Cav noob needs some help, wont start but got juice

[lilantwan]

ok let me lay this out for you guy since ive been reading this forum now for a couple of hours i see that you need the details

1995 cav z24 auto
130k as of today.
just had a half as tune up on it too.
and damn it runs hot as hell.

i drive this thing all day and this has happened a couple of times now, after i park it and let it sit for about 20 minutes turned off. i cant even get the thing to crank when starting it back up. odd thing is i have juice from the battery i think. i can play the radio and and lights work when sitting there dead. now everytime this has happened if i got a jump it would run again. but odd thing is when you turn the key you get nothing but a ding and a fully lite dash. i never had this problem on any of my other cars at all. when you have a bad alt dont you get the click click noise, with this problem i get nothing at all.

could it be the starter? this only happens after driving on a semi warm/hot day and i have only had this car for about 2 week, so i cant really tell you guys much more about it. also anyone from around chicago that know some1 good on fixing problems with cavs please let me know.

peace all
Anthony

[hackken]

If you can jump start it, it would seem that you have a weak battery. Battery has enough power to run the radio and some lights, but not enough reserve power to operate the starter. I would have the battery checked out first.

[lilantwan]

Originally Posted by hackken

If you can jump start it, it would seem that you have a weak battery. Battery has enough power to run the radio and some lights, but not enough reserve power to operate the starter. I would have the battery checked out first.

thats what i have been told now buy many a people and i get spark when i use the jumper cable method to see if theres juice, but im sure now its the bat, its a old used battery and it was bought used in 2002 i think its scene better days. and it always starts when im getting jumped.

also i have been looking for a new air intake for the car, i remove that huge chunk of plastic and felt the inside of the tubes man there was a think mess in there all black and really didnt smelling like anything is this normal? it was moist and so thick you could use it for shampoo.

[lilantwan]

its started today after i replaced the bat. so im on the road again.

[bigdaveangell]

sounds like you have a bad pcv valve. that will give you oil in the intake

[lilantwan]

what does the pcv valve do?

[Three_Fingers]

PCV is the crankcase vent. Lets oil smoke/vapor get sucked into the intake tract to be burned, but only under certain vacuum conditions so it doesn't interfere with the mixture.
Under the opposite conditions-it gets held shut by pressure or vacuum.
If it's stuck open-it'll pollute the hell outta your intake tract.
If it's stuck shut-the overpressure in the case will puke oil out the other end-resulting in the same problem.

[lilantwan]

Originally Posted by Three_Fingers

PCV is the crankcase vent. Lets oil smoke/vapor get sucked into the intake tract to be burned, but only under certain vacuum conditions so it doesn't interfere with the mixture.
Under the opposite conditions-it gets held shut by pressure or vacuum.
If it's stuck open-it'll pollute the hell outta your intake tract.
If it's stuck shut-the overpressure in the case will puke oil out the other end-resulting in the same problem.

so what am i looking at now as far as money goes to fix this. mind you im not that into the engine works. i can do some simple stuff, bat, lights wiring and some others, but not engine work.

Thanks for that info btw

[lilantwan]

car is dead again read the new post guys

[coolbreeze48]

Try this, with your interior light ON try to crank the car and watch the light. If it goes out, you have a bad connection to the batt. or with the cable. If it dims considerably but stays lite you have a low charge on your batt., which may indicate an alternator problem. You can check the alt. with a voltmeter, by checking the batt. voltage with the car running. It should be in the range of 13.3 - 14.5 volts, if it isn't your alt. isn't charging. The clicking noise could be coming from the starter solenoid trying to engage the started, but it doesn't have enough power to turn the engine, which could also be because of a bad connection. check your batt. voltage, 12 volts doesn't meant that it is charged. With the voltmeter connected to your batt. try to start the engine and watch the voltmeter, it shouldn't drop below 9 volts. If it does, the batt. is discharged, or bad or again, bad connection. If the light stays bright and doesn't change while trying to start the engine, you have an open circuit - probably won't be this since you have the clicking noise.