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93 "sys" blinking

DanC

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 12, 2002
Messages
74
Location
Bradford, MA USA
Corvette
1993 Ruby Red Coupe
Tonight when I started my 93 LT1, it sounded like it kicked back against the starter, sort of like if the timing was advanced too far, before it started.

It seemed to run normally, except every 10-12 seconds, it blinked "sys" in the speedometer display. I had it set for coolant temperature, and it would display the temperature for 10-12 seconds, blink "sys" 3 times, then go back to the temperature. It repeated this cycle regardless of what I had displayed until I shut the engine off about 30 minutes later. Before shutting off, I'm pretty sure I could hear the fans running, as if I was in "limp home" mode, however, the check engine light never came on.

The car sat for about 2 hours, and when I started it, all was back to normal.

I don't recall seeing this in the owner's manual or the service manual.

Anyone know what's happening here?

Thanks,
 
Check the battery.....voltage may not be where it's suppose to be. Possibly left something on in the car running the battery down. You let the car sit and if the battery is good it may have been charged enough with you running the car in "limp home mode". That's the only time I experienced the "sys" light blinking, battery was low.....hope this helps.
 
Interesting....

I was bringing up all the available digital displays while it was doing the "sys" blink thing. Voltage was steady at about 14.1 running and 13.8 at idle.

Did you need to replace your battery?

Did you find any reference to this in any manuals?

BTW, car is stock except for a replacement Dynaspark distributor this time last year.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Interesting....

I was bringing up all the available digital displays while it was doing the "sys" blink thing. Voltage was steady at about 14.1 running and 13.8 at idle.

Did you need to replace your battery?

Did you find any reference to this in any manuals?

BTW, car is stock except for a replacement Dynaspark distributor this time last year.

Thanks for the reply.

Actually I never did replace the battery. The center consol was left open and the bulb knocked the voltage down by the time I discovered it. Anyway, the alarm acted goofy and when I charged the battery for a while, started the car, the "sys" light was blinking and did not shut off til I shut the car down and restarted it again. I think this happened to me twice since I owned the car.....both times caused by a battery issue.
 
Thanks Robertwav1.

I did have enough "stuff" in the console to possibly cause the bulb to be on, however, since there was enough left in the battery (if that was the issue) for the engine to start, I didn't need to check for anything left on.

I did clean out the "stuff" since most of it belonged in the house; I forgot it in the car last time I used it. So the console had a lot of extra things in it that normally don't stay there when I'm not using the car.

I guess next time I use the car I'll find out if there is really a problem.

Since the weather was poor over the weekend into the beginning of the week, I hadn't used the car since Friday night. I have a relatively new DieHard in the car, but if a bulb was on from Friday night to Wednesday night, I would think it would have killed it. We'll see when I try the car tonight...Now I have an excuse to go for a drive.

Anyone else ever see this or know where this "sys" thing is documented?

Thanks.
 
Had the same situation as yours a while back. Coudn't drive for about 2 weeks & it started ok, but I had the "SYS' blinking, until I shut the engine down, after a long drive & the"SYS" was gone.

Attributed that problem to a low battery. A Battery tender corrected that problem.

Have been looking thru the FSM for any info on the "SYS' thing. So far can find nothing. I know it is controlled by the CCM, but if it sets a DTC I can't find it. That may be due to my advanced age.

I'll keep looking & if I find something I'll let you know. For now it seems to be a battery problem. Being the "SYS" went out after your restart, I woudn't worry about it. Battery tender advised if you can't drive on a regular basis.

You didn't mention if you tried to pull any codes? I know the clock & other accessories have a slight draw when the engine is off. You may want to do a search on how to determine if you have an excessive draw?
 
Had the same situation as yours a while back. Coudn't drive for about 2 weeks & it started ok, but I had the "SYS' blinking, until I shut the engine down, after a long drive & the"SYS" was gone.

Attributed that problem to a low battery. A Battery tender corrected that problem.

Have been looking thru the FSM for any info on the "SYS' thing. So far can find nothing. I know it is controlled by the CCM, but if it sets a DTC I can't find it. That may be due to my advanced age.

I'll keep looking & if I find something I'll let you know. For now it seems to be a battery problem. Being the "SYS" went out after your restart, I woudn't worry about it. Battery tender advised if you can't drive on a regular basis.

You didn't mention if you tried to pull any codes? I know the clock & other accessories have a slight draw when the engine is off. You may want to do a search on how to determine if you have an excessive draw?

Thanks Rabbit.

The car has sat longer than 4 days due to bad weather but this is the first time I've seen this. As I said in my original post, it sounded like it kicked back against the starter, but after reading these replies, maybe it was just a low battery.

Drove the car tonight, and all was normal. I haven't checked for DTC's yet, I know how to do that, maybe will try tomorrow after work.

Thanks for the info all.

Edit: did some searching in the FSM. Page 8D-4 DIAGNOSIS states:
"The Central Control Module (CCM) uses the speedometer, odometer, and the trip monitor located on the instrument cluster to display information while in the diagnostic mode.

The speedometer is used to display Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC's) (CCM, ABS/ASR and ECM), the odometer displays data, and the trip monitor indicates the system being tested and the test which is being performed. Refer to Figure 1. The buttons on the Driver Information Center (DIC) are used to send instructions to the CCM when in the diagnostic mode. Refer to Figure 4.

Unlike other vehicle electronic systems, such as ECM, SIR, etcl, there is no specific "CCM" lamp to indicate a malfunction. A DTC-setting malfunctin in any of the CCM- monitored systems is indicated by "SYS" (SYSTEM ERROR) flashing in the instrument cluster trip monitor. If a malfunctin does not recur within 100 ignition cycles the CCM will automatically clear the DTC.


The "SYS" indicator will flash 3 times every 15 seconds while a current-DTC malfunction is present. An exception to the "SYS" malfunction indicator is that PASS-Key malfunctions (DTC's 51-53) will be indicated by the "SECURITY" lamp being illuminated without the "SYS" indicator flashing. If there is a Fuel Enable Data Stream (FEDS) malfunction (DTC54), the "SECURITY" indicator and the "SYS" indicator will flash together, to illustrate that the problem condition affects vehicle security. Refer to SECTIONS 9D and 9K for more information on the CCM and security system interaction."

Looks like it may be useful to check for DTC's.

Time to do more reading, my fingers are tired.
 
I found that portion in the FSM also, CCM functions. I was really looking for something that pointed specifically to a low battery condition. Rest those Pinkies!
 
You can disconnect the battery for a little while to clear SYS. It means there is an electrical circuit out of voltage parameters, usually caused by a weak battery at start. If you change the stereo you'll be seeing it too.
 
Sorry for the delay on the follow up to this thread.

Turns out the battery had a dead cell. 3 year old Sears Die Hard, actually 35 month old Sears Die Hard. 36 month replacement warranty, so I got a new battery out of the deal.

The battery solved my problem.
 
I experienced the same exact issue......blinking SYS light.....low battery was the cause.
 

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