i put this on the electronics forum, but maybe this is a good place

ok on my 98 2.2 cavalier rs. 5 speed, 113,000 miles on it


heres what i have done so far, brand new battery, new ground cables to battery, cleaned every connection so clean it shines, even cleaned the connection to the fuse block under the hood. replaced alernator, yesterday. Still has the factory starter in it,
when i start the car it cranks over OK but the radio clock resets every time and it seems to loose battery charge while sitting.

the ignition switch is pretty well worn, the key comes out of it after i start the car ( if i try to take it out)
is it possible the ignition switch may be the problem? or maybe starter solonid?

once started it runs just fan and every thing works, except the abs and brake light are on.

i do have a salvage yard starter on the way just for a back up
any sugestions would be greatly appreciated.

So the car starts with the starter thats in there?

"once started it runs just fan and every thing works, except the abs and brake light are on. " This sounds like you just have a ABS code problem, that could be causing the brake light to come on or you have a brake fluid leak also.

How long does it take for the battery to go dead? Make sure the trunk light goes out and the glovebox light goes out.

Is there a stock radio installed? Check the interior fuse panel for the radio clock fuse, I think its on with the cig lighter.


01 cav w/01 3400 gam gt 4t45e

yep stock radio in it, trunk light is burnt out, i will check the glove box.
It takes about a 3 to 5 days to go dead, there is a battery/ starting tsb for the car on this exact issue. i just need to get a copy of it

Make : CHEVROLET; Model : CAVALIER;
Service Bulletin Num : 98836416
NHTSA Item Number : 601912
Date of Bulletin : JUN 01, 1998

unhook the pos bat terminal, get yourself a test light, attach one end of the light to the pos cable and the other end to the pos battery terminal.. If the light , lights up then you have a draw on the battery. To find out what it is, first pull the radio memory fuse then the dome light fuse. the dome light fuse because you need the door opened to figure it out. After the two fuses are pulled , check the test light again to see if its on. then start with the under hood fuse block and pull the fuses out one at a time while watching the test light. dont put the fuses right back in until you have found out which circuit is drawing power. You could have 2 circuits causing it. After you figure out which circuit, go to the interior fuse panel and find out what exactly is on that circuit by removing the fuses. I know this sounds like a pain in the ass but this is the only way that I have found that is a fool proof way to find out whats draining the battery.


01 cav w/01 3400 gam gt 4t45e

I've had this problem as well. The way I came across this was when I changed my starter, I actually hooked up one of the 3 wires onto the wrong post and it caused the battery to drain and the ABS light to come on.

Maybe try this?


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thanks i will look at that, anything is possible

well, looks like i got i figured out. it runs great and sat 2 days and cranked right over, the starter is worn, but the recall where they put the relay in had some weak connections and i cleaned things up. seems to have fixed her right up.

the cool part is a problem like that ends up makeing you fix a bunch of potential problems.