2002 Saturn l200, horn, wipers, problems

[Chris_MC1952]

About a month ago the car's horn - which actually sounded like the alarm when locking the car started beeping for no reason. After a few days of this then I started hearing a clicking (more of a clacking noise) coming from the middle of the dashboard but now I think the sound is coming from the steering column. Then I noticed that every time the clicking noise happened the wipers would jump and the headlights would jump and every third or so clicking noise the wipers would come across the windshield just once. This will happen constantly until I turn car off. A neighbor checked the fuses and found none blown but he said they were hot. I pulled the horn fuse out because I was tired of having to explain to strangers that I was not actually beeping at them!!! Also neighbor also found that he could remove the key while the car was running and I know that is not a good thing. All these crazy things do not happen every time I drive it...most of the time I can drive to work with no problem but 6-8 hours later coming home it will act as described. The garage I deal with cannot find the problem but I haven't really given them the car for any length of time due to not being able to afford their bill. Can anyone give me any advise on what this could be???

[s3nfo]

Well, could be a number of things, and some of these are not related, so gonna be hard to diagnose. Wipers and lights are all controlled via the stalk switches on the steering column and the stalk switches are known high failure items. Clicking from the center console could be the turn signal/hazard lights flasher, another high failure item that does cause clicking from the center of the dash between the two center vents and MAY affect the lights, rare, but can happen. The horn issue COULD be a failling BCM, yet another known high failure item, and expensive, could also be a problem with Passlock (security) and a simple passlock reset may fix that. Do a search for L series passlock to find the procedure.

[Russet]

Originally Posted by Chris_MC1952

About a month ago the car's horn - which actually sounded like the alarm when locking the car started beeping for no reason. After a few days of this then I started hearing a clicking (more of a clacking noise) coming from the middle of the dashboard but now I think the sound is coming from the steering column. Then I noticed that every time the clicking noise happened the wipers would jump and the headlights would jump and every third or so clicking noise the wipers would come across the windshield just once. This will happen constantly until I turn car off. A neighbor checked the fuses and found none blown but he said they were hot. I pulled the horn fuse out because I was tired of having to explain to strangers that I was not actually beeping at them!!! Also neighbor also found that he could remove the key while the car was running and I know that is not a good thing. All these crazy things do not happen every time I drive it...most of the time I can drive to work with no problem but 6-8 hours later coming home it will act as described. The garage I deal with cannot find the problem but I haven't really given them the car for any length of time due to not being able to afford their bill. Can anyone give me any advise on what this could be???

Sounds like a multiple problems here the first RED Flag is your keys will pop out when the car is started. Meaning you have too many stuff hanging on the key ring that now the key lock is damaged or worn out that the key will pull out "Very Dangerous". The other part sounds more akin to your BCM is starting to fail since you mention a variety of electrical problems and security of which is part of the BCM module. Is your SES light on or Check Engine light on? Take it to someone that can hook up a GM Tech II or similar to see if they can see any error codes when the problem happens.

[Chris_MC1952]

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I am still trying to diagnose the problem. My keyring should not be a problem since there is only the fob, car, house and mailbox keys and a small medical disc...what most people would have on their keyring. If anyone has any other suggestions I would love to hear them. Thanks!

[abanerus]

Check the wiring harness connectors & possibly clockspring.

[Chris_MC1952]

An update - still have not figured out what the problem is - however...the noise that I thought was coming from the steering column is actually coming from the fuse box under the hood! And while the car is not even started! Any ideas on this new info please post for me! Thanks!

[fdryer]

You might want to consider power; battery, battery cables, and their connections - chassis and engine block. A battery around 5 years age should be load tested by any auto store selling batteries to alert you of a dying battery. Battery cables should be examined carefully for corrosion, especially if its well hidden underneath the heavy insulation on both terminals. A damaged battery side terminal will leak battery acid into cables and eat away copper wires that won't be obvious on the outside. One member paid $400 for his dealer to find and correct a severely corroded red/positive battery cable. Negative grounds, chassis and engine block may have corroded studs that reduce full power distribution.

Good batteries on standby should measure at least 12v. With engine idling, 14v+

[Chris_MC1952]

Update: Still having the same problems except now without the car being started, I lift the hood and the clicking sound is coming from the fuse box and I can feel the slight click when touching the BCM fuse/breaker.

One question I have is this, 1 week before all this started the alternator was changed. My neighbor says that he sees the garage put in a two pulley alternator instead of a one pulley which is what my car would use. He thinks this may be the problem...especially since all this started happening days later...

Any thoughts??? Please and Thank You for anyone helping!