20 Most Recent 1998 Chevrolet Prizm Questions & Answers

Pull the accessory relay out of the power box, turn on the key, and probe the relay socket with a voltmeter or test light. There should be two hot terminals. One turns on the relay and one powers the windows. http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/Wd/DownloadPdf?id=62087

Fix your car right away by clicking the link I attached Chevy Prizm 1998 2002 Factory Service Workshop repair manual download

I think you have a bad shorted battery or bad alternator.

If you can't turn off the headlamp's maybe one of the relay's contacts or stuck closed . There are three relays , head , dimmer and DRL . I wouldn't go condemning the DRL control module before testing it .

Don't know if this will help...had a nissan multi that drove me absolutely bananas ... die randomly ... use starter motor to crank to the side of the road ... scratch head look in and around engine , fuel tank ... try again and starts and gets me home ! Turns out that there was only one ground from ECU and trace it to 1 10 mm bolt on engine that I had not tightened when working on something else...long time past before it got tarnished enough to quit making contact but early on it gave weird performance symptoms . My 2cents . Hugh PS used schematics and ohm meter to find this .

Most likely the idle air valve or throttle motor is broken or stuck or not receiving signals from the engine ECU to increase the air flow to the intake in response to an increased engine load and therefore maintain the idle speed at the preset value.

Take a look to the fuel system. Fuel sending unit, fuel pressure regulator,and may sure you spark plug are not wet . Hope is not your timing belt.

pedal switch?

Check the electrical connections at the starter & clean all connections one by one. TAP the solenoid lightly to see if it is sticking, & last of all take the starter to get it tested. GOD BLESS.....

You have to start at the battery. Is it fully charged? It should show at least 12.6 volts to verify a good battery. If it is less than 12 volts, it will not start the engine anyway, so it must be tested and recharged if good, or replaced if bad. Next the positive and negative cables at both ends of them must be clean and tight. By now you should be able to have headlights and other accessories. And the key turned to on should light up all the warning lights and gauges on the dash, and when turned to "start", the engine should be cranking over and then run. If the car is completely dead, start at the battery. If you still suspect fuses, next check all the maxi fuses- the power distributors right after the battery. Only one of them would cause whole differing circuits to not have power.

its probably laying dead on the engine somewere

If its an automatic, torque converter or front pump whine.