this is probably a fairly common question on here, so i'm going to try to give as many specifics as possible.

randomly (and now constantly), my car will not even attempt to start.

if i turn the key, I get a perfectly normal dash (all the gauges read out fine, except for the battery which is a little low, but is almost new) and all. When I turn the key forward, I can hear a slight click. This is not the click from the starter, it's coming from just in front of the driver's side firewall. The starter doesn't do anything at all. Doesn't even attempt to do anything.

now, the alternator and battery are both only a few months old and funtioning perfectly. the starter and the solenoid are brand new.

the car usually starts without a problem in the morning. i'll then drive a fair distance and turn it off, it will not crank at all. it's been doing this for a week or so, and i've been able to get around it by doing the following:

1. Turning the key forward to crank and leaving it in the ACC position.
2. Putting the car in gear and rolling slightly forwards or backwards, then hitting the brakes, putting it back in park. suddenly, it would just start right up.

Now, I know that doesn't make any sense at all, the rolling in gear thing, but it's honestly worked pretty consistently, until the last few days. Today and yesterday, the rolling in gear solution would be less likely to work depending on how far i had driven the car.

i know i have a lot more electrical components to replace than merely the starter and soleniod to fix this. however, i'm looking for a good place to begin with.

any ideas?

 

do you have headers?

sounds like heat soak on the starter, starter gets hot and will not work till it cools off. the rolling of the car is not that odd sometimes it helps jar the starter gears or something like that allowing it to work agagin. hitting it with a hammer has the same effect,

jeff

 

yeah, i've got headers, but i've had them for almost a year, and i've never had problems like this until the last few weeks. i put almost 10,000 miles on the car this summer with the headers and never had this problem.

the reason i think the rolling thing is screwy is because the starter brand new.

well, this needs explaining...

the car's been doing this for about 2 weeks or so. i figured it was merely a bad solenoid, because when the car did start cranking, it would rapidly make this clicking noise, from the solenoid cutting out, i assume. so, yesterday i got a new starter and installed it. the clicking went away.

and i figure since it's a new starter, i shouldn't need to tap it or roll it in gear. i know those are typical ways to start a car with a bad starter, but this one is brand new. i'm thinking it's a relay or something like that. i'm hoping my problems are recognizeable syptoms of a failing part i can replace. i just have no clue what part that would be.

 

Come on, I know some of you guys can help me with this!

 

bad starter was it a rebuild? they can be real suspect at times, i have had as many bad ones as good one outta the box. even more true if from like autozone or other box chain store. they tend to buy price rather than quality.

 

If moving the shifter out of Park, then back into Park makes the starter work, that sounds like a flaky “Park interlock switch”.
Will it crank in Neutral?

 

yep

 

Your serious??


My car will not crank in neutral ...


If your hearing a ticking down near your feet on the firewall

Its a relay and your not gettin enuff juice to the starter,
check all your electrical contacts, grounds, and even double
check the wires on the starter solenoid .. they could be loose,
corroded or even broken ..


If ya dont really feel like dicking around
and got some extra cash ..

jus get an ignition system (MSD or Mallory) and
a High-Torque Starter for around 160-200 bucks

they are warrantied and the best thing is your car
starts right up .. without hesitation, so its better if
ya got it anyway .. JEGS, and summit ..

gay autozone or checker will have em upon special
request .. But i dont like em

AUTOZONE and checker stand for everything wrong in automotive parts.. I jus buy my Mobil
One and my Lucas from there ..

What im gettin at is, examine the starter before u put it
in .. Jus dont trust em

 

Well there you go, bad PARK switch!

 

seriously? i didn't even know these things had anything like that. I may not be remembering correctly, but it seems like it's always cranked in neutral .

but then again, the car has 190,xxx miles and it seems like everything electrical has decided to self-destruct in the last week. my VATS has started going crazy and my electric hatch pop switch won't work anymore suddenly.

i'm going to replace all the cables and the battery terminals, to make sure that's not the problem.

where could i get one of these park switches? is a place like orielly's going to have one, or is this a dealership item?

i'm going to double check the ticking to see if it's at the bottom of the firewall. i'm thinking it's from the top, but i'm not sure. i don't know a lot about relays, but aren't they voltage specific like resistors? or are they simpler than that? can i get one at a major auto chain?

and are a bad relay and a bad park switch the only possible broken things? i just want to get this fixed fairly soon, as this is my daily driver until I finish working on a second car.

sorry for all the questions. thanks in advance.

 

^^^^^^^
answer that.

and i'm almost positive it's the park switch, cause i got it to start a couple times just by going crazy with the shifter.