Mystery Malibu is BACK! (Intermittent No-Crank) 

Easy to get sidetracked when your upside down in a gas station parking lot an the owner standing behind ya.

Ivan, we`re all human, it takes a man to admit his mistake in diagnosis, but in the end problem resolved. Keep up the videos, between you and Eric, the best automotive channels on you tube.

It's amazing how you can be such a positive person and look at all of your mistakes as a learning experience. I rarely think that way.

Had a similar problem with an A-7E Attack aircraft. Drove me crazy for 2 days. Relay logic in the power link between the navigation computer and the Doppler radar “go-out-of-standby” command. Sure enough, a glass fuse looked perfect, but I never ohm’ed it out and it was open. Worked almost the same as what you were working on. Problem was once the electronics bay warmed up the problem disappeared. So we put an external A/C unit in the electronics bay and cooled everything down (like it would be in flight) and finally found the bad fuse (that the night shift and day shift had looked at (not ohm’ed out) a dozen times). Hold it in your hand for 30 seconds it would close. Cool it down and it would open. Had to demonstrate it to the shop Chief. He kept it and showed it to the maintenance officer. Nobody had seen anything like that before. Anyway, your retrospective troubleshooting is spot on. And you may have felt a little “pressed for time” as the customer was at a gas station, had other stuff to do and needed to go... in that situation skipping several steps would allow you to find a work-around and get him going again. So, yeah, it’s an opportunity to oops. Great video and thanks!!

Taking other technicians through your own mistakes helps everyone to learn, not very many are blessed with humility anymore, but is an awesome trait and makes your videos that much more enjoyable. Excellent work and looking forward to more!

It's so nice to see a person admit their humanity. I hope your customer considers how fortunate they are to have such a good technician in their zip code.

I think my favorite part of the video is where Ivan covers the lesson learned at the end.. It is harder to stop and think of a lot of these things when at the gas station with the customer hovering so there is pressure to get the problem resolved asap, and perhaps a real or perceived accusation of either having caused the problem by working on the car in the past or that a previous repair wasn't done properly which may or may not have played in. Personally I have had many people try to imply that to be the case even though it's fairly plain to see that the problems are not related. The lesson however is just as Eric O. states, "You have to go slow to go fast".

The customer hanging over you, expecting miracles in seconds adds pressure and reduces concentration. We can't win them all first shot, but we always learn from our mistakes. I'm still impressed with your injector feed find!

Ivan he who never made an error never made anything.

Intermittent no crank ? Blown fuse? I’m thinking we’ll be seeing more of this one.

I found this little gem of a two part Ivan. It was great watching and very sobering. None of us can put our hands on our heart and say we haven't made a mistake, or missed something, or done something we wished we had done differently, or not done at all. That is in both our professional and personal lives. It's what you do about it that matters. In your case you chose to charge only for the diagnostic, most likely tell your customer why, then stand up in front of the 48K plus viewers and explain also. Also you presented your final findings positively. That says a lot about you Ivan!

Ivan. You are a terrific person. You work through problems step by step. Having to talk and record and diagnosis and fix the problems put a tremendous load on your thought process. I think you can record what you find and fixes will help unload the stress you are going through. I have been following you and my 66 year old mind has learned a huge amount from you. My mind is always open and learning. I am working on a 87 s10 pickup that has not run in years. Just last week. I got the truck to fire up using a carb spray cleaner as fuel. The owner had a huge smile. He had to order a new fuel pump. I cleaned out his old fuel tank. Full of debris. Installed new pump. Checking the wiring. The hangers are missing hardware. So that's on my list. It's getting really close to have actually running. After many years sitting in his front yard. From what he told me. Other mechanics have tried and failed. I'm not patting my self on the back yet. Until it's on the road and running well. Remember take a little more time and don't get pressed and stressed for time. As another person noted. Have it towed to your shop and take the Time.

