Was out for a drive this morning when SES light came on and engine died. Am now stuck on the side off the road because although it will turn over, the engine will not start. Am I right in thinking that, as long as the SES light is on, the car will not start?

Just because the light is on that doesn't mean it won't start. Did the light come on before the car stalled? Do you have a paperclip or some bit of wire on you that you could use to jump the pins on the ALDL terminal to pull codes?

I'd say the most likely culprit is a bad ICM. Quit trying to start it for a bit to give it a chance to cool off. After it cools, they'll sometimes work again till they get heated up and fail again.

What other symptoms do you have?

The idea of the SES light is to indicate there is a problem with the operation of the engine, but the problem with the engine is one that doesn't make the engine not operate. There is no need for the GM engineers to light the SES light when the engine stops running - you for sure are going to 'service the engine soon' A good example would be the O2 sensor. If it fails, the engine will still operate in an open loop mode. Most drivers wouldn't know the difference and keep on driving. So the engineers have the SES light come one to get you to repair the problem.

In your case - the SES light could be a help to diagnose what has failed. However the SES light is a secondary symptom of what happened. And specifically - No - the SES light being on will not keep your car from running.

quote Originally posted by Alibi: Just because the light is on that doesn't mean it won't start. Did the light come on before the car stalled? Do you have a paperclip or some bit of wire on you that you could use to jump the pins on the ALDL terminal to pull codes? I'd say the most likely culprit is a bad ICM. Quit trying to start it for a bit to give it a chance to cool off. After it cools, they'll sometimes work again till they get heated up and fail again. What other symptoms do you have?

Nope - no paperclips...

Apart from the engine not firing, no other symptoms (is it normal for the SES to stay on while the ignition is on, and the engine not running?)..

After getting the car recovered back to my garage a couple of hours later, it only took us a few minutes to realise that it was not getting a spark. A check of the wiring finally found that one of the wires from the two-part plug on the top of the coil had broken, a few inches away from the plug (and covered by plastic/rubber tubing, so not obvious).

Spliced it back together and it started up straight away.

[This message has been edited by Madscanner (edited 07-13-2010).]

A bit of a chuckle

Here is what he meant by the paperclip comment.

http://www.youtube.com/user...g#p/u/67/sRoSMhEL3Ms

Dawgz is right. the SES light will not hinder the engine from running, it is only telling you there is a problem. using the paper clip to find out what codes the PCM is throwing will assist you in finding the reason it stalled or perhaps why it will not start. It is the best place to start looking for a resolution.

quote Originally posted by Madscanner: Nope - no paperclips... Apart from the engine not firing, no other symptoms (is it normal for the SES to stay on while the ignition is on, and the engine not running?).. After getting the car recovered bac to my garage a couple of hours later, we found that it was not getting a spark. We finally found that one of the wires from the two-part plug on the top of the coil had broken, a few inches away from the plug (and covered by tubing, so not obvious. Spliced it back together and it started up straight away.

Yes it is normal for the SES to stay on while the ignition is on and the engine is not running. That condition indicates that the ECM is not getting any signal from the distributor to tell it that the engine is turning. Which, it seems, was your problem-no signal!

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Rod Schneider, Woodstock, Ga.
"You can't have too many toys!"
1988 Fiero GT
1985 Porsche 944
1966 Porsche 911
Van's RV-6 airplane-under construction

[This message has been edited by Rodrv6 (edited 07-12-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Rodrv6: Yes it is normal for the SES to stay on while the ignition is on and the engine is not running. That condition indicates that the ECM is not getting any signal from the distributor to tell it that the engine is turning. Which, it seems, was your problem-no signal!

Hi

Thanks for that - useful to know. (Hopefully, next time I won't be on the side of the road with nothing to jump the connections and no Torx driver to get at the connector).

[This message has been edited by Madscanner (edited 07-13-2010).]