My 91 (3.1 liter firebird) has been acting up lately. About a week ago it started doing this really funny starting thing. I turn the key(all the dummy lights come on) but it wont crank. When i am holding it in the crank posistion i still have all my lights on. I first thought that i might of had a bad connection with my battery. But if i had a bad connection would all my electrical still work while cranking? So after about 10 minutes of no crank, it will start, but crank really slow until it fires. And then this morning i started to hear a whining noise through my speakers. So right away i thought my alt. was bad. I pulled over on my way to work, left the car running, popped the hood, and disconnected the battery. Sure enough the car still ran. So i think i can rule out my alt. Any ideas?

thanks

 

I am going to guess that your starter is going bad. Do you hear a click when you turn the key to the crank postition?

 

My starter was new in Jan., i dont hear a click at all. Another funny thing is my ignition switch was replaced then 2

 

Does it only do it when the car is cold or when it has been driven for a while?

A while back I had a simialr prob. I would turn the key all lights would come on and when I owuld try to crank it all power would go out until I waited for a few min then tried again. well a couple of days later my battery left me in a parking lot. Fortunetly it was the Wallmart parking lot.

Another problem that can happen as summer arives is heat soak. After running the car for a wile then you shut it off it won't start. What happens is the solenoid and starter get to hot and won't work until they cool down. If you look at were the starter is you'll understand why. It's not only right up next to the block, but is about 1" away from the exhuast manifold. I would like to meet the moron the decided that would be a good place for the starter!!!

 

I am thinking maybe it does do it when it is hot. I am not for sure, i will have to check later. If that is the case how do i cure that.

 

Summit sells a remote solenoid switch which moves the solenoid away from the exhaust

 

AC Delco sells a spring kit for this problem.
I installed it in my 1974 Corvette with headers & original starter, after I rebuilt it-generic kit, and used new solenoid (AC Delco).
Never a problem since.
IT's original from 1973 (My 74 has a Aug 29th 1973 build date
Maybe....
Check wires too!

 

Karl,

I may sound stupid but.... What do you mean by spring kit? Is it a stronger spring for the solenoid? Allthough I am planing on doing the remote mount solenoid my self. When it hits around 100* - 110* out side all I have to do is drive the car four 1/2 hour and she wont start for 15- 20 min. It sucks when you do a 2 hour drive Mon - Fri and you want to stop for gas, food, or a pee break and the car wont start.

 

It might be your VATS system acting up. You have the security chip in the key, right? Make sure it's not the starter by purchasing a $10 "remote starter switch"- it's a big pushbutton with two wires (and two alligator clips) coming out of it. Remove your coil wire from the center of your distributor cap. Connect one clip to the B+ terminal of the solenoid. Then, connect the other clip to a positive battery connection. Make sure nothing is in the way of the fanbelts, and press the button- if the starter kicks over, it's not a problem with your solenoid.

There's an article on bypassing VATS in the thirdgen.org tech area.

[edit] Haha, never mind... if it was vats, your starter wouldn't crank slowly. But you could try bypassing the ignition system anyway (with the remote pushbutton). Maybe you've just got a bad connection at the starter!

 

For V-8 Starters, I USED THIS PART NUMBER
1114356
Delco D-969
(Same item, diff numbers)
Inside was stronger spring to kick in the new solenoid, to compensate for "heat soak"
Honest, go to a store, get a starter rebuild kit along with a new solenoid, pull your old starter down, rebuild it, slap it back in.
CLEAN WIRES!
Simple job.
MESSY, but you'll solve it, this way.
Valve covers leak down this area.
Option two is a "rebuilt starter" with good connections, same price range...
My 1974 example is a number matching item for my 1974 Corvette. Yeah it's date coded & original, too.