Ok, I've had my 87 Firebird for a week now. When I got it, it needed a starter which the former owner was kind enough to have her boyfriend put on the day before we purchased the car. Well, today when I returned to work from lunch, I thought I heard something running after I turned the car off. Well, there was a car next to me so I thought that must be what I was hearing.

So I leave work tonight and find my car won't crank, won't even click. Yep, the fan had been running the whole time and the battery was dead.

My co-worker and I popped the hood and he disconnected the fan and hooked up the jumper cables. Finally got a click, and then it tried to turn over. He noticed a whole bunch of sparks coming from the starter when I tried to crank it so we just left it there cause it was too dark and rainy to even try and figure out tonight. Any thoughts about what the problem might be?

I do know that the guy who put the starter on had a hard time with it. He had to take the solenoid off until he got the starter mounted. BTW, I haven't had any trouble (other than a vibration-like noise) until today.

 

Sounds like the wires going to the starter may have been improperly connected. Check all wires under the starter. It could be that the wires needed to be replaced, not the starter.

 

Yup, I'm with him... first check to see if the wires are tightened up, and if they are tight and it still does that, you'll likely need to replace them.