The gift that keeps giving. Thank you Ivan. Good job again. Have a blessed and safe week to you and your family.

hey ivan i am 57 years old been an electronics engineer for 35 years and one thing i can say for sure is that every day is still a school day :)

Good job! Solving electrical problems are sometimes the most frustrating and puzzling situations you can get yourself into but the rewards when it's solved are priceless!

Hi Ivan, I worked as a mechanic several years ago. In my years working on cars I ran into this condition twice. The fuse(s) had just cracked, did not burn or blow. Any craftsman has to learn these type of "conditions with experience. I think you did very well checking this problem out. You are an excellent TECHNICIAN. Thanks for the great videos.

This is what I love about you, Eric O and Scanner Danner you always leave in you mistakes! Best way to learn

Thank you Ivan. Happens to all of us that we miss it sometimes ... You show a great attitude in not covering it up but try take the positive away from it. Thanks again.

Yay!!!!! Top channel of all time!!!!! I love no crank no start problems. It’s very fascinating!!!

Great to see an honest man become the master of his trade. Gives the entire industry a good name. Keep the videos coming! Love to watch your and South Main Auto.

Thank you for the video. I still don't trust the ignition switch. Holding my breath for a 3rd. video.

And another thing: you acknowledge your mistakes and learn from them. You're a humble man.

I like your honesty and fairness , the repair was not a total waste you learned something and this can be worth a lot more than just money sometimes.

I think you are doing an awesome work, you are a great teacher, you found the problem even it took a little longer you got the issue. Let me tell you that you are an inspiration to many trouble shooters in the field. Keep sharing the knowledge because there is a group of people that wants to be great as you are👍🏼👍🏼. Thank you!

Great advice on the bonus footage. I am guilty of concentrating on the offending module myself sometimes and do not perform the full health check of the entire system. We are all still learning with these newer modern vehicles. Great Video. I learned something today. Thank you.

You got this Ivan. Great diagnostic work with the scan tool.

Watching Ivan for a while When he said there's a 2am fuse My mind was screaming check The fuse! Thank Ivan for your videos I love your logic and obvious the training Thanks again!

I think the species of honest mechanic like yourself is extinguishing .

Good Video Honest.35 yr Auto Tech.We've all been there.We all need to learn from our own mistakes To get more efficient.

You'll be back again for this Malibu.

Great job Ivan. We all get side tracked.it's very easy to do on newer cars. Great job.

Rule # 55- No driving a Malibu during the zombie apocalypse.

Hmmm, mystery blown fuses and suspicious looking duct tape on the wiring harness. Very interesting Ivan. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing the lesson learned, invaluable learning opportunity IMO. 👍

Square shooter with the customer. Taking the situation for what it truly is...a good learning lesson for a man who has become an excellent diagnostician. Well done...continue moving forward.

You learn way more from your mistakes than your successes! Great job Ivan!

Ivan I have to say you prolly the most humble man I know. Thanks for the vid.

Thnx for the detailed diagnostics. Please do an exclusive video on how to interpret the wiring diagrams.

If we've learned something we've come out ahead, interesting one Ivan thank u sir

Mechanic for 42 years there’s always that snake that bites every once in awhile it want be the last your just human Your a grate tech keep up the great work Your honest and that is a above all 👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸

A GM with an ignition switch problem?? No waayyy!!

Ivan, Don’t be too hard on yourself! You may not realize it. But, you making that oversight, is exactly what I needed to figure out my P0615 dtc on my 2007 Cadillac SRX. Thanks for your help.

Hey Ivan i have been doing this over 45 year`s been burned by stuff like this many time`s i think the best thing about your video`s is that you are honest.Any one can put part`s in a car and say that was the problem,like the ign.switch.There are lot`s of guy`s that put money before being honest.Keep up the good work,all the best John.

As an “old school guy “I always tell my grandson to check the fuse first!

Short and sweet. We all make mistakes(or overlook) things. Chalk it up to learning. Peace

I really appreciate that you actually posted the video (many people wouldn't have posted it) and I especially loved the post mortem explaining what you did wrong and what to improve next time. True scientific method here! I'm impressed!

