madh52

My warmest hello to the community. I'm Manuel, and I'm writing from Italy. I've been documenting on this forum for long time, and I'm finally about to purchase a C5.

Actually I'm taking a look at this one:

I've run a scan for DTC codes, here is the list:
10-PCM: NO CODES

28-TCS:
C1255 H
ECU Malfunction EBCM Antilock Brake Sys - maybe during installation of Corsa exhaust?

40-BCM:
B0432 H
Rear Defogger Relay Circuit BCM Stationary Windows

58-SDM:
B1001 H
Option Configuration Error
U1000 H
Class 2 Communication Malfunction
U1096 H
Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling

60-IPC: NO CODES
80-RADIO: NO CODES
99-HVAC: NO CODES

A0-LDCM:
B2282 H 12V Power Feed #1 Fault
B2284 H 12V Power Feed #2 Fault
B2264 H Mirror Vertical Position Sensor Fault
U1064 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling
U1016 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling

A1-RDCM:
B2283 H 12V Power Feed #1 Fault
B2285 H 12V Power Feed #2 Fault
U1064 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling
U1016 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling

A6-SCM: NO CODES

B0-RFA:
U1096 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling
U1064 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling
U1016 H Normal software function, history status upon ignition cycling

1. Is this car in good conditions? Are these errors significative, or nothing to worry about (maybe a dead battery, or silly problems)?

The car is equipped with:
Variable Chassis Real Time Damping (I suppose it's F45, since it's a 99 model. I would have preferred the F55 Magnetic Ride Control).
Considering that I'm not planning to race the car, having this feature is a PRO that adds value to the car, or is it just something likely to breakdown and way more expensive to repair than if I didn't have it?


Thank you in advance for your help guys!

Bill Curlee

The only one I would worry about is the 28-TCS:
C1255 H
ECU Malfunction EBCM Antilock Brake Sys - maybe during installation of Corsa exhaust?

The EBTCM and the Steering Wheel Position Sensor for early C5s is NO LONGER SUPPORTED BY GM and used ones (if you can find them) are very expensive!

Are you reading the DTCs from the internal Code Reading routine and the seeing the DTC in the DIC?

Have you tried to clear them all and see what comes back after a short drive??

I recommend that you clear ALL of them and see what is happening during a drive.

Some of the other DCM DTCs can be caused by a low or weak battery OR a defective / dirty ignition switch.

Bill

Bill Curlee

Oh,,, By the way,,, The F-45 Real Time Dampening option SUCKS! Its a worthless Base Suspension System with little or no meaningful adjustment. I had it in my 98 Coupe and hated it from Day ONE!

The replacement F-45 RTD Shock are around $564 each at GM Parts House.

Most people that have it and hate it, and program that option out of the BCM and install a used Z-51 or ZO6 OEM suspension with GM C6 Zo6 Shocks or coil overs.

Bill

madh52

Hi Bill, thank you for your help. Sorry for my double post, I thought it didn't save my first one.
I had no idea the C1255 H was related to the ABS (EBCM), I tought it was something related to exhaust gas (lambda probe) .

I was reading the codes from the dashboard, I had seen the car at the retailer during the weekend. Unfortunately the car is far away from my city, 2 hours train.

I haven't tried deleting them, and I couldn't ride the car because it was on the second floor exposition room of the retailer.
I could just turn it on for 30 seconds, after this I had to switch off the engine because we were indoor.
He said that if we agree onthe price of course he will have the car lifted to the ground floor and allow me a test drive afternoon before buying.

1 - How long (miles or hours) shall I drive in your opinion to see if the error appears again?

2 - Supposing I buy this car, and drive it for 300 miles back home, and the error does not appear again, can I consider myself out of the "danger" zone, OR since the error appeared once this car EBCM is anyway probably doomed?

