A bit of help please.. 95 Cavalier..

[Black2000Ranger]

My mom has a 95 Cavalier. It's the base model, no power anything.. except steering.
Anyway, the otherday she got in the car and it would not start. So it got towed back to my house, and now my dad and I have to deal with it.
When you turn the key, some of the lights come on on the dash, then you turn it one more step as if you were starting it.. I hear a click. One click, and that is all. Everytime you try to start it, you hear one click.. Maybe the sound of a relay or something similar. Anyway, the main question is; is this a common thing? Is it most likely the starter? Where is the starter located, and what else could it be?
I know these are probably easy questions to answer, but I cannot find anything from search, and AF is really slow today for some reason, so clicking on each topic takes a long time to load, if it loads at all.
Thank's a lot
-Scott

[KustmAce]

My 95 did that once too, but damned if I can remember what was wrong...Ill try and think of it.

[Black2000Ranger]

Anyone else?

[mike2004tct]

Originally Posted by Scott Wiiki

Anyone else?

I'd guess a low battery, and if not the battery, a bad starter/bad connection.

Open the hood and check you battery connections. Next check the Pos lead down to the starter (it's on the front side botoom of the motor, just follow the big red cable to it. Check the cable at the starter.
(No relay in the starter circuit, but your sound description is a good one)

[Black2000Ranger]

There is a little relay that is clicking though.. I think it's a relay. After the pos cable, in the harness, it goes straight to the starter, and that's what is clicking.. hmm

[mike2004tct]

That would be the starter solenoid. If you have a good battery (or tried jump starting from another car's battery) try tapping the solenoid with a hammer.
You may just had a bad spot on the solenoid, or a loose connection to the starter.

[Black2000Ranger]

Originally Posted by mike2004tct

That would be the starter solenoid. If you have a good battery (or tried jump starting from another car's battery) try tapping the solenoid with a hammer.
You may just had a bad spot on the solenoid, or a loose connection to the starter.

Could the soleniod be bad? Which causes the clicking?
Cause the connections are all good, i'll go tap it with a hammer and see what happens.
-Scott

[Black2000Ranger]

On second thought...
The starter solinoid is right ontop of the starter. This thing I am talking about looks just like a relay, it's right behind the radiator, the battery is plugged straight into it from the pos cable, it goes from that relay looking thing, to the soliniod, then to the starter. The relay thing is clicking, not the soliniod. Also, there is a click coming inside the car too, after the relay thing clicks. Battery is at full charge. This is confusing me.
It seems that its the soliniod because we took a tester to it and it's not sending out any charge to the starter.
It's in such a crappy location, but it's not too bad, considering it's a peice of Chevy.
Thanks
-Scott

[mike2004tct]

OK, I will regress somewhat, I'm comparing my daughter's'96 to your '95.
We do have a relay in the starter circuit. It's behind the radiator as you say, but our's is wired this way; Pos. cable from the battery to the starter solenoid.
The relay is wired directly to the solenoid also, and I think it's for the remote starter setup we have. So stating that, I'd still say that relay has no effect to spinning the starter itself. Then again, I may be wrong on the whole relay thing.

Yes, the solenoid can be bad, but unfortunately, you have to buy a starter in order to get the solenoid.

The reason I say tap the solenoid is, when they get wet, rust will form and cause a bad electrical transfer (especially during cold weather, when they actually have ice crystals impeding electrical contact). A good rap will usually dislodge any insulating stuff.

[Black2000Ranger]

Thanks, we ended up removing it and getting it tested at autozone, they said it was no good. Bought a new one, and she starts fine.
Thanks
-scott