Ivan, Scotty Kilmer is haunting this car. He always says the GM wiring is terrible. I think his ghost is in your Verus or maybe in the fuse.

Sorry for the Customer, But I Look forward to your videos bud! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing what you learned!!!

Finally!! He is human after-all! Lol. Being that fuse was in the circuit you were in, I’m surprised you didn’t just check it anyway. Like you said, next time, I’ll be more thorough. Thanks for sharing Ivan.

It happens to the best. Really great video! Thanks for sharing.

Was a diagnosis master tech for a famous German brand for the last 30 years and retired now. I like the work you do. The best way to look at an issue is to ask yourself “what does the control unit have to see to enable in this case an engine start”? So with this one do a pin by pin on the BDC. Check all inputs and outputs. Are they all there NO. Remember garbage in garbage out. Hope you can understand my explanation 😂👍🏻🇨🇦

Crazy Gms, have to see that’s resistor on the crank wire while also seeing ACC drop during crank... been there done that! Fun times!

Wow, that was strange diagnosis....i probably would have thought to replace the ign switch first. But you got it in the end. We all have flaws, not perfect to find the root of the problem. But great video!!

You did well. Even though you missed something initially it was still accomplished. great job.

Any way you are my best teacher who explains in detail which could understand

Ivan,thanks for the video and thanks for the final overview. In my world of aviation it’s just skid marks in the sky. We don’t live in a perfect world. Thanks Ivan you and wife stay well 😊😊😊 Artie

The same thing mine 2012 Malibu is doing now I’m not physically capable doing this without a lot of pain but I really appreciate the video makes sense after replacing the battery and other stuff. Thank you so much very thorough I like that.

I am impressed you have an amazing skill set, I own a 2007 Saturn Aura which looks to be the same car with that same intermittent no crank condition since I have owned the car so I will be checking that 2 amp fuse in the BCM for a starting point (no pun intended) thank you it is fascinating to watch these mysteries being methodically solved.

Told you to always check power supplies ages ago. 😉😁

Excellent video. Sometimes you're too close to the problem to see the obvious. It happens.

The newer OBD2 compliant cars are easier to diagnose because when a sensor or connector fails on any given sensor you're likely going to get one from the actual sensor or connector that's faulty. For example,I am getting a code 54 in my brothers 2000 model Subaru Forester,I checked for air leaks in the air intake & I did fix one which was the throttle body gasket which shrunk & cracked at 20 years of age,I sprayed it with both carburetor cleaner & water ,I did a compression test which tested at 193-195 PSI which is good,the fuel pressure is good as well. I checked the fuel injector coil resistance which was good as well, the symptom is that the engine runs smooth for 15 minutes albeit at a higher idle speed then it starts surging,I did test the oxygen sensor which tests good,I also replaced the IAC valve assembly which made a bit of a change but the problem is still there. Now,my brother has a habit of running reoilable K & N air filters which could've contaminated the MAP sensor with oil,I've ordered a hand held vacuum pump so I can check how much voltage that it's putting out under different levels of vacuum so I should get that on Monday. The MAP sensor costs about $400 -$600 AUD for a brand new if you don't want to wait a few weeks for the $20 AUD Chinese aftermarket MAP sensor or buy a used one from the U.S. for $70 AUD including postage and handling to Australia,so that's why I need to test it. My point is it's not showing the code 23 MAP sensor code,just code 54 for the air intake system so that tries to give me a bumsteer. Edit 6.9.2020 I tried backprobing the MAP sensor & it seems to be working fine at about 1.4-1.5 volts at idle & an increase if I snap open the throttle. When it started surging,it was reading at 1.5 volts DC & I tipped water around the throttle butterfly shaft which smoothed the engine out & the voltage went down to 1.4 volts DC,yes, the aluminium bore for the shaft is worn out so the throttle body needs replacing which I have already ordered yesterday. Yes,it was leaking air past here as well :- qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-4f83c26bd019cdc161a63c25a0bbcf8f

Went through the same experience removed the ignition out of the car. The key fob was bad. I missed checking a few things...lesson learned!

