95 Bonneville Starting Issue

[cmarie71]

Hi all!! Christina here, First off let me say we LOVE our 95 custom painted Bonneville (she's MY baby, although hubby would say she is his after ALL the work he's done on her). Anywho... We are having starter problems & since I am the computer girl & he is the car guy, I am going to TRY to see if we can get some help by me posting what he tells me, hope you guys can deal with that...

1st off, problem is NOT VATS, we had a bypass done so that is a non-issue. Hubby just changed starter, car started fine after that, 2 weeks later, it began clicking, not starting, he replaced a terminal screw yesterday and car started fine right after, but car didn't start again!! Battery has 12 volts. Any further ideas of what he can check? He is going to check connections, cables, etc. He also has a theory, car is starting cold, not hot, he thinks, so its morning & he is going to see if the car starts cold to ensure there isn't some sort of problem with starter after it runs for a while...If car doesn't start, I will be back soon, if car starts, we are going on a couple errands, auto parts store, etc... (leaving car running of course!) So, we'll see how this goes.
Any ideas into what he can do would be greatly appreciated? If you don't

[Jrs3800]

Does the starter engage at all? If not then another suspect would be the Park Neutral Safety Swith... If it does not turn over try to start it in Neutral...

[Mechanical Mike]

Have him check for 12 volts at small ( purple IIRC) wire on the starter when the key is turned to start. This will help narrow down the problem.

[imidazol97]

He is going to check connections, cables, etc. He also has a theory, car is starting cold, not hot, he thinks, so its morning & he is going to see if the car starts cold to ensure there isn't some sort of problem with starter after it runs for a while...If car doesn't start, I will be back soon,

I would check the double positive cable at the battery for corrosion between the positive terminals. There's a lead spacer in there on my 98. Maybe even cut into the wires through the plastic to peel it back to check.

Check the grounds. Remove and clean and retighten the ground from the battery to the fender. Loosen and clean the ground to the motor itself.

After all that is checked, it's possible it's the starter itself that just isn't working when it's hot.

If you're into troubleshooting, check the voltage drop or the resistance on the positive cable from battery to starter when it won't engage. Same for grounds. Somewhere you'll find something.

I'd also check for battery voltage on the purple wire and be sure you're getting a solid crank signal from the ignition switch while it's on CRANK. I would also check resistance across the postive and negative (ground) connections on the starter while the CRANK signal is given from the key. No resistance would indicate the solenoid is making contact on the relay to provide power to the starter windings.

Be sure to safely support the car while you're underneath and trying to crank and measure the circuits.

[cmarie71]

OK...AWESOME AWESOME INPUT!! Wow, guys, THANKS!! We are battling a yucky bug, so hubby is working little by little in "spurts" as his body allows...He did what you said,, so, we have 12 volts battery/starter, starter started hot...Now here's what last happened, I tried to start car, int./ext. lights come on, radio comes on, antenna goes up. When I go to start again, NADA!! Click click...nada...All lights on, signs of "life" (battery life, anyway) present, etc.. NOW, hubby pulled HARD on the BLACK cable FROM THE BATTERY. Car starts & STAYS started....Now this is the same side he changed the screw/connector in the battery, so he says its NOT the battery or the starter but the connections now, so we are going to buy new black wire. We appreciate your input!!