94 4.6 no start - Experience, please?

Hey, y'all... I have a 94 S-10, LS, V-6, 140K, GREAT truck... well, it WAS a great truck when it ran earlier today! Went out to start it, and nothing... well, nothing motor related. Battery's working (found it mechanically loose, but I'll fix that tomorrow...), radio, lights, etc, no problem, but I turn the switch and the starter doesn't work, no click, nothing... I've reviewed several hundred posts, and what I'm going to check in the morning, in this order, is:

1. The wire going to the starter (because of the loose battery, maybe something frayed, wore, broke...)

2. Starter - I'll pull it (despite the difficulty some people have run into... but maybe if it died totally it would cause this?) and have it tested...

3. I'll take the steering column apart <sigh> and check the switch...

Oh, and also, for the last 6 -12 months, sometimes a short delay after I turned the ignition switch... think it's pertinent?

Am I on the right track? I'm not a great mechanic, also... should I suck it up and have it towed somewhere?

Wow you have somethings to check before you go pulling the starter...first thing if your battery is fully charged, check to make sure your terminals are clean and tight...and check the ground wire to the block, make sure that connections are clean and tight...next you will need to see if the starter is getting power, the main red wire to the starter should be hot all the time and the other wire hot only when the key is turned to start...if the current is there when you turn the key (to the smaller wire) and the larger wire is good then you can lean towards the starter being bad..if not you have a break down in the wiring...could be a fusible like to a simple fuse..if you are not into troubleshooting you may find it easier and less frustrating to have it towed to a garage...good luck and keep us posted

Wow you have somethings to check before you go pulling the starter...first thing if your battery is fully charged, check to make sure your terminals are clean and tight...and check the ground wire to the block, make sure that connections are clean and tight...next you will need to see if the starter is getting power, the main red wire to the starter should be hot all the time and the other wire hot only when the key is turned to start...if the current is there when you turn the key (to the smaller wire) and the larger wire is good then you can lean towards the starter being bad..if not you have a break down in the wiring...could be a fusible like to a simple fuse..if you are not into troubleshooting you may find it easier and less frustrating to have it towed to a garage...good luck and keep us posted


I was just thinking, you didn't say if it was automatic is it in park? and did you check the fuses?
Tom O

Sounds like a dead starter.

Thank you for the info, especially fractured1... Knowing what wires to look at for what is MUCH better than my flailing about with a meter under the hood!

I'd checked the fuses last night (before it got dark), but I'm thinking this morning that I should swap them, just in case... also, it's an automatic, and I tried shifting to neutral and back to park (mostly for something to keep my hands busy while I was trying to think!)

Thanks again, I greatly appreciate the assistance, and I'll let you all know what fixes it!

Listen to Fractured1 he is right on. Make sure you really take some time to check the battery and wires. My father-in-law's 200 S10 Blazer did exactly what yours is when they drove down to visit once. I was sure it was the starter because the lights and radio worked, so I changed out the starter with no luck. They took one of our cars home and I started working on it only to find the positive battery terminal leaked acid onto the cable. A fresh battery and starter cable fixed all the problems in 20 min. Good luck and learn from my mistakes, check everything really well before replacing.

Final disposition: It was a starter AND the power cable to it (at least according to the mechanic who fixed it...). He said he figured the cable started to short, and eventually took the starter... anyway, it works now!

I pulled the battery, took it to Advance and they said it checked good; I cleaned and checked all the connections on the battery and cables, and took the ground wire off the block and cleaned that up, no joy. Then I was going to go to the wires on the starter and check the voltage... and discovered just HOW much of a pain it was going to be to GET to the wires (I couldn't even see where they went into the starter... first time ever I'd wished for a four cylinder without A/C!). So I sucked it up and had it towed and repaired... If I didn't need the truck so badly, I probably would have attempted it, but it would have been WAY embarassing to get it out and have to have it towed anyway to get it back in, or screw up the flywheel or something...

Anyway, thank you all again, I GREATLY appreciate the advice and assistance!

Sounds like a dead starter.


I win! I win!

Hehe, just kiddin...

Glad to see you back on the road.