Hi all. I've been having an intermittent no crank/no start condition with my 2009 Pontiac G5 with ~160k and manual transmission. I haven't been able to really connect the issue to anything as it seems almost random. One day it will start and run fine and the next I'll turn the key and the car won't even try to crank at all. On one occasion, I had the issue where it just would not start, and so I jacked it up to poke around at the starter motor to no avail. Upon admitting defeat and setting the car back down on the ground it started up just fine after it was off of the jack! Also, I'm not certain, but I believe this issue only showed up after I replaced the clutch. However, I put very few miles on the car before the clutch needed replacing, so who knows if those are related.

Anyway, when I depress the clutch pedal and turn the key the only things that seem to happen are the dash lights go out except the "Service Engine" light, the headlights and radio turn off, and I hear a click from the area of the BCM in the passenger footwell. Also, when I return the key to the off position, the power door locks unlock. I recorded a video of the dash during two attempts to start the car:
When it has acted up before, I've checked pretty much every "Ignition" related fuse and relay in the engine bay fuse box and on the BCM and found no issues. Also, in my mind, if a fuse were actually blown it wouldn't be an intermittent problem. From my reading here and elsewhere, I think that I've got the following potential sources of the issue (in no particular order):

1. Ignition switch
2. Clutch safety switch
3. BCM
4. Engine bay fuse block
5. Starter
6. General wiring issue/bad ground somewhere?

Does anyone have a suggestion as to where to start troubleshooting this? So far I have taken a decidedly unscientific approach that has left me with more questions than answers. Also, is there anywhere else that I should be considering as a source for the issue?

Of course, thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to read and comment!!

 

If this issue did start only after replacing the clutch I would start there. Two things that come to mind and one is the large ground wire that connects to the body under the headlight and iirc the other side to the engine/transmission. Check to make sure it got tightened down and has a good clean contact surface. The other thing would potentially be a contact issue between the fuse box and the engine harness or pinched wire.

As far as your video goes did you remove the sound? I couldn't even hear the key turning. You said you heard a clicking, does it sound loud enough to be a starter relay? Is it just a single click or multiple clicks?

 

Thanks for the quick response! I'll definitely check that large ground wire and further investigate the wiring around the fuse box.

I didn't remove the sound from the video - it apparently just didn't pick it up. I'm pretty sure that the clicking that I hear is the HVAC relay on the BCM and it is a single light click, but I'll verify when I'm at the car. Also, I'll check the engine fuse box again to see if anything is clicking there (I don't quite remember). Are there relays in the engine bay fuse box besides the "CRNK" and "RUN/CRNK" that I should be checking?

Fuse Box Diagrams

 

Check IGN fuse. But blown fuses are almost always a symptom of the actual problem and not the actual problem. If you have a decent flashlight you can kind of inspect all the fuses without pulling them by shining light through. I would recommend doing that and just looking everything over.

I asked about the clicking because I know my starter solenoid will make a chattering sound if it isn't getting adequate power like with dead battery or bad connection.

 

Can you roll start them?

 

I'll check out all of those fuses and see if anything is amiss. I don't recall hearing any kind of noise from the starter solenoid or starter motor, but I'll monitor that.

Unfortunately, I can't bump start the car where it is currently located.

 

It was the ground wires/lug!!!! The ground wires that connected to the engine/transmission were very corroded and barely (or not) making contact with the lug to which they attached. After repairing this wiring, the car started right up, where previously it would very not. Anyway, thanks for the help!!! Now just to fix that pesky SAI CEL...

 

Good to hear!