93 suburban wont start

[kimberley04]

When I go to start my suburban it wont start. It wont turn over at all. The best way to explain it is, imagine trying to start while you have it in drive. The lights, stereo, etc come on, but there is silence when you try to turn it over. No click, nothing. Thats what I am getting. Silence. It was running fine, I ran to the store, came out, tried to start her up and I get silence. Any ideas?

The battery is less then a month old, so I dont think it is that, besides which, I do have power. And I did notice that when I try to turn it over my temp gauge shoots up over 260. I dont remember it doing that before.

If it helps its a V-8 4x4.

Thanks!

[92BurbinAustin]

First thing you could easily check are battery terminals. Just make sure they are tight. It could be that simple.

[SpitAndDirt]

I would be in agreement with the last memeber, check your cables. They should be of a double stack design on the positive side of the battery. This means one cable goes to the large fuse box near the brake master cylinder, and the other goes directly down to the starter. Corrosion can be a serious issue inbetween the terminals at the point where they bolt to the battery. Make sure to clean them very well and keep them tight. One other thing, I assume you have tried to wait for about an hour and then go see if it starts. There's also a possibility the starter had gotten overheated, but that's only a guess from the information you gave. -Chris

[kimberley04]

I tried starting it again this morning, and the same things happened. I checked my battery cables, they seemed a little loose, so I tightened them both up. Still nothing.

While under the hood I noticed that the the steering column/knuckle is leaking grease. Quite a bit of it. And the container above it that holds brake fluid is leaking and where the serpentine belt comes up by the fan belt there is this black soot everywhere. I did some repairs on my suburban just @ a month ago and none of these things were happening. Im not sure if this is a sign that my suburban is quickly heading south and I should call it quits and get a new one, or if its just 'luck' and maintenance.

Any help on these issues is greatly appreciated. I really need to get my rig back up and running. Its the only thing I have to transport my kids around. Thanks!

[SpitAndDirt]

I'm sorry that still have no luck. By process of elimination: Your cables are tight and free of corrosion. Your battery voltage is above 12.4 volts. You are getting power to every other accessory(fuses and or fusible links may be burnt out). The only things that I could be now are a bad starter, a bad ignition switch, burnt wires down by the starter, or my personal favorite: a starter kill relay acting up for an alarm that may be installed but you never knew about. Happened to my friends Jeep one time. But without a multimeter handy and knowing how to troubleshoot electrical problems, you may have to bite the bullet and take it to a shop. One test you can do if you can get ahold of a multimeter is to have someone check the voltage of the battery while someone is holding the key in the start position. If the voltage drops to like 2 volts, I would say a faulty battery. If the voltage drops to about 8 volts, possibly faulty starter. And if the voltage stays near unchanged, you've got a problem with wiring or a switch. Hope this helps. -Chris

[Striper]

kimberly:
Have the starter motor checked and have the mechanic (or yourself) take a look at the teeth of the fly wheel to see if any are missing. YOu are obviuosly getting electiricty. The fuses to the starter motor might also be a place I'd check.
Good Luck

[StayOutofTheWay]

Same exact thing happened to my Suburban, turned out I just needed a new alternator.

[kimberley04]

I had the starter checked, it was fine. It turned out that the bolts holding the wires were just loose. Once we got it all put back together it ran fine.

Until last night. The truck is dead at my in-laws house. Its been pouring, so I havent gotten back under to see whats going on this time.

Any ideas on how the bolts would have gotten loose in the first place? What is the probability of it happening a 2nd time?

Thanks for all the help!

[SpitAndDirt]

Heat from the exhaust can cause the plastic that the bolts are in, to melt slightly and thus taking tension off of the wires. If the starter is good, I would recommend just a solenoid replacement. Make sure you have a heat sheild over the solenoid to keep the heat down. -Chris

[ckoenig]

The same things happens to my 1993 suburban. However, it only happens once every few months. I have a new alternator and a new starter. I am thinking I should check out my bolts like you had to do.

[kimberley04]

An update, I replaced the starter and the solenoid. Shes up and running again. Nothing like laying under your car at someone elses house in the pouring rain! Thanks for all of the help!

I am sure I will have more problems to quiz you all about soon.

[1warped1]

Hey I had similar problem about a year ago. It turned out to be the ground cable to the frame instead of the ground cable to the battery. It had been knocked loose and we couldn't figure out why the car would not start or charge the battery, even replaced the battery twice...goes to show - check all the connections even the ones under the car going to the battery.