FastandBlue

Brand new starter from eBay. Might not have been the best choice since it is a generic starter, but it has a 1 year warranty on it and was $60.00. Was made specifically for the LT1 engines between 94-95. 1.7Kw replacement. The problem?

The starter worked great for two days, and now it randomly clicks for 10-15 turns and finally turns over. Other times is starts right up. I mean, wow.... So......................before I bank in on that 1 year warranty, should I try something first? The old starter worked better than this one, even if it started the engine a little slower than the new one. Advice?

brianswimmer23

did you get down their and look to see if everything was connected still(ie-is the ground on tight?) ?

FastandBlue

Yeah, I did and it looks fine as far as I can tell. I might try to tighten stuff again. But would that explain why it starts right up sometimes and just clicks others?

Slick-Z

If the starter is engaging with the flexplate teeth and turning the engine ten to fiftenn times and its taking the engine that lond to turn over then i would think that if the engine is turning but not starting up that the starter is doing its job. You said the other one did the same thing well then it is possible that the starter is not getting enough power from the battery due sometimes to a bad cell in the battery meaning your battery could be going bad. Also did you check the fuel pressure getting to your fuel injectors i had this problem with my camaro z28 for about three months before i figured out what it was. My engine would turn over like yours but it would rotate about ten times before it would start. And then on somedays it would start right up. You should get a fuel gauge that plugs into your fuel rail and go by the haynes or chiltons manual and perform the pressure test. You can simply get into your car and turn the key about three times to the right to let the accessories come on like the radio without starting the car but just letting fuel pressure build up and then after the third time turn the key all the way it should start right up and if it does you could have a possible fuel leak thats what happened to me. When i did that test you can actually hear the fuel pump actuate for about two seconds each time you should hear this. Also after i did this test i put my forty dollar fuel gage bought from an auto parts store and attached it to the fuel rail. After attaching it to the fuel rail and turning the key on just to let the fuel pump engage and build up pressure and then would turn the key immediately off. I dat there and watched the pressure drop to zero in seconds which informed me of a fuel leak since its supposed to hold pressure. Let me know if this helps you and if you do not have the haynes manual i will go further in detail with the fuel pressure readings your supposed to have with the key on or while running well good luck man let me know how it works out.

FastandBlue

Well that's the problem Slick. If it engages it starts it up right away (the old one didn't because it was going out). The problem is that the flexplate teeth only engage some of the time and other times I just get a click when I try to start it. It's like the new starter has a bad solenoid or something. Very....Very....LAME..... So IDK what to do. I'll probably cash in on the warranty and get a new starter. Next time I'll go performance... The fuel pressure info is very helpful though. Thanks!

Kevin Blown 95 TA

I'd really take a good look at your cables and conenctions again. If you have a volt meter, you could have a friend help you and take some cranking voltages from the starter and the battery while you're trying to start it. The starter might go down to 8 volts or so and the battery might sag to 10 whatever, but if you see the starter go way down to 5 or 6 and the battery voltage stays up at 12 or 13 then you got a bad cable or bad connection dropping all your voltage. Also don't forget all that current has to be able to go through the ground path too.

craby

sure sounds like a bad solonoid. u can try cleaning the battery cables and battery terminals with a wire brush. also clean the wire ends that go to the power junction box (red plastic box on the passenger side wheelwell) and check the ground wires on the junction next the the red box. u also should have grounds to the block by the starter on the side of the block and one on the passenger side front by the idler and driver side front under the coil. check these grounds for lose or corroded wires and or connections.

Injuneer

Why did you replace the original starter? Was it acting the same way as the new one?

FastandBlue

No, but it was taking 4-5 seconds to start the engine and running too many amps.

I'll check the connections, but I would think a bad connection would most likely exhibit behavior that was more consistent.

Kevin Blown 95 TA

Why? If it's a bad connection or bad ground, it could be intermittant with temperature and humidity and cause all kinds of weird problems.

FastandBlue

That's true. I'll recheck the connections again just to be sure. Gosh dangit... I LOATH checking wires in this car. So hard to follow them all over creation.

BushyTea

Hey,

Did you find out what the problem was with your clicking issue?

I have the exact same one I have been trying to fix and I haven't figured it out yet. Replaced my alternator, starter, new battery and checked grounds 50 times it seems.

FastandBlue

You know, I went through and checked the grounds and it started working better, but as far as I can tell by the fact that the old starter (besides running way too many amps) started fine every time I think it is a solenoid issue. I'm going to get a new one and cash in on the return, I think. I would definitely suggest just getting a new starter and trying it. Did yours start happening when you replaced it?

jasonface

I had problems like that, and I traced it to the cables. Replaced them with new GM, no problems since.

railroaders94z

just resolved same issue on my 94z i had grd wire and neg feed on solinoid.big black wire is your pos from bat,the small black wire with small white line is a grd and the purple is your neg feed to your solinoid.Hope you get her running