96 lumina starting trouble

Alright, here is the problem. This started about a month ago. Sometimes when I go to start the car it won't crank. Nothing, like the battery is completely dead. I usually pop the hood and get out and shake the battery cables and starter cables get back in and try to start it, sometimes I have to do this a couple of times. I haven't been able to narrow the problem down as sometimes it won't start after it sits all night and sometimes it starts right up and it will do it after a run to the store. None of the wires seem loose or corroded and the battery was replaced last winter. I tried to start it yesterday and it did the same thing after sitting all night, but now the radio won't work. I don't know if it's related but it's odd that it quit working when I tried to start it. It's just a stock radio and the car has a 3.4l engine. Any ideas?

Welcome to AF, take off all the cables clean them up and reinstall, grounds also.

You might have the same problem I am having right now and one that seems common to this car. The ignition lock cylinder has thin wires running to it for the passkey feature, and it seems the wire breaks over time. You might be at the stage where it is ready to go completely. Do you have power in the car otherwise when it doesn't want to start?

I have no power to anything when it won't start. I just turn the key to off and sometimes the power will come back on. Good news though, yesterday my radio started working again. I'm going to clean all of the wires. I'll give you an update after. Thanks for your advice.

Hi, I Had The Same Problem With My 1995 Lumina And After 2 Starters I Finally Figured Out The Problem. It Was The Key Itself. Do You Have A Small Security Chip On Your Ignition Key? I Only Had The Problem When I Used One Key But Had No Problem Starting When I Used My Spare Key. I Had To Tell The Guys At The Dealership That This May Be The Problem Because They Could Not Figure It Out Either. So They Made Me A New Key ($100) And The Starting Problem Was Solved.( After Spending Over $300) To Bad I Couldn't Figure It Out Before I Brought It In To The Dealer. Take Care, Barry