96 Cavalier overheating & wiring issues?!?!

[fletcher2000]

1st episode -- car intermittently wouldn't start.. it was turning over, but wouldn't start.. fuel pump wasn't kicking in.. attempted to troubleshoot by jiggling wires to see if some were loose... sometimes this would get the car to start on the next attempt, sometimes it wouldn't.. sometimes we'd leave the car for an hour or more or less, and then it would start.. strange.. this was happening sometimes daily, sometimes weekly for awhile there, but then it was good for about a year.. towed it to a garage twice, but they couldn't repeat the problem, and the diagnostic test showed nothing wrong.. recently, it happened again, but we cleaned the fuel pump thing-y (with prongs) on the top right hand side of the motor (looks like some sort of fuse, but i'm not car saavy! it's a grey block about 3/4" x 3/4" by some fuses under the hood), and that made it work.

2nd episode -- got car ready for winter by changing rad fluid.. next day, it overheated every few miles.. thought there was a vapour lock or bubble or whatever it was called, but it worked fine after 20 miles or so, and after a lot of water was added in between... car ran fine for about a month or so

3rd episode -- car starter wouldn't start the car from right beside it - thought maybe battery was dead in keyfob, but could be a sign of wiring issues??? more.....

4th (and latest) episode -- car overheating.. ran it 10 miles, and the fan wasn't kicking in.. live in cold climate, but there wasn't much heat coming out of vents.. coolant level is good, no leak in rad.. we'd let the car cool down and try to drive again.. make it another mile or so, and once it started overheating (past the half-way mark), we'd notice a slight flicker (dimming) of the headlights.. assuming that's when the fan was supposed to be kicking in, but it's not.

we bought a new fan motor & switch.. does anyone have any other ideas? we haven't installed new fan motor yet.. is there a better 1st try for a fix, or what is most probable cause of issues??? thanks for any help.. it would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!

[billyboy128]

I had the same problem with my 95 Cavalier cranking but not starting on occassions. If you let it sit for a half hour or so It would start. I changed the plugs ,wires, and the O2 sensor, and the problem went away. But mine was getting gas tho!