Its been a while since ive been on the site. I did my oil pan gasket and recently went to fire it up, before turning over there were warning lights and the sound of the fuel pump running. Went to crank it over and the battery was dead, got a new battery and still nothing, checked the fuses and they all seem good. Anyone have any suggestions where to go from here?
Details about the wagon
1986 cavalier rs wagon
2.0 lq5
3 speed auto
You sure all the wires are correctly connected to the starter?
Or that the Park/Neutral switch is working properly? Maybe try starting it in neutral, if you haven't already.
i'll check the wiring and try starting in neutral, but that still doesnt explain why when the ignitions on theres no dash lights or the hum of the fuel pump
Oh, I misunderstood. I thought you were saying the warning lights and fuel pump did come on when you turned the key and just the starter wasn't working. I'd still suspect the wiring at the starter solenoid first, since all power goes through it at the terminal. The large cable to the battery positive and the engine harness wires both connect to the large terminal on the solenoid. Check the ground cable is secure. Check to see if you have power to the cigarette lighter (should be power there all the time). Also check to see if there is power to the radio when the switch is in the On and ACC positions. Check the fusible links on the smaller wires that connect to the solenoid.
yeah my first explaination was poorly worded. The first time i went to turn the ignition i had the warning lights come on and the fuel pump activated, went to crank it over and the lights went out. I hooked up jumper cables to my tacoma and gave it a minute and there was still nothing. My battery was at the end of its life so i went and got a new one. hooked her up and still nothing. I havnt touched any wires except for the side posts of the battery. i guess thats the part thats messing me up, i had lights with an almost dead battery but with a new one she wont even flicker.
I have a feeling these are dumb questions.
Are you sure the positive and negative cables are hooked up the battery correctly? And that the new battery is a good one and fully charged?
Yes the red terminals on the plus and the black terminal on the negative. I took the new battery i bought back to the parts store and it was dead, they switched it out and checked it on the meter before i left
William Dugay wrote:I took the new battery i bought back to the parts store and it was dead, they switched it out and checked it on the meter before i left
So, that was the problem and it is running now?
unfortunately not, sorry for the late reply its been a crazy easter weekend at work. I should mention the cars down at my sisters 40 mins away, i've aquired a voltimeter and test light and im hoping to get down to work on her this weekend comin up
Well good luck. With the multimeter you should be able to find the problem. It may be a fusible link or something. Hard to really say, but at least you'll have a way to test things to see.
