Just 15 minutes ago, my wife called me here at work from a mall parking lot(go figure) saying the family car wouldn't start. Turn the key - nothing but lights showing on the instrument panel. She tried 3 or 4 times. It's a 1997 Chev Lumina 3.1 with approx. 74,000 km on it. I go to rescue her and check it out (15 mins later), put in the key and it turns over NO problem. Shut the car off, turned it on again, no problem. She said there was no noise except for a "hum" when she did it. No clicking or anything to signal a bad starter The car recently had a new altenator put in and a new AC Delco battery put in 3 months ago. Took the car to the very well respected place the altenator and battery were purchased and installed from to have the battery and altenator checked. They checked out fine, watched him do the test. Any ideas as to what was going on? It also happened about 2 years ago, now that I think about it.
car wouldn't start, then did
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The hum is the fuel pump coming on. My gf's Cavalier had this same problem, turned out to be a small ground wire that had come into contact with one of the coolant hoses and melted through. Replaced the wire and the car starts every time.
The problem was intermittent for a while just like you described, as the wire would gradually lose connection then create a circuit just long enough to start the car (without ever touching it), but it eventually broke altogether and the car wouldn't turn over at all. It took me forever to figure this out, as for the longest time I suspected a faulty theft system.
The problem was intermittent for a while just like you described, as the wire would gradually lose connection then create a circuit just long enough to start the car (without ever touching it), but it eventually broke altogether and the car wouldn't turn over at all. It took me forever to figure this out, as for the longest time I suspected a faulty theft system.
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Do you hear the solenoid plunger move? When mine failed again last night, the solenoid plunger would move and stay, but no further action would occur. I think my problem is the starter as the unit is getting power but isn't turning at least in my case.
I'd check the battery connections. Take'em off. Make sure they're clean, then make sure they're tight. Corrosion on those steel terminals and/or a loose connection could do what you described. For that matter, I'd check all the battery cable connections.
Or the starter solenoid contacts
I had an Aerostar that would sometimes start and sometimes nothing. Replaced the starter and it worked fine for a couple of years and then became intermittant again. I went through three starters on that Aerostar before I realized the problem was that the oil filter was directly above the starter. When I changed the oil filter, oil would drip onto the starter and eventually into the case and gum up the contacts.
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Not that either of these causes are likely to be your condition/problem, but they are somewhat alike.
I had a Chevette that occasionally would not start HOT. Everything else worked ..just no starter. If you sat long enough ..it started as if nothing was wrong. I figured that some wire opened when the thing was hot.
Shorted battery. Totally intermittent. Worked with 100% reliability between incidents (is that a contradiction
). That is, no symptoms between bouts of temporary total failure.
I had a Chevette that occasionally would not start HOT. Everything else worked ..just no starter. If you sat long enough ..it started as if nothing was wrong. I figured that some wire opened when the thing was hot.
Shorted battery. Totally intermittent. Worked with 100% reliability between incidents (is that a contradiction
I had similar intermittent starting issues with a Passat; the coolant temperature sensor had failed. It may be worth checking.
I had a VW 90 Jetta before, car won't start unless the driver seatbelt is engaged.(OEM for safety)
I've got a 98 Pontiac with the security resistor in the key. One day, while it was raining, I went to the car with the keys in my hand and the car refused to start. Apparently, the key was wet when I put it in the ignition lock and it screwed up the resistance value on the key. This tripped the anti-theft routine and I couldn't start the until I dried out the key and waited 3 minutes.
Does your key have the resistor thingy in it?
Does your key have the resistor thingy in it?
Looks like just about every possibility has been mentioned. One other thing could be the neutral safety switch (auto trans) or clutch switch (manual trans). If it's an auto trans if it does it again, try putting it in neutral and see if it fires up then.
Thanks to all. It hasn't happened again since my original post on June 16. I'll keep an eye on it, check out a few things if I can. Forgot to mention that the problem happened after alot of city driving in pretty hot and humid weather low, 80's, but it's been that hot and hotter since then. It kind of resembles Gary Allan's Chevette problems when the vehicle got hot.
If it happens again, make sure the shifter is shoved all the way into Park. If the Park switch isn't closed, the starter won't engage.
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