impala wont start when temp drops

[zoemayne]

this has been going on for the pass few months but now the problem has gotten worse. at first I thought the battery was low b/c it would kind of slur as it was trying to start up so I went to get the battery charged and It turned out the battery didn't need charging. so time passed and when I turned the ignition it would not even attempt to rev up(it did this on three seperate occasions). This would happen only when the temp dropped but now it happens almost every morning after resting for 12 hrs or so. im thinking that some part is on the verge of completely failing. do I need a new battery? I dont think its that starter because of the symptoms. I've done some searching and I cant find a part that would fail as a result of temp drop.
*the battery light would remain solid during this problem



thanx in advance for your help

[maxwedge]

Please post year and engine.

[zoemayne]

oops

2000 3.4L a few miles away from 90K miles

[zoemayne]

any ideas?

[maxwedge]

Tough to follow what is happening here, does the starter turn the engine over but it fails to start?

[zoemayne]

the engine is not turned over at all on the first try(as if the starter is dead). after a 10 minute break or 7 minutes of attemping to start the engine will finaly turn over continuously without starting. After turning over for the first time it will start up on the next atempt. So basically once i get the engine to turn over (correctly - During the turn over process it will not start up if it is sluring while turning over) the car will start up. I hope that explains it better. Im assuming here that "turn over" is the sound the car makes when you turn the ignition (before the engine starts up).

[maxwedge]

Yes turn over is the sound of the starter attempting to start the engine. When the no turn over occurs does the security lite on the dash stay on, do you have 12v to starter solenoid, are the battery cables all clean and tight, these are the basic diagnostic steps for your condition.

[Gems]

Isn't the symptom of turning the key with nothing happening, then waiting 10 minutes, then cranking, the common "passlock/bad ignition switch" issue?

[maxwedge]

Yes, if that what you get of this "skewed" description!

[zoemayne]

i was thinking that this was the passlock problem but the BIG SYMPTOM i thought would stand out is the slurred turn over sound. the battery connectors should be fine but i'll check that out again in the morning. i dont pay attention to the info center light all the time but i can recall the security light was solid once and the battery light was solid on the most recent occasion. I dont get what you mean by "do you have 12v to starter solenoid". if its the epasslock problem would i have no choice but to go to the dealer to resolve it?

[zoemayne]

im leaning more and more towards the passlock problem. i read the forum on it and it seems to be the closest thing to my symptoms. and i also recall when i took my impala to the dealer last year they said they were pulling some error codes about the security system and that it was not the cause of my pass problem of the vehicle cutting off while it was driving(which firestone resolved by replacing the idle control motor + coolant temp sensor). the dealer mentioned that the security system failure would prevent the vehicle from starting. could i get this fixed for free under a recall?????? I notice on a forum that that was the case.........

[zoemayne]

also yesterday the airbag light cut on. it first cut on when i hit a bump about a year ago. for the pass few days the vehicle has had no problem starting but im pretty sure it will come up again.i had an alarm installed about 2 months ago and somehow after installing that alarm the airbag light went away. now its back.

[zoemayne]

well last night was a rainy night and it did not want to start even after letting it sit for 3 hours. It sounds like its the starter/fuel pump less likely to be the security. Might have to have it towed. I'll try to start it up again this morning and let you guys know what fixes it.......

[zoemayne]

I got it towed to a friends house and he easily told me it was the starter. So he changed it and it is working fine now. So it was the starter...................