mad_bishop

New Alternator, battery main relat and starter is less than a year old.

Always starts from a cold start. However, if I'm running errands (two or three 10-15 minute stops) it won't start or even turn over. You can here the fuel pump and main relay turn, you can here the starter's solenoid click. But nothing else. Open the hood and let it sit for 15-30 minutes, and it will fire first try usually. I'm assuming this is a spark issue since I don't seem to have any vaccum problems besides. Could a worn coil cause this? I';m perplexed and annoyed (esp. after having to drive the wife's Sunbird to work today, which is a fourty mile RT)

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'05 ZX3
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AndaHeart

regardless of the age of the starter, i still peg it as the culprit.

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firestorm

It is electrical somewhere if your starter won't turn over at all. Are you sure the main relay is working? Mine didn't work only when it was hot. Try giving the panel in front of it a slap while trying to start the car. If it starts it is your main relay. It is about 25 bucks I think. If not, retest your starter. I think that the solenoid is outside of the main unit.

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mad_bishop

Main relay is fine, I can hear it, hell, I felt it, and you can even feel it work. Happened again today. Went on a couple errands, came home, watched a movie, started to leave for work, and it wouldn't start. I popped the hood, and realized that the bay was still extremely warm, esp. for sitting under a shaded car port for nearly two hours.

I did notice that my condensor fan is not kicking in after I park. I'm not having cooling problems when driving, but could the heat retention in the bay cause the starter solenoid to freak out?

__________________
'05 ZX3
The family commuter car. Woot.

AndaHeart

excessive heat can wreak havoc on a starter.

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mad_bishop

OK, I am possitive that the heat is causing the problem. my fans arn't blowing, and i read up on heat vs. starter solenoids.

I've been crossing the negative and positive on the starter to get her to start, which works, so I'm sure that the solenoid is just acting up (although maybe its something else between the solenoid and ignition?). HOWEVER, I've recently had problems with it not starting after driving for a while, but after letting it sit all night, it still is not starting. Have I maybe let it slide too long and now the solenoid is toast? I couldn't start it last night after working an 8 hour shift, but then this morning I crossed the solenoid and she started fine. I'm half tempted to wire a switch to manually start the care until I have money to fix this properly.

AFA the fans, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all the different possible causes. Think there are enough relays and controllers affecting the fans? I think I have a spare fan timer if I'm reading it's description right. I will post a pic later to confirm

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'05 ZX3
The family commuter car. Woot.

thangqdo

Off Topic: But what is the location of the main relay??

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mad_bishop

it's under the drivers side dash. You have to look up under it. It's awkward. Hangs by a bracket and the plug goes in from the bottom.

BTW I answered my own question. The Rad. fan timer is labled as such. it was what I was thinking of. I'll replace it in a few minutes and see if that helps.

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'05 ZX3
The family commuter car. Woot.

thangqdo

http://www.legend-forum.com/vbulleti...ad.php?t=51871
I still don't see what you're talking about, would you mind pointing it out in these pics, or post pics of your own

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Murphthesurf

Have you tried wigglin your trans shifter around - if it's auto?

mad_bishop

It's not shown in those pictures. you need to place your head by the pedals, then look upwards. It's a black box, about 1" by 2" by 3". the bottom is burgandy. There are two black and burgandy boxes under there, the fatter one is the main relay. The other is the lock control (I think). i can post a picture tommorow, if need be.

__________________
'05 ZX3
The family commuter car. Woot.

mad_bishop

It is not the neutral safety switch, nor the shift position sensor, since Murf asked. No, it's def. the solenoid getting too hot, since my fans never turn and I felt the starter and it's scalding hot.

Well, it's not the rad. fan timer. I'm just not sure where to check next.
I'm going to check coolant and thermostat tommorow on the off chance the coolant temp. sensor is screwy. Can anyone post a picture or better description of the fan control module/relay/switch thingy (one in the dash?). I did a search, but I'm still lost on where it is.

__________________
'05 ZX3
The family commuter car. Woot.

mad_bishop

Problem solved (for now) I simply wired a push button starter between the starter solenoid and the yellow ingnition switch wire (12V on when key is in "on"). Still got to ferret out the fan issue(s)

__________________
'05 ZX3
The family commuter car. Woot.