dkas Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I have problem. - starter has been clicking when I go to start the car. It eventually starts but groans the entire time. - battery guage is mostly charging in the red. Car will lose power and then all the power comes back on. The guage jumps around alot when the car gets hot. - has new battery - has clean positive post - yesterday put a new starter in it. Worked great yesterday, and this morning. Fired up first start no problems. It is a hot day here...about 100 degrees with humity. Went to the store....came out. click, click, click and will not start. Thoughts? Suggestions? This car has been a pain in the ass this year starting and I am getting tired of it. I don't want to keep tossing money into it only to have the same issue over and over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 no reason to toss money at it. post a pic of what you got and I will tell you what to do and we can fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakdown Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I'm 99.9% sure that the clicking is based on the starter not getting enough power from the battery if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkas Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 no reason to toss money at it. post a pic of what you got and I will tell you what to do and we can fix it. Please do not take it this the wrong way I do appreciate the help, but I cannot take a picture of the starter clicking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkas Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I'm 99.9% sure that the clicking is based on the starter not getting enough power from the battery if that helps. Agreed. The battery guage is low and it is clear there is not enough power to start the car. I have had the alternator output checked at the battery and it shows 14 volts. So I think the alternator is working properly. Do you have any suggestions on what might be causing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 when the car cools off it starts again right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkas Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 when the car cools off it starts again right? Yes once it has cooled off it starts immediately. I should note that I have replaced the theromstat as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 had the same problem. tuned the chip and its all better. what was happening was the car idled very weak and would not charge at stoplights and stuff. plus that is when the fan kicked on and made the poor car stall. I could not use the R-12 AC all summer last couple years. but making small adjustments all the time now has helped more than anything. I just burned a chip last night for it again. changed the number of IAC steps for fan1 from 10 to 15. I tested that by sitting in the car in the driveway when I got home from work and when the fan came on the idle had a little bump. going to try 20 steps now. and tune the throttle follower some more. last adjustment on that was done in April, and I have had only two stalling events since then. but those were very hot days and not that severe that they left me stranded and broke down. my key wire was corroded badly too. replacing that helped a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 have you checked your grounds. What you list sounds like a grounding issue also. There should be good ground from the battery to the engine and from the battery to the starter, from the engine to the body. Ground problems can cause alot of headaches and wasted money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickedbuick Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 I was gonna say the same thing, check your grounds, mainly the battery to the trans wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 CHECK THE AUXILIARY TERMINAL. it might be making a weak connection. The cable has come loose on several different cars I have from there. If you have the thin copper/brass washer/nut... GET A REAL NUT. real nuts were used on that power contact starting around 1995, that is where I have source all replacement nuts on every vehicle I've touched. DO NOT USE A "CRUSHED" NUT, such as the ones used on the strut tower: though they are the right thread pitch they can snap your power stud off. The proper nut will spin freely on the stud. Once/if you have a real nut, add a stainless steel lock washer between the nut and the cable end and tighten snugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkas Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 I have had a lot of starting issues with this car this year and I have a lot of money into it trying to find and fix it. I am about ready to give up, take the loss and sell it. It is not reliable and is cost me to much. Sorry just frustrated. It is going back to the garage again today. Now my headlights seem to be shorting out. Lost my dashlights on the instrument panel. The headlights would go really dim and then really bright. Then the batter guage started bouncing around like crazy, car start idling rough, power antenna started going up and down. Also when I went back to see if I could get started after it let me down and left me stranded, it would not start and just went click click click after sitting for 2 hours. I tried the other key and it fired right up. So I thought, oh I have a bad vat on the key. Wrong. The car will start now with any key. Car is basically undrivable like this and I fear I will be chasing an electrical short for years to come. I now know why the guy sold it so cheap to me. I have just about had it. I bought the car for 2900, have 4000 into repairs such as wheel bearings, tires, brakes, door handle, battery, starter, chasing this flipping electrical problem etc. Car is appraised at 4900. Oh and I put a 700 stereo in it. Car is worth maybe 4000 on a good day, but the roof is starting to go so that might be as stretch. But when do you call it quits and cut your losses. Love the car, but the car of ownership is crazy. Olds just made a poor product that looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakdown Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Get a good mechanic to test all of the grounds. My car had voltage drops all over the place. It even stalled out at the bottom of my street one day and wouldn't start till hours later. it got to the point where it pushed the car's computer to the point where the transmission went into limp mode. There's no cutting your losses with this problem, being blunt and honest, how the hell are you going to sell a car like this for $3000 if it basically doesn't work? Either some guy doesn't realize the problem and returns with a baseball bat, or you have to fix it to sell it for anything over $1000-$1500. These things all sound related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penglii Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 CHECK THE AUXILIARY TERMINAL. it might be making a weak connection. The cable has come loose on several different cars I have from there. If you have the thin copper/brass washer/nut... GET A REAL NUT. real nuts were used on that power contact starting around 1995, that is where I have source all replacement nuts on every vehicle I've touched. DO NOT USE A "CRUSHED" NUT, such as the ones used on the strut tower: though they are the right thread pitch they can snap your power stud off. The proper nut will spin freely on the stud. Once/if you have a real nut, add a stainless steel lock washer between the nut and the cable end and tighten snugly. So... what size/pitch nut fits properly on the aux terminal? Also... when you say not to use a "crushed nut" do you mean not to use flanged nuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 So... what size/pitch nut fits properly on the aux terminal?Also... when you say not to use a "crushed nut" do you mean not to use flanged nuts? do not use a nut that is "out of round" by being phyically crushed to make it into a lock nut. See your strut tower nuts for comparison. Dear OP. THE ISSUE OF POOR POWER YOU JUST DESCRIBED... sounds like what I have experienced in several cars... namely a poor aux post connection. To be sure though, you should clean your battery cable terminals as well, including popping out the terminal studs and tighten and clean all grounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 CHECK THE AUXILIARY TERMINAL. it might be making a weak connection. The cable has come loose on several different cars I have from there. If you have the thin copper/brass washer/nut... GET A REAL NUT. real nuts were used on that power contact starting around 1995, that is where I have source all replacement nuts on every vehicle I've touched. DO NOT USE A "CRUSHED" NUT, such as the ones used on the strut tower: though they are the right thread pitch they can snap your power stud off. The proper nut will spin freely on the stud. Once/if you have a real nut, add a stainless steel lock washer between the nut and the cable end and tighten snugly. Ken you are genious how could I forget about that. I had that problem on every W except my cutlass. The nut is like a 15mm. Causes all sorts of havoc when loose:thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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