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wont start, on vacation 900 miles away. Helllllllppppppp.


Jon Forston
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Hey, 91 GTP here. Car wont start. When you turn the key to access. ok, when you turn it to on, all ok. Everything appears to be normal. When you turn it to run, you hear a relay under the glovebox, and thats it. No starter solenoid, nothing. Battery is good, everything works fine. It does the same thing as if your in drive, and attempt to start. Checked the shift cable,ok. It sounds like some sort of switch is causing the problem. Please, any help would be great. I leave Saturday.

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Make sure the battery cables are tight. If you have a clamp type terminal, check the cable that goes into the clamp. Check the positive cable near the fuel pump relay/fuse.

 

Try to start the car in Neutral.

 

If that does not work set the Emergency brake., try to turn the Ignition Switch to ON position (don't start the car) and try to use a screw driver (rubber handle) and try to by-pass the starter solenoid by connecting them together and see if that spins the starter. Try starting the car in either Park or Neutral.

 

If you can get a hold of a remote starter switch then use it instead of a screw driver. With the remote starter switch, you just connect the two leads on the postive terminal and one directly to the starter solenoid and then just push the button.

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If that does not work set the Emergency brake., try to turn the Ignition Switch to ON position (don't start the car) and try to use a screw driver (rubber handle) and try to by-pass the starter solenoid by connecting them together and see if that spins the starter. Try starting the car in either Park or Neutral.

 

If you can get a hold of a remote starter switch then use it instead of a screw driver. With the remote starter switch, you just connect the two leads on the postive terminal and one directly to the starter solenoid and then just push the button.

 

Yup, thats what I am thinking. You should be able to do that, and then wire a switch to the inside of the car temporarily until you get it fixed so you just push the button to start the car. But as long as you have spark, and there is power going to the starter, this should work.

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My Lumina was doing this (bad starter solenoid...TSB regarding this is out there somewhere).

 

I would be able to start the engine by rapidly turning the key between RUN and START. The solenoid would eventually snap over and the starter would engage.

 

When you eventually get around to replacing the starter, get a Delco. It should have the revised parts mentioned in the TSB.

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My vote is starter solenoid/starter. My dad and I just got done a couple of hours ago changing on his truck. Exact same symptoms. If the solenoid is bad, you usually dont hear anything, like when the battery is dead.

 

Robby

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Wack the hell out of it with a hammer! :lol:

 

No, seriously....

 

I was having a similar, intermittent problem like that, and after giving the starter / solenoid a good smack, it hasn't bothered me at all. This has the tendency of freeing up a stuck bendix, if that's the case.

 

I would try that first because: It's free. :wink:

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My 90 Grand Prix has a similar problem. I have to shift through the gears several times before it will crank the engine. I'm pretty sure my problem is the neutral start switch on the tranny. Not sure if yours is the same problem, but just throwing out another possibility.

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Yeah hitting the starter while someone else turns key may work. Or try moving shifter while turning key to start. Worst case try jumping at the starter. To bad new autos aren't like the old powerglides you could actually push start'em.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You guys were correct. It was the solenoid. Haven`t fixed it yet, but it got me back home. A couple of good whacks to the noid got it done. I was kind of hesitant to take it, but it is a much more comfortable ride than my truck. I put a total of 2800 miles on it within a week. Purrs like a kitten.

 

Thanks again for the speedy responses, helped me have a good vacation.

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Wack the hell out of it with a hammer! :lol:

 

No, seriously....

 

I was having a similar, intermittent problem like that, and after giving the starter / solenoid a good smack, it hasn't bothered me at all. This has the tendency of freeing up a stuck bendix, if that's the case.

 

I would try that first because: It's free. :wink:

 

Ha, you beat me to it. I was going to suggest the same thing. 8)

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