My 97 cavalier 2.2L kept cranking.
I turned the key to start the car, and the starter got stuck cranking the motor even after I turned the key off and removed it. A friend
helped me unplug the red battery cable to shut it down. It would still crank when he tried to reconnect the battery, this lasted about 30 minutes.
Finally he was able to reconnect the battery without cranking the motor, and it has been doing fine the last few times I started the car.
My mechanic friend thinks I should get a new starter, but could I need something else?
Could it be the starter relay that caused it to do that?
Is there anything else that could have caused that?
Doubt it is anything other than just a worn starter solenoid.The armateur contacts are probably sticking and reason it continued in the crank position.A simple light tap of a hammer would make it release as well(on the starter).Just replace the starter as it will be warrantied and be done with the problem coming back.It is actually a simple symptom that does happen on really any ride.
look at the starter relay. i put a new motor in my 01 z24 last week & that happened to me... the relay was burnt.
This has happened to me once to, and it was the ignition switch melted inside.
- Your not-so-local, untrained, uncertified, backyard mechanic. But my @!#$ runs
Thank you all, that's what I was wondering.
I did get my friend to put a new starter in it, and next I will get a relay and ignition switch so that the whole system is better.
If your car has a starter relay, the ignition is probably fine. The ignition switch I melted was before they had starter relays on third gen cavaliers.
- Your not-so-local, untrained, uncertified, backyard mechanic. But my @!#$ runs
Thanks Oedwards, I will next just replace the relay then.
The ignition cylinders looked expensive, around $180 at the auto parts website.
So I'm glad to know the ignition switch is probably fine.
It's just a matter of finding the starter relay.
Does anyone know which one it is?
I think I'm pretty sure it's in the row of a few relays on the fender wall, just knowing which one of those it is.
continued from above:
Or is it safe to find it by trial and error,
by removing each one until it doesn't crank?
j r wrote:continued from above:
Or is it safe to find it by trial and error,
by removing each one until it doesn't crank?
thats what i would do to find out which one it is.
I replaced the relay.
Someone said that they used to not put starter relays in these cars, but was added on as a recall item.
So the relay is not in the fuse/relay box.
I found it all the way at the front of the vehicle, next to the battery and right behind
the radiator cross member, in case some of you want to look for yours.
The Advance auto parts man couldn't find it in the system, but he looked it up by the number on the old relay
and they did have it in stock.
