help me start my cavalier

Well... it started slowly at first. Now the problem is consistant.

I go to turn on my car, and the accessories all come on, the lights all come on... everything comes on, except the engine that is. I can hear the relays clicking on and off and I can hear come other clicking around the Throttle body. Not sure if i can hear the starter clicking or not.

Can anyone help me out here? Perhaps narrow it down for me?


96 2.2L auto

you mentioned the starter clicks??? does it crank?? can you hear it trying to start the car?? does it try to start really slowly like after a cold winter night?? or do you just hear it clicking??

Does the security light come on? If it does then you have a passlock system problem. May be cured by trying another OEM Key. If not and it does not crank then check the battery and the battery cables. If it cranks you may have other issues such as a bad Crank position sensor, bad fuel pump or any number of other issues.

It doesn't crank. Sounds like everything happens that's supposed to, but nothing happens. And when I get the key in that position, all the lights are on. So I can't really tell which ones are which.

just for shits and giggles, try jump starting it, you have nothing to lose, if it works, youll know its your battery, if it doesnt work, well thats just one option crossed off the list

if you go to start it, and it doesnt crank, your starter may make a clicking sound, if it has enough juice to light up all the lights, it probably has enough juice to make the starter at least click, if it doesnt crank when you try jump starting it, it may be your starter,
ive had batteries that are soo dead that you cant even jump start it, but if a battery is that bad i wouldnt think it would light up all your lights

when you go to crank it over, look at your dome light, does it get really dim?

Nah. I even tried turning on the stereo, flipping on the air. No problems at all. It there any chance it's anything in the steering column?

Nah. I even tried turning on the stereo, flipping on the air. No problems at all. It there any chance it's anything in the steering column?

i honestly dont know, but if EVERYTHING works fine and your car still doesnt crank, i would guess (keyword: guess) its the starter

I'll be taking that off soon and taking it up to autozone to be tested. I talked to the original owner, apparently it's never been replaced. At 180,000 miles I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if it was the starter!

I'll be taking that off soon and taking it up to autozone to be tested. I talked to the original owner, apparently it's never been replaced. At 180,000 miles I suppose it wouldn't surprise me if it was the starter!

yeah, i'd imagine it has a fair share of starts under its belt with 180000 miles on it, thats quite a few miles for such a young car, did the previous owner do alot of traveling?

Oh yeah.... tons of traveling.

BIG PROBLEM. The oil pan has a sensor on it I'm not sure how to get off. How to I get the electrical connector off without braking it so I can drop the damn starter???

Oh yeah.... tons of traveling.

BIG PROBLEM. The oil pan has a sensor on it I'm not sure how to get off. How to I get the electrical connector off without braking it so I can drop the damn starter???

ill look in my haynes manual for how to remove the starter, ill scan and post what i find........ a little bit later

well i scanned the page, the file is too big to host anywhere on the internet (if i shrink it down you wont be able to read it) so if you want it, ill need your email address, (hopefully your email account can accept 1mb files)

Well... replaced the starter, and still no cranking. What's wierd is that when the key is in the on position the theft light stays on. But I think when it's tripped it's blinking right?

Ehh... anyways. What else should I try now?

I'm not sure if your make/model employs a ballast resistor;(as later model cars w elec ign don't). A DMM would be an asset here as you could check for significant V drops at the starter while starting. Also sheck the wiring where it attaches to the ring lugs at the selenoid for poor/oily connections. There may be some sizzling sounds as you engage the starter. Its a sure sign of a bad connection.

does your new starter still click? or was that even the starter making that noise??