2006 Chevy Malibu Will Crank But Not Start

My 2006 Chevy Malibu will crank up, but it will not engage/or turnover until i press the accelerator…once that happens it works out fine…until the next time i crank it up.

ProTech:
Can you give a bit more info? Crank up, engage, and turnover all mean the same thing so I’m a bit confused. Will it crank but not start?

OK, i would attempt to start up the car but it will not turnover until press the accelerator. So you’re saying the car will not crank until you step on the gas?

Correct. .Once that happens the car runs fine until the next time i try to start up….sometimes it doesn’t happen at all occasionally.

You can have the key in the ‘crank’ position and nothing will happen at all unless you step on the accelerator? And then it will spin the engine over?

Yes.

That doesn’t make any sense at all!! The accelerator pedal has nothing to do with the starter motor engaging. This is very odd.

It will hesitate to turn over until i add gas by pressing the accelerator.

You must have a very strange wiring or electrical problem. I can’t really help you with that one, I’d recommend getting your car to the dealership! The only thing would be if you have a bad electronic throttle body that is causing your problem.

Ok then….so you don’t think its a fuel pump problem or anything.

Definitely NOT a fuel pump. Is the check engine light on?

None…spark plugs are new and everything….i know it idles very high for a moment once it cranks up.

It would surely need some going over, that is a very strange problem. Are you sure you just don’t have a failing battery that doesn’t want to crank the car up?

Fairly new and working battery. Any fuses or relays may be my problem?

It could be a failing starter motor, but it sounds wiring related to me and would need quite a bit of diagnosis time. And, no, fuses or relays wouldn’t be the problem, if they are bad the car wouldn’t start at all.

Ok that’s understandable. One mechanic said it may be a fuel line.

No, it would NOT be a fuel line. And when you push on the accelerator, you are NOT actually giving the car gas at start up. It is not a fuel related problem.

Wow, i didn’t know that.

I’d go with a problem in the throttle body area, that sounds like the main cause, and yes the throttle body only controls the amount of air given to the intake…the fuel injectors push the fuel into the cylinders and are not controlled by the throttle body.

Throttle body area. I’ll get that check and just get a full diagnostic on it. I appreciate the help.

No problem, glad to assist! Have a nice night.

You too….I will be sure to check it out.

2002 Chevy Malibu BCM Programming

I replaced the body control module in my 2002 Chevy Malibu. Was i supposed to have it flashed first?

If you did the job yourself, the car isn’t going to start or run. The body control module needs to be programmed and set up to your particular vehicle, with specific RPO codes that your vehicle has. The theft deterrent would also need to be relearned. The only place that can program the necessary information into the new body control module is a dealership. You’d either have to have it towed to a dealer to have it programmed and set up, or put the old body control module back in the car so you can drive it to a dealer, then have it installed and programmed.