startin "issues"

In a hurry, getting ready for work......

car was having issues starting a couple of days ago do I went to Autozone and had the battery tested... bad battery. Cool, changed out with the warranty. 2 days later I am having the same issues.

Troubleshooting results:

Running voltage is 14.25

static voltage is 12.88

Lights steady with RPM changes, but dim drastically when starting

All connections tight and clean.

Could this be a starter issue?


Will test voltage after work at 7pm tonight.

Robert did you check the charge level on the new battery?The first thing I do when I buy a
new battery is hook it up to my charger.Sometimes those batteries just sit after their initial charge before they are shipped to the stores.Maybe your new battery has sat on the shelf for a while and isnt fully charged.Put a meter on it and see.2 years ago my dad bought a sears diehard and it was junk and had to be replaced the next day.
Jim Gordon

battery is good, been on the charger all day...

Slow crank, but started. I let it run for about 10 min then shut it off. Now there is just a click. I held the key for a second too long and got the pungent odor of ozone.

Now it won't start at all. No crank just a click. It's 8pm and I need to be back here at 4am...... I hate having to work for a living.

Battery steady at 12.88volts

I need help guys, I have one chance to get this right before I have to rent a car for the week. (between shool and work, I'm gone 16-18 hours a day)

Robert when you left the engine idling for 10 minutes ,how did it sound and did you notice
any other strange smells like maybe overheating?I am trying buddy!
Jim Gordon

How old is the starter?

Jim, When the engine runs, it runs great. No noises, smells, shakes, anything.

Joel, It was in the car when I bought it at 74K, car now has 160K


I had a 30 minute mind meld with sprocket on my way home (son picked me up) and we have decided that I will disconnect the starter and test with cables. If the car turns over, it's the harness; if it does not crank, it's the starter.

Sounds like a good idea.When disconnecting look at the cables closely for any internal corrosion and melted insulation plus your connection points.If you do the work right after trying tp start car fel for any excessive heat in the cables and starter.Lastly when you get to pulling the starter look closely at the flex plate teeth for any damage.I know this all sounds
dumb but trying to cover as many bases as possible.
Jim Gordon

Krzdimond wrote:

Joel, It was in the car when I bought it at 74K, car now has 160K

Assuming that's the original starter, you are seriously beyond the original design life of the starter.

I had both of my LT1 starters rebuilt locally at 140k and 166k, respectively, and it made a big difference.

I had no idea that starters had a "design life".

I'll check the harness and replace the starter tomorrow in the parking lot.

Everything has a design life. Trust me, it would cost a lot more to build a car where statistically you wouldn't have any major repairs until 200k miles vs. the typical car where you start having to replace things between 100 and 175k. Statistically most people keep cars 100k or less, so that's what automakers build them for.

Anyway, my point is that the starter may just need a rebuild given its age and miles.

My car mechanic told me that federal law requires cars to cost a certain amount per mile for the first 100k miles. That's why there are so many 100k mile service intervals now.

Removed the starter and took it to Autozone to be tested.

Hooked it up and it caught FIRE!

New one in the Grand Prix waiting for daylight......

Nick Danger wrote:

My car mechanic told me that federal law requires cars to cost a certain amount per mile for the first 100k miles. That's why there are so many 100k mile service intervals now.

That may be indirectly related to lemon laws, but otherwise I doubt the veracity of this.

The 100k service intervals are likely either due to competition between automakers for sales reasons, or by the EPA for long-term emissions stability.

Krzdimond wrote:

Removed the starter and took it to Autozone to be tested.

Hooked it up and it caught FIRE!

New one in the Grand Prix waiting for daylight......

So Sparky, it's a little early for fireworks! Guess it's good you took it off the car first, lol.
So how goes the repair?

John, don't misunderstand me, it DID smoke under the hood.... hence the post above where I smelled ozone. I think that's the point at where the starters internals went PFFFFT!

All went well with the new starter. What has me puzzled is that everything I read (FSM, Haynes manual, the website, and the instructions with the starter) said that the '96 was designed so as not to use the shims..... but there were 3 of them on the old one. I did what any respectable parts changer would do, I put the old shims back on!

The only issue I had was those damn nuts on the cables. When I went to remove the cables, the bolts came out of the starter itself. Shattered the plastic case on the solenoid. Took vice grips and a socket to remove the nuts. Almost cut the damn wires.

Anyway, I also noticed that the trans bolts (on the pan) were finger tight, so I tightened them while I was already under the car rolling around in the dirt.

Had the nuts come off without any issues, it would have taken longer to raise the vehicle than to make the repair. I will be thanking the GM design Gods for the absence of the "bitch bolt" tonight.

But first, I'm sitting at the house trying to reword a plagiarized paper to meet a 1700 word requirement ....due by midnight!!

Krzdimond wrote:

Removed the starter and took it to Autozone to be tested.

Hooked it up and it caught FIRE!

I would say thats a hint.

I am glad its the starter and I am going to remember what Joel said about "design life".
Robert if I were you I would check all the transmission bolts for tightness.
Glad it was a relatively simple fix and not a wiring nitemare.
Jim Gordon

The pan bolts are only supposed to take 9 or 11 ftlbs; they don't need to be wrenched on tight.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

The pan bolts are only supposed to take 9 or 11 ftlbs; they don't need to be wrenched on tight.

Ooops.



Hope it doesn't leak more now.....

Would have loved to see the guys face at when your starter caught fire.I am sure they have seen that before but it made his job of selling you a starter a lot easier.
Robert is everything back to normal with your wagon?
With Bin Laden dead we must all be more VIGILANT than ever so do your part guys to keep the US and Canada SAFE!
Jim Gordon