1999 Firebird Trans Am tripmeter problem

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posted
16 years ago

Sat, Nov 3, 2007 4:58 AM

Hey, all, I've got a 1999 Trans Am that's been well taken care of but it's got a very annoying problem. When I drive the car the tripmeter increments as it should but when I turn the car off and leave it parked for a period of time (overnight) the tripmeter resets to zero. I don't seem to have a problem with it resetting while running errands around town and leaving the car parked for 20 or 30 minutes.

It's really annoying since I use that to track mileage and, mostly, because it's just not right.

Any insight? Thank you in advance.

--HC

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posted
16 years ago

Sat, Nov 3, 2007 2:29 PM

I found an answer. First, supposedly, this can be caused by low temp starts (32 degrees or less) and/or low voltage conditions. There is a TSB ( # 99-08-49-009) for this. I'm going to try a new battery on the car first, and second, find out how much a new cluster will cost.

HTH

--HC

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posted
16 years ago

Mon, Nov 26, 2007 8:21 AM

I have changed the battery on the car. I went out and started it one morning but I checked the tripmeter first (rolled the key to run but without starting the car) and found it had mileage after sitting all night. Then I started the car and found that, after ignition, the tripmeter showed no mileage. So, I replaced the battery and BAM no problems. I can start the car, even after days of inactivity, and the tripmeter info is retained. What is disturbing is the output voltage according to the dash gauge which shows about 15 volts for the first

10 or 20 or so minutes (not kept an accurate measurement of it yet) which indicates that the car is draining the battery while sitting. I will put an ammeter between the battery and the car when not running to find out how much drain is on the battery at rest.

--HC