Cadillac CTS-V - Intermittent starting problem




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Broncojohnny
07-11-2012, 10:29 AM
My wife's car, a 2006 CTS-V has a starting problem that has me a little stumped. I wanted to run it by you guys though since my knowledge on these cars is very limited.

The situation:
-The car is 100% stock with 48K miles
-The car will start fine for a few days but then out of the blue will not do anything when you turn the key to engage the starter. Everything else works; Radio, windows, fan, power seats all fine, just no response from the starter
-Never has a check engine light
-The security light is not lit and does turn on when you put the key in the ignition but it goes out soon after
-The computer has never thrown a code based on my scanner
-If the car won't start and you push start it, the next time you try to start the car with the key, it works and continues to work again for a few days but then the problem reappears
-Already replaced the clutch position switch with a new AC Delco part

I am thinking that the ignition switch or the key is the culprit but from what I have read, the computer should throw a code for either of those items. The only other thing I can think of is that it could be the starter solenoid but I have never seen a solenoid that works absolutely flawless one second and not at all the next. Usually there is some laziness in the starter motor. Are the starters on these cars junk?


punishmentcycle
07-11-2012, 11:51 AM
its the weather pack connector that goes to the solenoid..its either broken from heat or the wire is shorted..its a common problem that i myself have had..this is what u need

Broncojohnny
07-11-2012, 12:25 PM
I had read about that connector before and looked at it, it looked fine with no heat damage or melting. I found the part locally for less than $15, I am going to replace it tonight just to rule it out.


punishmentcycle
07-11-2012, 01:09 PM
replace as much of the wire as u can and heat shrink it.. also ziptie it up and away from the exhaust and cat

Broncojohnny
07-15-2012, 09:39 AM
Replaced the wire, once i got it out I could see some discoloration. So it would need replacement soon any way. It didn't fix my problem though. I have figured out that it is the starter or solenoid. My previous testing was with a circuit test light of dubious quality, I got a new one and after testing. the solenoid trigger wire is getting juice, the starter just isn't working. So time for a new solenoid and starter.

TheLostDriver
07-17-2012, 01:07 PM
You need to replace the whole motor with an ls3 or ls7..... Lol jk yeah, it's probably your starter as you figured out. I went and got a heat blanket to cover my starter from summit to help with heat from header when I replaced mine with the exact symptoms

dedeaux89
07-17-2012, 07:51 PM
Msd has a great starter for like 200 bucks and no core charge. Get one on jegs summit or anywhere else.

TheLostDriver
07-18-2012, 08:57 AM
Just FYI if you get the Msd starter, do not buy the factory connector that gets burned as you will no longer need it. You will have to cut it off and crimp one that comes provided with the starter.

adanieljohnson1
07-18-2012, 03:27 PM
Crank shift modulator I think that's what its called? Same thing happened to me at about 50k

adanieljohnson1
07-18-2012, 03:28 PM
You can look thru some of my old posts that I started...I gave info on the fix

Broncojohnny
07-18-2012, 09:46 PM
Well, got it replaced and the problem is fixed. I wish I had known about the MSD starter, the only thing I could find besides the Chinese junk from the parts store was the $285 AC Delco part from Rock Auto. The Chinese junk was $160 so it won out this time. It seems to work ok so far.

One thing I did come across was how to get the starter out. I read thread after thread on the net about how people dropped the passenger side mid pipe to get the starter to drop out. I also read about how people were snapping the exhaust manifold studs trying to get the nuts off. I was kind of amazed, I looked at the car and it was pretty obvious that you could take the motor mount loose and jack up the engine on that side just a hair and the starter would come out. That is what I did.

Broncojohnny
07-18-2012, 09:52 PM
Crank shift modulator I think that's what its called? Same thing happened to me at about 50k

Do you mean the crank sensor that goes out in them? I read about that and from what I saw, one of the symptoms was that the car would sometimes start but it would take a long time to do it once the starter was engaged. Was that a symptom of your situation?