3 - Mantaining a corvette in italy is hard due to poor availability of parts and specialized mechanics.
How better would be in your opionion, as far as reliablity/breakdowns, a 2004 C5? Just a little bit, or would it be a whole new world? Shall I forget this 99 C5 and wait to find a 2004 model? (There is one with 60.000miles at same price, 2004, but from a private seller - no warranties whatsoever, no assistance, and if I buy it and has some problems I will have to handle them all by myself.)

4 - F-45 Dampening system, can I just keep it on "OFF" and ride normally? How likely is this system prone to breakdowns?

My main concern is repairing this car, because is very uncommon in my country, all parts need to be imported from usa or - if lucky - belgium. I'm hunting for the model that could have less breakdowns in future.

Thank you Bill for all your precious help!

madh52

Thank you 8VETTE7 and Bill for your valuable suggestions. I've decided to discard this car.

I agree this car has enough suspect things to make me pass it: EBCM problems (Anti blocking and traction control are very important on such a powerful car) and the suspect (B1001) airbag replacement are enough.
Also, thanks to Bill I realized the F45 is not a good thing as the seller claimed, and I'm positively more oriented on a 2001+ model, there have been many improvements from that year.

May I be wrong or jumping to early conclusions, or do you other guys reading agree as well?

---------
NEXT CAR 2002 C5 - 35000miles - A4.
This is a link to the car: http://www.autoscout24.it/Details.as...1&id=242783219

I have seen this 2002 model recently, wich I initially passed due to wrong colors (black rims, blue stripes, blue mirrors..not my preference!), but considering there aren't many other people looking to buy a C5 right now (in our country it has to pay heavy possession taxes, due to the big engine) I could try to place an lower offer on that car - if the car conditions are worth buying it - and spend some euros on repainting those details. Interiors are in very good conditions, and the seats are the best I've seen so far.

The car errors are few, but current. Here they are:
(I have excluded UXXXX codes and LDCM and RDCM, he has a battery switch he uses regularly to prevent charge to be lost, so there are plenty of power shortage errors)

10 PCM
P0481 H C
Cooling Fan Relay 2 and 3 Control Circuit: probably just a relè to replace? May this have damaged the engine?
P0650 H
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) Control Circuit: no idea

TCS
C1214 H
Solenoid Valve Relay Contact or Coil Circuit Open: no idea

B0-RFA
C2121 C
TPM System Programming Malfunction: maybe just a dead battery in the sensor?

1 - What do you guys think about these errors on the second candidate 20002 C5? Is it a good one, or another one to discard?


2 - M6 and A4: wich is more likely to breakdown after so many years?
I've been documenting and clearly understood the choice is very personal, but I couldn't get a clear idea on which is more likely to breakdown. I would be perfectly fine with both, and my choice is uniquely based on the most reliable one.

3 - 50th anniversary vs 2002 or 2004: is it really worth more, or nothing special? Thinking about future value of the car, is a 50th model a must-have (the only one that may keep the value), or it won't make a big difference? I've seen one in very good conditions, but costs 13.000usd MORE than the other in the market..

Thank you again for all your precious help guys!

Smoken1

My 02 came with F45 suspension

TastyBacon

I've had C1255 come up after the battery was disconnected. I can clear it once and it won't come back. If that's the case for you, then it's nothing to worry about.

As Bill suggested, the way to figure out what is really going on with any car is to clear all the codes and drive it, then see which ones come back.

madh52

Thanks! How long do you think shall I drive for before codes pop up again after I cleared the memory?

ONE BMF

I like to run the car up to normal operating temp and give her a 20 to 30 minute drive and then check your DIC.

Bill Curlee

The 50th is an exterior/interior package!! It appeals to a lot of people, If you have the cash and like it, purchase it. Dont purchase a C5 for resale value. They DO NOT hold their value very well.

Again,, its important to CLEAR ALL the DTCs and then see what comes back during the ignition cycle and drive cycle.



I replied to some of the questions in the reply post above They are in BOLD... I also adde a TPS Post: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...er-window.html
Bill

madh52

Thank you Bill for your support and replies!

Luckily I have experience in electronics, I checked the guide, and I suppose I could repair the EBCM swapping the defective relè and/or resoldering the contacts.

