Wheelman

I seem to be having a problem with my car not wanting to start when i turn the key, happens more often when it is cold, when i turn the key to start it just clicks but wont turn over. Usually when i sit there and mess with it for a while i can get it to fire up, but it usually takes a couple of tries.......I have replaced the ignition switch and the alternator and battery are both fairly new and the car stays right around 12 volts when i turn the key.....so what else could my problem be??

XTwinTurbo

Actually, that's how I thought most starters fail.

Most of the cars I've owned failed to start intermittently but it was almost always the starter. Usually guys will try to start and if not they bang lightly on the starter with a hammer to see if they can start again. If you try this and it works then starter is most likely bad.


[Modified by XTwinTurbo, 4:31 PM 6/12/2003]

torque91

You probably have a dead spot on the armature. If so, it's like Wheel of Fortune. If it stops on the dead spot, you just hit bankrupt.

OleDog

I'm with torque91 :iagree:

Wheelman

So does this mean that i still have some life left in it if i just keep messing with it enough??? :lol: :lol:

jackdaroofer

NO! Everytime you try to start it, you are adding one more "bankrupt" square to the wheel, asuming it is a "dead spot"n the armature.

There are two other possibilities, one of which is also solved by a new starter and the other, you won't like

A bad or going bad solenoid in the starter can cause similar problems...Other problem, bad ignition switch!

When you say it won't start, I am assuming the starter won't turn over and when you say "play with it" I am assuming you mean jiggle the key and keep trying to turn it to start.

If this is the case, it could be the ignition switch.

You can hook a jump starter (car thief variety) up and see if the starter works every time. If it does then I would plan on changing the ignition switch

:seeya

:steering:

jfb

If you have a dead spot on the starter, once you land on it, it won't crank until you move the starter off that spot. One easy thing to do which could be the problem is to remove your battery cables (neg first) and clean the cable lugs and battery posts and replace the cables (neg last). When the car won't crank, jump 12 v to the purple wire on your transmission position switch, this wire goes to the start solenoid on the starter. If it cranks, then you have problems ahead of the xmsn selector switch. The starter solenoid gets 12v through a fusible link, through the firewall connector, through the ignition switch, through the start enable relay contacts, through the xmsn selector switch, through the firewall connector to the starter solenoid.
If VATS is working, you should hear a relay clicking behind the dash when you hit the crank position on the ign sw. Also, try your spare ign key as its pellet contacts aren't as worn as your everyday key and may make good contact in the ign switch. You can prove that the new ign sw is making with the pellet on your ign key by unplugging the 2 pin connector on the wires from the ign sw ( on my 87 these wires come out of the bottom of the steering column under the carpet) and measuring the resistance of the wires from the steering column with the key in place. It should measure the same as the pellet. If it doesn't, or measures higher than 10k ohms, your ign sw VATS contacts are defective and the contacts in the ign lock mechanism needs replacing.

MyZ51

My car was not starting on occasion, and I found that it had set a VATS code.
I started using the spare key, and hasn't let me down since.

Mine didn't click or anything, tho... pull your codes and see if you have a VATS code.