Help, I drove my 97 cavy 2.4L home last night and all was fine. This morning I got in and it had a strong smoke smell in there, just like something was burning. I went to start it and all the gauges lit up suggesting the battery was fine but the starter would not even try to turn it over. So it seems like maybe something fried. The signal to start the car is not getting to the starter. Any ideas? Thanks!
did you at least hear the clicking of the solenoid ?
wait for it... wait for it... NOW GO!! ---> '02 LS Sport <---
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try to jump start it and go from there the lights on the dash will come on almost always that doesnt mean your battery has enough juice to start it
yes I believe I heard the solenoid clicking. It sound like it was coming from the glove compartment area, so may be from the solenoid. I will try to jump it, but with the burning smell I think it may be something else.
DO NOT EVER EVER JUMP START A CAR, ANYONE WHO DOES JUMP STARTING IS A MORON. You run the HIGH risk of destroying the good car. Reason being their ignition switch is open, right there you go, FLYBACK voltgae bigtime baby, flyback voltages destroys solid state components like computers, modules faster than the blink of an eye, it will be the good that needs a tow if it happens to it. Sometimes it doesnt totally fail right away it could take 30 minutes, or 2 days or even a week, sometimes right away though it goes.
The battery is not fine guessing your gauges lit up. Lets see those take millamps to light up and the car takes about 14-16v to start up. See the difference.
First thing grab a voltmeter what is static voltage of the battery should be 12.4v, also volts during crancking cant drop below 9.6v. Next check the batteries connections. After that connection to the alternator, and starter.
If all that test out do you have power to the ignition switch, and ground, is the ignition switch good.
You said you heard a clicking that is usually the starter solenoid, it doesnt even have enough power to throw the armature to catch the flywheel to try to crank it is what I'm guessing.
Could be the battery in that case.
Now if al that tes out you need to check for spark. I have a spark tester what you ground to the motor and put the other part of the spark plug and see it if sparks during cranking.
If no spakr check all cyinders, if no spark to any check connections at coil, check for power and ground at the coil.
@!#$ so much to do I will stop typing here and and hope I helped you out
Good luck
You live around Chicago by chance, if so I will be more than happy to fix it for you.
let me know
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Rob S For an 18 year old, you sure need to learn more about cars before you start giving out advice like you just gave. It Is OK to jump start a car if you do it right. I have jumped many cars with my 98Z and never have had anything go wrong in my car. It is a quick way to see if the car will even start. Just because the battery could read 12v at rest does not mean it has enough cold crank reserve to start the motor.
In your comparison above you are comparing miliamps to voltage. Two different things.
Yino 18 Try taking the voltage reading of the battery first. If it is below 12 volts, the battery is too weak to start the car. Try a jump from another car. If your car starts, take voltage reading at the battery. If it reads about 14 - 14.5, the alternator is working fine. As for the smell, hopefully no wires got fried. You might want to check around the engine compartment to make sure no wires are burnt. Good Luck!!!
98 Z24
RIP Specks
Rob S For an 18 year old, you sure need to learn more about cars before you start giving out advice like you just gave. It Is OK to jump start a car if you do it right. I have jumped many cars with my 98Z and never have had anything go wrong in my car.
No it isnt okay to do it. There is a great risk of flyback voltage, it doesnt happen everytime obviously, but it does happen.
Just because the battery could read 12v at rest does not mean it has enough cold crank reserve to start the motor.
In your comparison above you are comparing miliamps to voltage. Two different things
No @!#$ captain obvious. Thats why I said to check the static voltage, that is the battery at rest since you have no clue what static voltage is. I also said just because his cluster lights up doesnt mean the battery is good, because it only takes miliamps to power those lights, read what he freaking said in his first post.
" I went to start it and all the gauges lit up suggesting the battery was fine"
Yino 18 Try taking the voltage reading of the battery first. If it is below 12 volts, the battery is too weak to start the car. Try a jump from another car. If your car starts, take voltage reading at the battery. If it reads about 14 - 14.5, the alternator is working fine. As for the smell, hopefully no wires got fried. You might want to check around the engine compartment to make sure no wires are burnt. Good Luck!!!
Yes do a reading of the battery first. If it is below 12.4V it doesnt have enough power to start the car, seems like what I said above now isnt it.
Just because the battery reads 14-14.5V doesnt mean the alternator is working fine, he needs to do a volt and amprage test of the alternator. But you need a VAT to do that and I'm pretty sure he doesnt have a several thousand dolar machine in his garage.
Anyways man like I said if you live around Chicago let me know I will help ya out
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Rob S wrote: Just because the battery could read 12v at rest does not mean it has enough cold crank reserve to start the motor.
In your comparison above you are comparing miliamps to voltage. Two different things
No @!#$ captain obvious. Thats why I said to check the static voltage, that is the battery at rest since you have no clue what static voltage is. I also said just because his cluster lights up doesnt mean the battery is good, because it only takes miliamps to power those lights, read what he freaking said in his first post.
Rob S I do know what I am talking about more than you since I have been in the electronics field for 30 years. Try bagging on someone that doesn't have a clue, like yourself. You said miliamps but refered to volts in the same sentence. You might want to listen closer to your instructors when they are teaching you electronics.
Now let's put the bickering aside and try to help this guy out.
98 Z24
RIP Specks
ZSleeper wrote:Rob S wrote: Just because the battery could read 12v at rest does not mean it has enough cold crank reserve to start the motor.
In your comparison above you are comparing miliamps to voltage. Two different things
No @!#$ captain obvious. Thats why I said to check the static voltage, that is the battery at rest since you have no clue what static voltage is. I also said just because his cluster lights up doesnt mean the battery is good, because it only takes miliamps to power those lights, read what he freaking said in his first post.
Rob S I do know what I am talking about more than you since I have been in the electronics field for 30 years. Try bagging on someone that doesn't have a clue, like yourself. You said miliamps but refered to volts in the same sentence. You might want to listen closer to your instructors when they are teaching you electronics.
Now let's put the bickering aside and try to help this guy out.
One final thing. I was referring to volts as in battery volts. He said because his cluster lights up he thinks the battery is good, I simply said those lights draw milliamps, and dont take anywhere near the power it does to start it up. So the battery may have power to light up the dash, and power the solenoid, but not enough to start the car.
I want to help the guy out to, he hasnt posted yet, maybe he is out looking for the problem.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
I don't quite understand all the fighting. The clicking INSIDE the car is just the starter relay ,should be in the fuse box. Now turn the ignition to the run position and go to the starter witha test light see if you have power at the solinoid, if you do then your starters either bad or the solinoid if this is the case just go buy a new one at advance or somewhere. If you do not have power at the starter check for ant burn marks on the wires that run to the solinoid its called the fuseable link and they can go bad. If this is the problem then you need to find out what caused it to blow before you fix it cause you'll wind up right beck where you are now.
That said it won't hurt your car to jump start it. As long as you don't forget red goes to red and black to black. If you mix them up then you'll hurt something.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