GM: we make cars complicated

I'm not a car guru by any stretch of the imagination, but my first thought was "check the 2 amp fuse", "why didn't he check the fuse first"? then i had an 'after thunk', why didn't the OWNER check the fuses first, that's what i would have done!. Anyway, love your vids their very interesting your awesome, "we love your honesty", something that's hard to find these days........keep em coming buddy xx

Привет Ваня! Смотрю твой канал уже много лет и каждый раз поражаюсь твоему дедуктивному методу расследования. Если бы Малибу попал к официалам в руки, то там бы не только замок но и ВСМ поменяли! Успехов тебе во всём!

Regardless you figured it out. It easy in these computerised vehicals to overlook something even something small nonetheless you prevailed how you found the components and problem, I'm still lost. You are despite this minute issue a great diagnistition and mechanic. The first part of this video helped me find out what was going on in my stalling problem, truck would run but once in a while just stall. In my case too it was a bad wire. Thank for the great videos.

Great video Ivan. Keep up the good work. What I noticed is when the key was in the on position. I didn't hear a ding ding sound

Great video for sure. I am currently having an issue with my wife’s 2010 Malibu. I recently replaced the fuel pump due to her mentioning multiple times the odor of gas. Which originally was a small seeping of gas on the return line I believe. Replaced it with a Delphi pump, and one month later, intermittently starts. But when it is shut off, it not start again. Sat for about a month, and it started this morning. After three tries of it turning on, back to square one.

No problem you fixed it your the only one who counts and the car is fixed .You didn't send a problem vehicle to someone else to fix it.thanks for your honesty. WE ALL LEARNED SOMETHI NG .THANKS Again.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Good job.

I did pretty much the same mistakes in my final exams in my diagnostician school. At that moment, you are in a lot of pressure (customer is breathing in your back, gas station clerk questioning "what is the matter with these two", and a plethora of other people looking at you), and indeed we, Humans, forget to look at simple things first. But at the end, everyone is happy, which is the most important thing. Great case this one also.

You did good. You eventually found the problem, you stayed true to your honest nature and now, another crappy car lives to break another day!

I also called the Ing. sw. I actually thought that was too easy and it will backfire. Damn if I wasn't right about being wrong. Good stuff Ivan. Not a fail but a great fix and an even greater lesson for us all. BTW those flyers were in the backyard again. I sent you the vid from Fl.

I learned to ALWAYS check the fuses first a long time ago on a Toyota Tacoma that had a bad alternator, when the customer came in the battery was dead so we installed a new one and checked the system and discovered the alternator was not charging. We removed the alternator and bench tested it and it would not make power at all so the customer had to buy a $400.00 alternator but decided that he could do the rest of the repair on his own and took the truck home with the bad alternator installed just to drive the other accessories. After the new alternator was installed he brought the truck back in because the new alternator was still not charging and the battery light was still on so we pulled the new alternator and bench tested it and showed that it was working fine so the problem had to be in the wiring in the truck. After several hours tracing wires all over the truck I finally decided to check ALL the fuses and found the fuse for the reverse lights was blown so I replaced it just to be sure and the alternator started charging instantly. The customer went to test drive the truck and as soon as he put it in reverse the battery light came back on and the fuse was blown so I took the tail lights out and found that the passenger side tail light had a bare wire that was shorting to ground so I repaired that and the truck was fine after that. I learned that ALL the fuses have to be good and not just the ones for the charging system that day and I will never forget it for sure.

Life’s a bitch sometimes and we all drop the ball. At least you’re able to look at your own mistake and try to prevent it from happening again. You’re HUMAN my friend. Keep the great videos coming.

Integrity !!! The most important item in your toolbox.

There isn't enough space to go thru all my mistakes. You don't normally see a blown fuse in a ignition circuit. I usually get them in the lighting circuit. Sometimes I've learned the hard way to not overlook the simple things. Thanks Ivan

Good job Ivan!👍😎

Just some days your head is not in the game. I think we will see this one again. Good honest video.

