driveyoumild

My 2002 Grand Am is having a heck of a time starting. IT was all fine and dandy until trying to start it up Saturday morning..... It finally turns over and starts, and runs fine once it's going. At first I was thinking starter...but then I noticed that the clock resets after turning the car off. Also, none of the lights dim or anything indicating a bad alternator. And then..if it was the battery, wouldn't it die while I was driving it? Like I said, once it's started, it runs fine! It's the clock reset that really has me wondering.

Any ideas? Thanks!!

driveyoumild

ok...update....

The clock keeps time.....when I turn it to the ACC position without trying to start it, the clock shows that it has been keeping time and is right if I set it. Once I try and crank it, it resets to 12:00 and cranks away.....after a bit of pedal action, it finally catches. Definitely a hard start. Usually the first time you try and start it, it just cranks once, and then if you try again, it cranks away and you have to baby it to get it started.

Any ideas? The clock thing has really thrown me for a loop.

xeroinfinity

welcome to AF.

Their is a fuse for the radio Acc, b) on the driverside fusebox.
and one in hte passengerside FB, radio batt H.

If those are good , I'd say you battery is about to die .
Tho It is possible the connections at the battery or your starter may be loose or dirty.

__________________
1999 Grand Am SS & Grand Am GT 3.4 OHV


Who'd ever thought the "G" in GM would stand for Government Motors.

driveyoumild

Hey thanks for the response!

It just seems like the strangest thing that once it's going it's fine, and then when you turn the ACC on, the clock is fine....so I know it has power, but as soon as you crank it, not only is it hard starting, the clock resets!

Also strange that it started out of the blue. Maybe more of a connection or corrosion problem? Then again, I'm sure it's the original battery, so it may be time to replace it.

Any additional tips or advice?

xeroinfinity

You can test the battery with a multimeter.

The batery(w/car off) should be at least 12.4 volts.
If not tis probly time to replace it with a new one.

But check all the connections first !!

__________________
1999 Grand Am SS & Grand Am GT 3.4 OHV


Who'd ever thought the "G" in GM would stand for Government Motors.