Fixed My Starting Issue

[JRA2000TL]

I thought I had a bad connection somewhere between the battery and the starter as I would get slow or irregular starts. I noticed a surging in idle too, as well as the tach sometimes going crazy while I had the key turned to start---so I also suspected a bad CID. I made sure my battery was good first. Then I moved onto finding a bad connection. My battery terminals looked beat to ****, so I started there next.

I went and got new battery terminals today and got my dad to put them on (guess I was feeling lazy). Still no help. Tonight, I'm leaving the restaurant and it's turning over very SLOWLY. I smell something like burnt plastic and fuel; then the car goes POP, like a huge backfire. I'm thinking well I just burnt up my starter. I turn the key one more time and it's trying it's damndest to turn over, I floor the gas, and it fires up. I hope I didn't dump too much raw fuel in the cats to clog them. I drove the car home without any issues.

My dad mentioned something about it sounding like it was out of time and then it dawned on me about the jumpy tach. I found a parts house that had a CID and swapped it out. Car starts right up. I love a cheap $38 fix. I wound up pulling the dampener, moving the p/s reservoir, and removing the crossover tube. That gave me plenty of room to work.

 

[JRA2000TL]

Well scratch my previous post. I got back in the car to go to the Redbox to get a movie for the wife and the damn thing is acting up again. Slow turnover same crap. I have an extra starter but I don't think that's the problem. It's spinning fine.

I'm just ****** off right now. I sold my reliable DD now I'm having to contend with this ************* as a DD. This is why I would NEVER have one of these cars as a DD. Now I need it for a few weeks until I get another car, and I still can't even rely on it. I'm about to be done with this thing.

Maybe I do need to buy an expensive, newer, reliable car with a payment. At least I write one check and don't have to worry about breaking down or being stranded. All because I'm cheap and want to save $.....

EDIT: I go get back in it now...starts up fine 5 times in a row w/o problems. This damn car is possessed. Now I have a slight noise that is consistent with the speed I'm going...sounds like when you turn your wheels on a slick garage floor (weird I know) best way I can describe it though. Maybe it's my speedo cable again.

Holy **** this car is a PITA. I gotta go buy something I can depend on QUICK.

\RANT OFF

 

[SHOtimer]

My SHO had a similar issue when I picked it up. A new CID, CPS and DIS solved it.

Doug

 

[sperold]

I had an iffy start situation for about a month or two. The warmer the day, the less chance I had of it starting after it was warmed up. It went away when the starter was removed to do something else, and re-installed. It must have been poor connections right at the starter. Has been good ever since.
So maybe throw that extra starter on it and have yours tested for peace of mind and keep it as a spare. It just might accidentaly cure it.

 

[SHObill]

J, clean the neg ground terminal where it attaches to the tranny! there should be a tranny bolt with a stud on it, it also holds a brkt that supports the pos to & from the fender relay. Also make sure the starter mounting face & the alum close out panel & the tranny face that holds the starter are all CLEAN! Also verify both pos cables at the relay are clean.

 

[luigisho]

Holy **** this car is a PITA. I gotta go buy something I can depend on QUICK.

\RANT OFF

The first rule of using a POS as a DD. Get a backup POS.

 

[n8rsk8r]

My SHO had a similar issue when I picked it up. A new CID, CPS and DIS solved it.

Doug

okay but what REALLY solved it? Which one?

 

[SHO_ROLLER_2]

My car is reliable as ****.

 

[SHO SPD]

My car is reliable as ****.

Same here.

 

[jonheese]

I turn the key one more time and it's trying it's damndest to turn over, I floor the gas, and it fires up. I hope I didn't dump too much raw fuel in the cats to clog them.

Just FYI, going WOT while cranking actually shuts off the injectors, and it's done that way to give you a way to clear out a flood situation.

 

[silver93sho]

Just FYI, going WOT while cranking actually shuts off the injectors, and it's done that way to give you a way to clear out a flood situation.

Good to know!!

 

[SHOtimer]

okay but what REALLY solved it? Which one?

...well they all had 123k on them at the time, so I like to think they all did.

Doug