no start problem, everything new

cato

Registered User
alright, my motor has an intermittent start problem. I"m completely out of ideas, so if anyone has one chime in. I"ve changed: the starter, the battery, the cam sensor, the crank sensor, and now the battery terminals and the whole negative battery cable all the way back to the block where its grounded. what the car does is it will sometimes start and sometimes I just get an empty CLICK. sometimes I can try to turn it over a few times and it starts fine. sometimes I have to half push start it, really just enough to move the motor a little bit. could it be something in the starter?? ANY help is appreciated, as I don't want to have to take the car into the shop.
 
Not sure if this may help but, there is a starter selonoid on the driver side quarter panel locaed near the battery and fuse box. I know the sometimes cuase starter problems and at 10-15 bux, its not overly cost prohibitive to just replace. may take you 10 min tops. my other thought on the intermitent starting could me a missing tooth on the fly wheel. that may explain why it works whem u move the car sometimes.

Rick
 
its a 95, so the solenoid is actually integral with the starter, so no dice there, it should have been new with the starter. and as for the missing tooth, it did this before the last time I had my tranny out, and it was all in good shape there as well. muchos gracias for you ideas though :)
 
Not sure if this will help, but was Rick talking about replacing the Starter Solenoid RELAY? It is next to the battery / Fuse box. I have a 90 and not sure on later models. Do the later modles have that ON the starter? I know I can start my car by touching two of the large poles together with a screwdriver on that relay (providing the key is on). If it starts fine that way, then you know it will probably be in the wiring up to the key...
 
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I'm not sure what you call the part, but I had a problem with an ignition switch that is mounted on the steering column under the cover that goes around the column. It had seperated and sometimes there was enough of a connection to crank and sometimes not. I ended up putting zip ties around it as a temperary fix, till I can replace it. Haven't had any problems with it since then. Might be worth checking if everything else is good.

David
 
Your problem may be in the starter solenoid relay on the drive's side fender area as explained in one of the above. Mine did this also before i rebuilt it and completely died after the engine install. I bought mine a Advance Auto Parts for $8.00. Also, there is a solenoid on the starter, but the click you hear is from the starter relay. To test it make sure that the car is in neutral, and that the parking brake is up. Then make sure that the ignition is off. Use a screw driver to ark the two large bolts on the relay, if the engine turns over, then I would invest in a new relay. Note this is not a real safe thing to do, but it is a good way to determine if it is the culprit.
 
starter solenoid relay on the drive's side fender
That's what my guess would be. Next time it wont start, grab something and give that solinoid a good wack and see what happens.

Thomas
 
nope, they moved it on the 94 95, I know exactly what you're talking about as I used to have a 93 also, and had a friend with a 91. on the later models, there is no more relay there. from everything I've seen and read its integral with the starter. the switch might be an idea, but that wouldn't explain why I can half *** push start it and then it cranks up...could the starter be improperly aligned and need to be shimmed or something of that nature??
 
Could be a bad new starter. You might pull the starter and apply voltage to see if the motor turns. Sounds like the solenoid is clicking, but the motor is not turning.

See if you can do a voltage check on the wiring harness. You could have bad wiring or fuse to the starter.


Another possibility is a broken balancer.
 
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cougarsc said:
Could be a bad new starter. You might pull the starter and apply voltage to see if the motor turns. Sounds like the solenoid is clicking, but the motor is not turning.

See if you can do a voltage check on the wiring harness. You could have bad wiring or fuse to the starter.


Another possibility is a broken balancer.


think I"m going to try pulling the starter, maybe change the power wire that runs to it also, the balancer is fine, I checked it earlier this week when I was changing out my water pump. Keep the ideas coming :)
 
These 3.8 Starters are junk!

When my last starter went out, I had my uncle replace it at a Auto Electric Shop. The first one he put in was bad so he put in another one. It started a few times and appeared to work fine. I went to pickup my car when it was ready and Whaa Laaah!, the new (2nd) starter was toast. They got the 3rd one in and no problems (so far). So I agree with CougarSC that it is totally possible it is junk. But still check your ignition switch.
 
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