95 ATX Wont start, not cranking...Please HELP!

[SaberSHO]

Im trying to get some advice here. My car wont start, actually, it wont even crank over. The battery is fine, all the lights in and outside the car are bright. Im pretty sure its the starter, but i have no way of checking. I don't hear any clicking noise or anything when i try to crank it, so my friend thinks its the starter selenoid. It was running fine up until this afternoon when i got home from work. I turned the car off, went inside to change, and then was going out to dinner. Unfortunatly, no go. What should i do at this point to diagnose the problem? thanks in advance for your help
-SaberSHO
'95 Blue ATX

 

[Axianator]

Sounds exactly like what happened to my '95 ATX at 125k when the original starter went out. It's hard to say for sure which component it to blame in this situation (the starter itself or the solenoid) without taking the whole assembly out for inspection.

The first thing I would suggest you try is taking a large rubber mallet or hammer and gently but firmly tapping the starter housing a couple of times before trying to start it. If, after you've tapped the housing, tried to start it and checked the integrity of all the connections but still, nothing happens, you might want to remove the starter assembly from the vehicle and give it a good visual inspection. If you don't see anything obvious after making a visual inspection, I'd take it down to your local AutoZone or parts store and have them test it out for you.

 

[fatak]

I also have a 95 ATX and that is what happened with my original stater. No warning - just gone. Of course I was not at home so I needed to be towed. FWIW I put in an Autozone lifetime warranty starter the second time it went out. That starter lasted just eight months and of course went out again without warning. When I went to AZ to get a replacement they told me they didn't stock it anymore. So yes they would give me a free replacement but I couldn't get one for 3 days. To their credit they gave me full refund and I went to another parts house and got another replacement that night. I asked the AZ guy why it only lasted eight months and he said that when they repair cores they only fix what is wrong with the core, they do not completely rebuild it (as I thought). I don't know if that's true or not but it got me thinking differently in choosing the next replacement.

Good luck.

 

[MAsho]

same thing here

a good way to check is gett under the front of the car with a wire with to alligtor clips on each side and put on on the direct power and you will see a little wire where the ignition wire relay plugs in to to click the starter and once you touch those two togeather you should crack right over .

 

[dvieyra]

I would not suggest using alligator clips with wires, you could burn yourself if you touch the wrong connection or ground; insted just take a screwdriver and touch the solinoids positive terminal( very big wire ) and the starter pos terminal (big nut ) if it starts your ground is good and solinoid is *****. As for autozone parts, they are *****, but cheap and easy to return. as far as the rebuild goes they totally rebuild them; think about it, why would they put half assed parts out just to return when they die? and it woould be bad for the company name. Go to murrays they price match.

 

[Edogg]

I have a 91 SHO and this just happened to me, the selenoid (or however it is spelled) is VERY easy to replace, and its like an $8.00 part. I would suggest trying to replace that first and see if it starts, if it still doesn't or it only starts a few times then it is definately your starter. The selenoid (on a 91') is on the top right hand side of the engine compartment, basically just a bolt on piece, took me like 5 minutes to replace. Hope that helps.

 

[projectSHO89]

I have a 91 SHO and this just happened to me, the selenoid (or however it is spelled) is VERY easy to replace, and its like an $8.00 part. I would suggest trying to replace that first and see if it starts, if it still doesn't or it only starts a few times then it is definately your starter. The selenoid (on a 91') is on the top right hand side of the engine compartment, basically just a bolt on piece, took me like 5 minutes to replace. Hope that helps.

Last year for this configuration was 91. He has a 95.

Starter troubleshooting courtesy of SP Motorsports starter troubleshooting guide .

Steve