at23520

iTrader: (1)

98 trans am, auto. it wont crank at all. all it will do is click. the security light has been on for a year and wouldnt go out. with the key in run position, the light stays on and doesnt go out. left it on for over 10 min. turned it back off then on, wont crank.

used spare key, nope

had battery checked. its fine

ohm'd my key, got 1/2 watt resistors and matched them to my keys, plugged it in under the dash.in the purple side. no crank

had starter checked. its fine

turn key on, fuel pump does whine.

what else is there?

craby

have you tried to jump the starter solenoid and see if it turns over. the old screw driver trick. or test ignition/small wire on starter to see if its getting power when key is in start position.

at23520

iTrader: (1)

no i have not. when it warms up a tad, and i get the starter back on, ill try it.

craby

make sure the battery has a full charge in it. take the battery cables off and wire brush the heck outa the cable ends and the battery terminals and put em back on. there should be a small red plastic box on the passenger side fender well by the battery, power junction box, check and see how things look inside the box. if any question take the wires lose and wire brush the wire ends too. just next to the power junction box is a ground junction, look it over and clean wire ends if needed.

It'llrun

In all likelihood, it's the battery. If you had the starter(w/ solenoid on it) checked and it's good, that leaves only 3 things for your symptoms... bad battery, bad wires/connections, locked (blown) engine. It's the battery... You may also have a bad alternator, but the reason it won't start is bound to come down to the battery.

I'd do all craby said, after charging or at least testing the battery.

at23520

iTrader: (1)

well, its back from the dead. it was the battery. that was the first thing i had tested. TWICE... once at a local battery place and the second at autozone. evidently, it has a full charge, BUT when you cycle it to crank, it drops to 0. weird. must be the curse of the pontiac lol. every on ive ever had, had the weirdest, oddball crap happen.

thanks to everybody for the help.

It'llrun

That's what a dead cell often causes.... I'd recommend future testing at NAPA. Sure, they cost more for many parts, but you generally do get what you paid for and when they test your stuff, the result is typically the right 1, the 1st time around. O'reilly is often good for this as well. AZ has the correct testing system, but when you merely take a handheld tester out, it doesn't do a good load test.

Good that you got it figured out, but what led to that? A 3rd test or taking it to a shop or just deciding to use a new battery??

at23520

iTrader: (1)

when i got the starter back in, it wouldnt crank. i then swapped out relays, went back to the VATS bypass and made sure it was getting contact, got a socket and made sure the motor wasnt locked up. i was going to try jumping it off and when i opened up the trucks hood, it had a sidepost battery in it. so i swapped it to see and volia!

It'llrun

Ahh... a little work and you not only figured out the problem, but learned a little along the way. A pain, no doubt, but you'll remember things from this so it's not too bad.

at23520

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm, crap. Car wouldn't crank today. 4 day old battery. Click,click, nothing. Took back battery to autozone and they checked it. It's fine, but they swapped it out anyway. Put it in and it cranked. This is starting to tick me off.

Could the alternator be bad? The gauge is staying at a constant 14-15 volts when the car is running. When it's running I took the battery cables off and it stayed running.

It'llrun

Check the alternator... OFTEN times, the dead battery will kill the alternator or the other way around...

lt1pwr1

iTrader: (1)

It's probably your starter going out. The problem is inconsistent so it is likely the starter worked fine when they tested it..

at23520

iTrader: (1)

Got my multimeter and checked my alternator. Getting a steady 13.8 with ac, radio/sub/amp, fan and headlights on. I left it all on for about a minute, all with a steady reading.

I had the starter tested at autozone already. They ran 10 back to back tests on it. He said if it was bad it would have quit along time ago.

Last night I couldn't even get it to start using jumper cables. I had to get another battery.

It's got to be the VATS. I cut the wires under the dash and spliced in the resistor I made. Then I cranked it and let it run. The security light finally went out. Time will tell

It'llrun

If it's putting out 13.8, you're almost certainly losing juice somewhere when the engine isn't running. Normal charging is typically 12.7 or a little less when everything is working properly. 13.8 IS within tolerance for sure(max 14.2), but it's generally only that high when something extra is draining the system and that added amount is trying to recharge your battery, which is what the alt is all about.

If it has to charge in that range regularly, you're BOUND to burn it up, so it's good that you're taking action now.

Cutting out and splicing back properly is probably the cure... no more drainage while off. That's your huckleberry, I promise.

As for the starter test, I completely agree. Had it been bad, 3-4 tests would've proved it. Usually the head builds up in just 2-3 tests for a weak starter. As long as it wasn't also making really odd sounds, I'm thinking their test is spot on this time.

at23520

iTrader: (1)

Didn't crank again yesterday. Took the battery out and put on the charger for a few hours. Put it back in, won't crank the car. Took old battery out of truck and put In car, cranks fine. Put new battery in truck, cranks it. Then I swap them back and the new battery cranks the car. WTF.

It'llrun

Bad connection, almost certainly... Of course, if that's not it, the cable may have a break in it which you can't see and the moving around may have allowed for a connection worthy of starting...

I'd at least consider replacing the cables. There are ways to test, but it's usually not worth the time.

N20zuki

Im with this guy, either the connection from the cable to the battery or the cable itself. The only common thing in all of this is the cable being moved around a lot with the battery being installed and removed. It may be internal of the cable.