This Malibu is somewhat similar to an 08 Cobalt I recently traded in, was a great car for 12 years until about last year, car had 29k on it when I got the car and traded it in with 148k, had to replace several front suspension parts and the transmission started to go out ( had to be warm to go into overdrive). I was meticulous about the maintenance as well...on the other hand the engine still ran like it was new. Glad I bought me a Scion iM.

Nice find. It's hard to see all the possibilities when the vehicle has multiple seemingly different problems. You learn from mistakes. Hopefully you don't see the vehicle again and it runs without issue for a while.

That temporary solution was a solid win tho. Diagnostics in parking lot with customer waiting...😢 Even the king of mobile diag can't win them all. I bow down to your knowledge, skills, abilities and lack of ego Ivan

I think over 50% of what you fix other shops would just fire the parts canon at and/or just wash their hands of the problem, so your doing pretty damn good.

Live and learn. In a gas station parking lot is not ideal. Taught a good lesson !

Full Scan and a printed report done on all cars in my shop to inform the customer , keep a record for the future , and to hopefully not miss any relevant data . Everyone make mistakes , its how you handle it and learn , +A for you , you are a man of integrity and good character and those qualities are lacking in far too many people.

You are pretty good , and life is a Scholl and we are learning everyday just like you , now you helped me to be more alert and professional. Thanks many Times .

Great video Ivan. i learned a lot from this video check your cars fuse first.

Great video Ivan. The only thing I can recommend is using more channels and tagging all the wires at the same time. Is 8 channels in your future? That’s your call. I pulled the trigger on the PICO 4823 love. It. ATS. also a great tool. The thing about 8 channels is only 1 ground lead to hook up from any channel. Less spaghetti also Paloma probes are great but short and fat when is close proximity to one another. Aeswave has the T handled piercing probes which hook up time that much quicker. Your scope skills are worthy of it. Take care man

All the electronics on these cars will drive a guy crazy. Still another great diagnosis. The more I see you working with that Launch scan tool the more I’m liking it. I have an Autel 906bt that is really nice but different scan tools work differently on certain cars.

What about this alternate saga: Customer poked ground with the rigged probe thus fuse blew. There's still an intermittent problem in the key-switch you just put back... 😁

A good person is a honest person. God Bless

Hey, Ivan, all you can do is assess mistakes and learn from them. You and Eric O are still the best YT mechs by a mile. Heck, I wouldn't be a DIYer if I didn't learn a LOT from my OWN mistakes! My own best goof: Replacing a thermostat on an 04 LeSabre, I had to move a small vacuum line for clearance. Replaced the thermostat, no sweat, cranked it up...car ran like poo!! Thought I'd wrecked the engine somehow. Couldn't imagine what I'd done... The I realized I'd forgotten to put the vacuum port back. DOH. Put it back and all was well. Can't be afraid to make mistakes!!! 😁😁

Great video! Fighting my Saab 9-7x (GMT 360, same as Trailblazer) Tried to order new key module....not available.....ordered used one and no luck. Have access to AllData, but no good diagrams for Starter Control Module (key turning module). Great pin-out but lacking what does what (input vs output) In common videos, chasing OR wire, now going after BN. PS: Chasing ACC-3 and ABS light on, Parking brake on, and No HVAC control, but blower works. Will continue to dig. Could be chasing "new" bad part, but need to confirm.

It's called "learning from your mistakes:"......."gaining experience"....."the faster you go the beginner you get". Anyway you are smarter now than you were at the beginning of this fix. Just remember to have a good cataloging of your videos so you can refer to them for that spark to help you remember what to do when you get older and cant recall what you did.

Man. Your awesome. Such information & videos worth $$$$

Paper clip and follow the smell?

Don't you miss the good old days when a fat brown wire carried 30 amps through the ignition switch to run all the ignition hot power feeds and fuses? Those were the days.

Intermittent starting was a red herring. To confuse matters, multiple power paths for ignition and haphazardly functioning fuse.

I like how he says upfront, " sounds like a very different problem doesn't it. "