I have one more question about P0650, to understand how relevant is this problem:

(Additional info: I've checked again the video I took on the dashboard, when the car "welcomes" the driver with the "Corvette by chevrolet message", the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT does not turn on. All other warning lights do turn on.

In your experience, what could be the solution?
1. Simply change a dead light bulb/led behind the "Check Engine" icon in the dashboard
or
2. Re-enable the Check Engine Light with some dashboard trick (press some buttons in sequence)
or
3. are we talking about something way more expensive, like changing some entire dead circuit board / dead electronic component in the car?
(Do you have a rough idea of how much would the parts cost?)
3.1 In this case, is it something I could repair as well with a guide posted on the forum (like the EBCM C1214 error)?

Thank you for your help!

lionelhutz

Looking at the tuning for my car, the check engine light would come on for the P0481 code and I'd expect this to be the same for other years of cars. I'd bet money the owner disconnected the check engine light instead of fixing the fan circuits. It's also possible the owner installed some other type of fan control instead of allowing the PCM to control the fans which is causing that code. Either way, look for hacked-up wiring under or around the fuse panel that is under the hood or some new wiring that is switching the fans on and off.

Who knows what the owner did to the CEL. He might have cut the wire or modified the cluster. Either way, I'd troubleshoot the circuit starting at the cluster and working back towards the PCM.

Bill Curlee

100% The CEL is a BULB on the back of the IPC main cluster body. You have to take the Instrument Cluster out, remove the back cover, remove the main circuit board and the CE Bulb socket is labled CE. If I remamber correctly its a different bulb from the rest IPC bulbs but it is available.


If it were me,, I would have the dealership get the CEL Indicator repaired and resolve that DTC.

madh52

Thank you Bill, now is all clear. I called him and he said he didn't know about these problems and will take charge of this problem and will let me know. If he fixes the problems, I may think about getting his car.

I am noticing that finding a "good" used C5 in Italy is nearly impossible this month. Only few cars for sale in the whole country that meet the 2001+ and <50.000 miles conditions, and none is black w/ black interiors and good seatings.

Some candidates here
and nearly the same candidates here

(That's because you can find them both under "chevrolet->corvette" and under "Corvette->C5" categories)

So I'll probably have to settle down for a car in good conditions, and then repaint it in black. I have 3 big questions in my head:

1. Wich is more likely to breakdown? AT or MN6

2. F-55: is it a golden feature I should look for, or just one more think to worry about breakdowns?

3. Should I find an excellent conditions C5 in wrong color and choose to repaint the car, would it lose a lot of "collector" value, or it's not a big deal?

Thank you all guys for your help in this thread!

lionelhutz

1. probably the automatic would be more likely to have issues, but the clutch in a manual car can have hydraulic issues.

2. No, I don't think many people would specifically shop for a F45 or F55 car only. A lot of people end up removing the expensive shocks and using normal ones.

3. C5's don't really have much collector value as of yet. If the paint is done well it won't change the value much. You could actually get more selling it if there are others also wanting a black car only.

madh52

Thank you Lionelhutz for your replies! I would like to ask you guys some further informations about C1255 H error

I got the error when I was pulling all the error codes from the dahboard (press 4 then 3 times button 1). The good thing is it was "H". I can't reset the errors and pull the codes again, since the car is in a very distant city from mine. But I'll surely do before buying it, if this car is worth a second visit.

1. Are there any chances that C1255 H was just related to a weak battery, OR, since the error was reported once, the EBCM is doomed and definitely going to die sooner or later?

madh52

bump

f6john

I think in reference to future value we have to consider the perceived values in Italy vs the American market. Just because we don't see rising values here, it could be a totally different scenario in Europe. Supply and demand is skewed a little different there.

That said one thing still applies regardless of geographic region. Condition reigns supreme, regardless of model or year. Patience is valuable too bur with so few cars for the op to chose from may make it difficult to hold off for the perfect example to pop up.

madh52

Thank you f67john, I agree!