Hello Guys,
If you look in the general forum you will see where this started. The post is called "anti theft question". I have since found the maintenance forum and will post problems here from now on.
I bought a 97 sunfire gt 2.4 that has some problems. The car originally started and I drove it onto the tow dolly.
After bringing it home, I can no longer get it to turn over/start. I ended up setting the emergency brake, putting it
in neutral and driving the dolly out from under the car to get the car off the dolly. I installed a new battery,
changed a ratty looking battery ground cable and cleaned every ground connection I could find. I checked continuity
to the starter and the positive cable ohmed out ok. I followed the instructions in the Haynes manual I purchased
and it said to jump from the switch post on the solenoid to the positve battery terminal and if the car did not turnover, pull the starter.
I jumped to the battery and I got nothing but sparks on the switch terminal so I am getting ready to remove the starter.
The manual is pretty non detailed about how to actually get the starter off. It says I may have to pull the manifold or the crossmember.
So can anyone tell me what is going to happen when I get the car in the air. It appears impossible to do from the hood opening.
Anyone done this job on a 97 before?
Thanks...gary
Crawl underneath, i think it's 2 or 3 bolts that hold it in, label and remove the wires, rinse and repeat.
Hi Guys,
I have another problem.
Pulled the starter, everything ended up hanging down by the wires unfortunately, tried to pull the 8mm bolt on the flange for the (ground?) wire and it all dropped down even farther.
I crawled under the car and I have a wire that has pulled from a splice or directly from a connector of some kind.
All I have is 8 inches of wire with red insulation and an inch of bare wire hanging off the end. This wire bolts directly in back of the battery connection on the starter
I am unsure where it goes to, but I believe originally it was coming form the passenger side of the car, in the general area of the alternator.
is there a wire coming from the alternator to the starter on a 97 Sunfire? That does not make a lot of sense to me.
Or could it be that it is coming from a part of the wiring harness that is in the general area of the alternator.?
This wire has obviously been a problem before because it has been spliced at least twice.
All other wires that go to the starter seem to be originating from the wiring on the drivers side of the car.
Any guidance will be appreciated!
Thanks....gary
It ends up that I ripped the wire that had the fuseable link out of the connector on the back of the alternator. When I tried to break the nut loose, the stud that the nut was threaded to was flopping around, so I pulled the alternator also.
I took them to a local shop that specializes on starters/alternators and had them both rebuilt for $120. I was told that the armature of the starter had a bad spot and the alternator was just worn out. I will reassemble this morning.
I am also going to install an extra ground on the alternator, most likely on the bracket or a mounting bolt.
......gary
I also jerked the crankshaft sensor wire loose when I dropped the starter and it caused a major headache detailed in another thread.
If you cannot get spark after changing the starter, check the crankshaft sensor just above the oil filter on the 2.4.
...gary
