cdictas Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Gentlemen, I have an interesting problem that has crop up in my 99 sts. Every once in while when I go to start the car nothing happens but a low groan (sounds like the fuel pump), I turn the key off and try again, nothing happens, I turn the key off again and turn it on and the car starts. This situation has now occurred twice in one month. My car starts on a regular basis except for these two odd events. My gut feeling is the ignition switch may be bad. Has anyone else experienced this phenomena? Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 W&W - wait and watch... The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Yes, it could very well be the ignition switch. But here's another thought: have you "wiggled" the gearshift when this problem occurs? Let's not overlook the possibility of a bad neutral/park safety switch. Then, of course, there's the possibility of a bad starter enable relay (unlikely I'd guess). Additionally, the PCM forbids starter engagement if it thinks the engine is already running. In my '95 vehicle, for example, the starter enable relay gets its ground from the PASS-KEY DECODER MODULE which is addressed/controlled by the PCM. The PCM will open that ground if it believes the engine is already running, thus disallowing starter motor engagement. Any number of poor wiring connections in that circuit might cause your problem. Rule Of Thumb For Intermittents: ALWAYS check for poor grounds. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Have you cleaned you battery connections lately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdictas Posted September 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Well I waited and watched since my May posting. Once a month like clock work, I would go and try and start my car and nothing would happen - I'd just hear the fuel pump running. Then I'd turn the ignition switch off and retry and start the car. The car would start faithfully. This went on until Monday of this week, I was leaving work and my car won't start. I'd tried several times to start my car, but to no avail. So I called AAA for a tow. When the tow truck arrived 1 hour later, the tow operator asked me to put the car in neutral. So I hopped in the car and tried starting it for *hit and giggles, and wouldn't you know it the car started like a champ. I ended up driving the car home. My starter always had a sick sound to it and the dealer noticed the same sick sound as I did when I had the tranny fluid changed in May. So today I replaced the starter motor ($182 including tax, AC Deleco). It took me 3 hours to complete the job, I could probably do it again in 2 1/2. I don't see this as a 45 minute job. The scary part was taking the intake manifold off, which after doing it, wasn't that bad after all. The new starter sounds great, just the way all caddy starters sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Well I waited and watched since my May posting. Once a month like clock work, I would go and try and start my car and nothing would happen - I'd just hear the fuel pump running. Then I'd turn the ignition switch off and retry and start the car. The car would start faithfully. This went on until Monday of this week, I was leaving work and my car won't start. I'd tried several times to start my car, but to no avail. So I called AAA for a tow. When the tow truck arrived 1 hour later, the tow operator asked me to put the car in neutral. So I hopped in the car and tried starting it for *hit and giggles, and wouldn't you know it the car started like a champ. I ended up driving the car home. My starter always had a sick sound to it and the dealer noticed the same sick sound as I did when I had the tranny fluid changed in May. So today I replaced the starter motor ($182 including tax, AC Deleco). It took me 3 hours to complete the job, I could probably do it again in 2 1/2. I don't see this as a 45 minute job. The scary part was taking the intake manifold off, which after doing it, wasn't that bad after all. The new starter sounds great, just the way all caddy starters sound. New starter is a good thing, but as WarrenJ noticed it could be your neutral safety switch. The fact the car started in neutral is another confirmation for this suggestion. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.