1987 GTA Starter/Electrical problem FRUSTRATING!

[Mffan1]

I am a new member but have had this problem for quite some time. I have a 1987 GTA with a very annoying and frustrating issue. It seems I have a parasitic drain. With a new, fully charged battery the car will sit for about a week and a half before going completely flatline. I have checked with a multimeter and test light only to find nothing. Also, I don't know if this is related or not, it has issues starting. The starter will always start the car on the first try when it is cold, or when it sits over night. When warm, however, I can turn the key and it will just click sometimes, and other times will literally do nothing. I am thinking maybe a short in the solenoid or something to do with the solenoid.
Let me describe this last symptom better: If I warm the car up to operating temp with the battery completely charged, turn the car off and try to start it again, all dash lights etc... will come on when I turn the ignition on. When I try to start the car though, nothing happens, no click, no nothing. I can turn the headlights on even and they BARELY go dim when trying to start the car. This tells me that it might be the solenoid shorting out or something when it is hot...This then could be draining my battery? Any thoughts? I will buy whomever solves my problem a coke!

[Morley]

Your starting problem is an old starter getting heat soaked, especially if you have headers.
The electrical drain could be as simple as the light in the glovebox not going out or the light under the hood or in the trunk.

[Mffan1]

Originally Posted by Morley

Your starting problem is an old starter getting heat soaked, especially if you have headers.
The electrical drain could be as simple as the light in the glovebox not going out or the light under the hood or in the trunk.

My starter is relatively new (about 2 yrs) however it is a remanufactured one from Autozone. I took the starter into autozone to have it tested and it checked out fine. Being a little leary of testing parts at a retail store, I then took it to a local armature shop in town. I watched as they took apart the starter and inspected it. They found nothing wrong. Neither place tested the solenoid though which leads me to think that it could be the culprit. I do have headers on my car. If the starter was heat soaked, wouldn't it still draw the same amperage when I try to start the car as it would if it did turn over the engine? I don't know, I'm asking.

To address the parasitic drain, I admit, I am dumb. EXACTLY how do I do this with a multimeter? If I turn the meter to the 10A setting (unfused) place it in series with the negative battery terminal and negative cable what should it read (on 10A setting?) Thanks a ton

[Morley]

Originally Posted by Mffan1

They found nothing wrong. Neither place tested the solenoid though which leads me to think that it could be the culprit. I do have headers on my car. If the starter was heat soaked, wouldn't it still draw the same amperage when I try to start the car as it would if it did turn over the engine? I don't know, I'm asking.

The bad thing about heat soak is you can't duplicate it on the bench. If heat soak is causing the problem you won't see the high current draw because the starter isn't turning, especially if the solenoid is malfunctioning. Summit sells a very nice stainless steel heat shield that will cure the heat soak (it is a bitch to put on though) I had the same heat soak problem in my 85 IROC which I put in a built 350 and headers. I put in the Summit shield and had no more problems.

To address the parasitic drain, I admit, I am dumb. EXACTLY how do I do this with a multimeter? If I turn the meter to the 10A setting (unfused) place it in series with the negative battery terminal and negative cable what should it read (on 10A setting?) Thanks a ton[/quote]
With the multimeter hooked up like you describe you should be reading a few milli-amps of draw (ECM memory, stereo memory). If you have a large draw, start pulling fuses one at a time while checking the draw. Once you see the draw drop a lot, you have found the problem circuit. I would suggest pulling the accessory fuse first. This runs your power windows, door locks, seat, cig lighter and courtesy lighting inside.