My 2004 limited x-fire auto roadster is being very tempermental. I have searched the site for similar symptoms and mine are slightly unique. From what I've read on this site, I'm thinking it could be the Relay Control Module but I'm not positive. Here is my situation:

Insert key and turn to start. All lights in instrument panel illuminate, spoiler button illuminates and spoiler puts itself up, an electric humm is noticable (perhaps fuel pump?), but the starter will not even attempt to turn over the engine. Transmission is stuck in park. Even with key in ON position, shifter will not come out of park. Wait about a week or so, insert key and turn to start and she turns right over. Go for a long drive, no problems. Shut down engine and try to restart a few minutes later, same problem. Wait, try again, wait some more, try again, and then she starts right up.

Please Advise. Thank You.

 

I would think your initial suspicion is the correct one.
From everything I've read on this forum it would appear to be either the RCM OR perhaps your battery.

 

If the car won't start try this.
Open the hood and locate the black box located to the right of the battery.
The relay control module is located inside. Give the box a couple of good raps with the handle of a screwdriver or similar object. If the car starts, you might have just found the problem.
Remember if it doesn't start that doesn't eliminate the RCM as the problem.
Look into the crank sensor also. Both give similar symptoms except the crank sensor the car may not turn over at all.
Let us know what you find out.
Good luck!

 

There's a sensor that tells the car it's in park. It could be electrically "stuck" in the wrong position. Take it out of park, put it in neutral, and back in park. See if that fixes the problem.

 

I didn't check alot of the details you did when my RCM went out, but it certainly does sound similar. If you're familiar with soldering, you can fix the whole issue in less than 5 minutes. I think a new one is $170 bucks. If you pull the RCM out of the black box on the passenger side of the engine compartment, undue the fuses and unhook the cables, the module will come right out. Take a look with a jewlers lens or soldering magnifying glass and see if you see any small cracks in the solder on your circuit board. If you see one, you can test it with a voltometer (which I did) to determine if you're worried it is the correct spot or not. Typically the reason the car is so tempermental when faced with this issue is because the solder will get hot and seperate then when it cools back down it will mesh back up and work again. You can tell the board is laid out by a machine due to the size of the solder joint (very small). But a dab of solder on it, retest w/ voltometer, put it back in and no more problems. I also discovered the spuracity of the RCM was the root cause of an frequently reoccuring Check Engine light which has since not came back on.

 

Thank you for the replies: I truly appreciate the feedback. I have a few questions that I hope you can help me with. Where is the crank sensor? Is there a way to determine which is at fault (RCM vs Crank)? I've taken a quick peek at the jumble of wires in that box to the right of the battery. How do I know which is the RCM?

Also, in regard to Tulsa, I'm suspicious that it could be the sensor that tells the car that it is in park because the first time she wouldn't start, I put the key to "ON" and moved the shifter to neutral and then she started right up. Now, however, I cannot move the shifter from park at all, no matter what I do. On the other hand, I specifically checked the indicator on the dash before shutting down and it said park. O' car electronics!

Thanks again. This is a very helpful discussion forum.

 

Mine does the same thing; I have an 04' limited as well. It's done it maybe 3 times, it freaks me out but now I'm used to it.. I just wait 5-10 minutes then try again and it will fire right up..

After doing some reading I too came to the conclusion that it's the relay CM, I guess I should have it looked at eventually.

 

I have had to replace crank sensor and I repaired my RCM. When the crank sensor went out, the car would turn over about 10 times then stop and . With the RCM the car wouldn't even turn over though everything worked still besides the engine starting.

The RCM, in the black box with the two slide-bar locks, is in the tabbed out portion of the box closest to the engine (furthest part away from you if you're standing on the passenger side). I've attached a picture so you can kinda see the area I'm talking about. It's under a mess of wires and fuses. The module is in a small black cover that is removable once you unhook the cables and fuses (one large fuse and 5 or so small ones).

 

Problem solved! Before tearing my dash apart and taking the Skreem unit out to have it reprogrammed I decided to have the starter checked. Turns out that was my problem all along. I had the starter replaced and everything is working perfectly now! Needless to say, I am not happy with the dealership that misdiagnosed the problem initially! Thanks for all the help everyone.