Starter Issues?

I have a 1988 Cavalier that will not start or even turn over. The alternator, battery are good and just replaced the starter on it today because the old starter wouldnt even test ( drawing too much power and blew a fuse every time on the test) when we turn the key to start the car it drains all power and now after we put in the new starter it keeps blowing a fuse. this is really really starting to piss me off. I checked both the primary and secondary relays ( which btw almost melted because so much power was being drawn through it) and they seem fine. On the test of the battery and alternator it is idleing at 1800 RPM's way to much I know but cant figure out why and is pulling 114v from the alternator. Don't know what else it could be. Also every once in a while it is choking out and stalling in drive when the brake is applied. It wants to go to the cavvy raceway in the sky but I cant afford for it to just yet. Any Ideas?

Does not make much sense to me either. You should be getting 12+v on the battery all the way to the relay panel under the hood. Based on what you described, I would suspect a relay problem.

Checked the relays and have good connections but it didnt blow the fuse before, now it is crossed wire?

Try following these steps:

1. Turn the key to on, do not crank. Do your wipers work normally? Is the headlights bright? Is the horn working? If yes, the battery is probably charged. If not, the battery is drained.

2. Check the connections at the starter.

3. With the key in the Start position, check for voltage at the starter. If there is juice, the problem is with either the starter motor or the starter solenoid.

4. If there is no power there with the key in the START position, then something in the electrical system is bad. The next thing to check is the fuse. Determine which is the starter fuse and check that it is good. If not, replace it. If it burns out when you go to start the engine, there is a short circuit in the system. You will need a wiring diagram to isolate sections of the starting system to locate the short circuit.

Hope this helps.




Try this....get some jumper cables. Ground out the black, and connect the red lead to the battery and the other red lead to the starter. The starter should engage once it is energized. You will be bypassing the ignition wiring and applying current direct to the starter. However, if your starter is bad, you will risk permanent damage because you do not have a circuit protection (fuse). A better solution would be to use a fused jumper wire.

It is also possible that the starter you installed is faulty. The voltage regulator should be controlling the output. The regulator is internal to the starter.

If the starter does engage, you have an electrical problem that will require troubleshooting.