Background: I have a 1997 Chevy Lumina with 35k miles on it (grandma didn't drive it a lot). When I took ownership of the car I had to do some work on it because it sat so much. The coolant system was completely flushed out and refilled along with the brake fluid and the lower intake manifold gasket was replaced - these were all done by a GM dealer. I have recently replaced the spark plugs, camshaft position sensor and starter motor myself.
Back in October when we first started getting really frigid morning temps I experienced an issue with the car. I turned the key and nothing would happen, the radio would turn on and all the lights but no crank or anything. I tested the battery and it seemed ok (i dont recall the exact volts but it was over 12). I closed my hood and tried the key again and it started up. With some reading online I figured it might be the starter solenoid locking up, I figured this sounded plausible since it was so old so I replaced it and everything was fine...Until today. This morning we randomly had a break in the weather and instead of being high 20s low 30s it was over 40. I went outside and turned the key and nothing, just like before. I opened the hood and took a screw drier and tapped on the starter housing and tried to turn the key again and it started right up.
Could it be something other than the starter? It seems unlikely (although possible) that the brand new starter I got is in fact, faulty. I'm not sure how old the battery is in all honesty so I'll probably go have that tested in the mean time just to eliminate that but if anyone else has any thoughts I'd really appreciate it!