and battery connection you may want to check the alternator output as you said it happened when you turned on the AC, then for no reason other items started to just go sideways. If it may be starting to fail the modern electronics may not be able to cope with voltage drops and then just aimlessly turn items off.

 

[chartny]

For the average owner/keeper, one might be wise to have what is in the pic. Volts at speed should be between 13.8 and 14.4 depending on temperature and state of charge in the battery.
-chart-

 

[jjbubaboy]

Hey 07 Lucerne,
that's a good point.. I did replace the battery about a year ago and had the alternator checked then but its still 12 years old!
And chartny, I like that idea!!
Thanks!
J

 

[G-18304]

Thanks for all the input!'
I checked and cleaned the battery terminals, ground points, and connection at the fuse box. No corrosion or obvious signs of a problem, but all shiny and tight now. Unplugged and re plugged the dash and heater harnesses and changed a couple fuses and now all lights are working and no more gauge issues.
BUT....she shut down on me again with the 'starter disabled service throttle' crap again...AAAH
I already cleaned the massive carbon out of it and did the relearn procedure.
Wondering if its just bad or worn out..
Thanks,
J

I'm having the exact same problem now on my 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL