2000 GT Problem Starting

I had my 2000 GT this week start to hesitiate when I go to start it up. It will only do it about half of the time. It struggles to turn over like the battery is weak and then will fire up and run fine. I can turn it off and it will start right up. I may do this 4 or 5 times as a test and, like I said, half of the time it struggles to turn over. My battery is only a year old and it putting out 12.9 amps. I am wondering if this sounds like a clogged fuel filter, a fuel pump going out, or maybe some kind of fuel injector problem? The car has 135,000 miles on it and the pump and injectors are all original. I can't remember if the fuel filter has ever been changed as well. Should I just start there and maybe use some fuel injector cleaner? I have noticed that my gas mileage seems to have dropped off recently. I haven't calculated it recently. But, I seem to be using a little more gas as of late. Any ideas?

When you say your battery is putting out 12.9 amps, did you mean volts?
How did you test this? was the car running with a volt meter from battery terminal to battery terminal .... If the car was shut off and your reading 12.9 volts battery terminal to battery terminal then your battery should be ok. If you haven't already done so check it while the car is running ... it should be about 14 volts when running to charge the battery, if its anything less then 13 volts your alternator isn't charging your battery. Just wanted to get that all cleared up so you can eliminate your charging system ... of course you need to check your battery terminals for corrosion.

Ok I don't think its your battery or alternator, but I had to tell you how to test that at home so you don't have to pull them out to have them tested.

If your starter is turning over slowly & its not your battery or alternator the first place i'd look is the starter ... are all of the connections good, or are they corroded? You could also pull the starter and have it tested at a parts place to see if its good. Sounds like the place to check according to what you wrote .. I assume it always try to start ... and you mentioned the starter is turning slowly like you have a weak battery ... and the car has 135,000 miles on it, thats alot of starts & can wear down the bushings in the starter so it has a hard time turning over after sitting. good luck & keep us posted as to your progress.

I meant 12.9 volts. Sorry. And while running it is at 14.1 volts. I checked it at home myself with a multimeter. So, I am pretty sure it is not the battery and/or alternator. I just left work for lunch a minute ago and it fired right up like nothing was wrong.

I will check the stauts of the starter connections. I am just used to the stories of hearing the starter gears not engaging properly when they go bad and not the sluggish turning over of the engine like I am getting. That was why I was thinking that maybe their was a fuel delivery issue.

I will keep you updated.

I have been really busy and haven't had a chance to take a good look at my starter yet. But, the issue is definitely getting worse quick. I think I will have to do something tonight. Any directions on the proper way to remove my starter? Or tips on what not to do?

Well, I took my car to two separate autoparts stores yesterday afternoon. They both tested the electrical system and told me the same thing. My starter was good, but my battery was not charging. It was reading over 12 volts on their meters. But, was failing their bench test.

Like I said earlier, the battery was a little over a year old. So, they swapped it out with a new one and it fired right up. I started it about 2 hours later and it fired right up again. Then, I started it about 2 hours after that and it had trouble turning over. Not quite as bad as before. Then, the same thing this morning. Struggling to turn over, but not quite as bad as with the old battery.

One of the stores did tell me that my alternator was, "about to go out". I'm not sure if he was psychic or what? With the starter testing good, a new battery, and the problem still occuring, I guess the alternator is next. At least it is easy to get to. Can't the battery slowly lose charge over a fairly short time period if the alternator isn't charging properly? My meter was showing 14.1 volts (which is a good number, but theirs was showing 13.8 or so.)

Try charging the battery all the way up, let it sit overnight then see if you still have the same problem. That way you can rule out a short somewhere in your electrical system draining the battery.

From what you just said it does sound like you have a bad alternator, but it doesn't make sense, if I recall right your battery should charge at anything over 13.5 volts, but usually it should be in the 14's somewhere. Maybe a bench test on the alternator will reveal something that isn't seen on the car (since they test it with a load on it). good luck, sounds like you have it figured out, nothing else somes to mind that it could be.

The alternator in my 97 s10 went out between 135,000 & 136,000 miles, just noticed the volt meter was at 12 volts, got around to getting a new one 3 days later, still running and starting off the battery, even ran with headlights on a few times. just a little FYI on the life of GM alternators, its probably due for a new one. After I changed it my headlights were brighter then they had been in years, so I guess I didn't notice it going bad on me.

I pulled my starter off last night. It was a very easy job. The terminals were covered with dirt and grime and the starter itself was even worse. One other thing of note is that I have the infamous coolant leak due to a bad gasket problem and the starter sits under right where the leaking occurs. So, there was caked on dried antifreeze on the starter and probably some inside it causing it to short out. I gave it a good cleaning, cleaned the contact terminals, put it back on, and it starts perfect every time. Probably until it gets another buildup of crud and antifreeze.