2001 GA GT Starting issues...

[DUlrich1227]

my problem starts about 30 days ago when i stopped at a store and when i went to leave the car wouldnt start.. had full power but when you turn the KEY nothing no click no nothing.. i noticed a mechanic shop across the street.. to make a long story short and 600.00 later they replaced the starter & Battery.. not even 3 weeks it does it again in the morning when i am leaving for work.. i drop it into neutral and it starts .. my job is I.T for a hospital system in multiple locations after diving around for the day i make my last stop .. go to leave doesnt start not even in neutral this time..I originaly bought the car at carmax about 6 months ago.. I decide to have the car towed there ... I am told its the starter.. I said i just had the starter replaced.. They tell me the orignal mechanic never replaced the whole thing he just replaced "the inside mechanical part" - i am not sure of techinal name they used. but they said it wasnt making the connection..i say ok .. the also noticed an oil leak "lower intake gaskets"- the car is coverd by extended warranty so they fix that and replace the "whole starter". I pick it up starts no problem... GUESS WHAT A WEEK LATER I go to go to work IT WONT START.. I CALL CARMAX AND A TOW TRUCK.. THE TOW GUY GETS HERE... HE SAYS SOUNDS LIKE THE STARTER - HE DID TRY TO START IT AND IT DID NOT START - The car gets to carmax.. and it starts right up ... They keep it for 2 days and can not find anything.. ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ??? carmax said maybe take it to a pontiac dealer ????

[becscar]

We had something like this happen with our Ford, with us it was the ignition module. Our car was also stalling too though. We replaced alternator, starter, and battery trying to figure it out.
This problem is something I have heard is commonly happening to Chevy Cavaliers. It is one reason I decided against looking into buying a Cavalier for the most part.
I hope you get some resolution for your problem. Maybe you can check out the Cavalier forums to see if anyone there has had the same trouble. If I can find the web link again, to a web site where I read about this same problem I will send it to you. I will be anxious to know what you find out. I was looking into buying a used Grand Am, and now I am not so sure. I wonder why GM has this issue on some of their cars. It's a shame.

[DUlrich1227]

thanks for the info .. i will say this i do love the car.. its quik, handles well, and is comfortable... and room for 4

[becscar]

I could be a fried out ingition relay, diagnosed only by someone with electronic troubleshooting experience. In our case we used a multimeter to track ours down. Turns out Ford had LOTS of trouble with the faulty ingiton module called TFI module. I wonder if GM has ignition system flaws too.
Just to let you know I checked out other forums here, and there is a posting of someone with the same problem on a Grand Prix. Let me know what you find out about your problem. Hope it turns out well!

[becscar]

Here is a link I found to a web site forum. There is another person with a Grand Am having the same trouble as you. Maybe it will help?
http://www.pontiacowners.com/pontiac...read.php?t=189

[xeroinfinity]

well it doesnt sound like you need a starter! Lol

it could be an ignition mod not conected good or failing to work proper all the time.
Bad conections on the battery, or engine to body grounds.

So when it doesnt staart, it does nothing when you turn th ekey? No starter cranking, do all the lights come on in the dash cluster when you hit the key?
Has thier been any warning lights illuminated on the dash while driving? like the SES or SVS or Security?

[DUlrich1227]

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

well it doesnt sound like you need a starter! Lol

it could be an ignition mod not conected good or failing to work proper all the time.
Bad conections on the battery, or engine to body grounds.

So when it doesnt staart, it does nothing when you turn th ekey? No starter cranking, do all the lights come on in the dash cluster when you hit the key?
Has thier been any warning lights illuminated on the dash while driving? like the SES or SVS or Security?

no starter cranking but i get all the normal dashlights.. no warning lights either.. this last time they did say the battery terminals "looked" loose so they said they tightend them.

[xeroinfinity]

well loose conections on the battery or the starter or the grounds on the engine block can cause the starter no to work right.
But you'd think someone would hav noticed the loose terminals previously when you had it serviced.

Well you said you hav the extended warnty, just keep riding the Dealers(or CARMAX) ASS till they fix it, and tell them you are not going to continue to just replace this that and the other to find out "whats really wrong" and tell them to fix it right!
Be firm! lol

[DUlrich1227]

Thanks for all the info.. all who replied..

becscar - they security think from what i can tell that turns off the fuel delivery?? If i read it correctly...? If it does happen again i will try turning the key to on for 10minutes..