Having an issue with starting a 1997 Chevy P/U. Issue started a few months back when after having the truck running for a while then stopping it for a short time and then restarting, the starter would start, stop, start and then catch. I changed out the starter and it would start fine on clod starts but as soon as it is driven for a while the same hesitation with starting it. i switched out the starter again (under warranty) and it is still doing it. thought it might be the battery but that is a year old and when you put a gauge on it, it reads 13.0 volts. i have to believe its electrical or something along those lines. and yes i did switch out the Relay Starter fuse.
Your vehicle has the GM side mounted battery cables.
You want to remove both battery cables from the battery, and on the positive cable peel back the red rubber cover to expose the terminals. If a lot of corrosion is found on the terminals replace the positive battery cable assembly.
Like mentioned above battery cables are a repetitive problem. The location of the ground cable on the engine can also be a problem. Make sure connections are clean and tight.
Thanks for the advice. I peeled back the red cover on both leads reconnected using a shorter battery terminal nut and so far so good. Took it for a spin to warm it up and parked turn it off waited 30seconds and it started right, sounds different too. I will let it go for a few weeks and see if comes back.
Look and see how close the exhaust pipe runs next to the starter. If it runs very close the starter may be heat soaking.
When a starter heat soaks, the windings get hot to where the resistance thru windings increases requiring more current to turn the starter. The starter itself can slightly distort from the heat making it harder for the starter to turn.
A quick way to check for starter heat soaking is carry a bottle of water in the vehicle. The next time you know the starter will act in this manner, pour the bottle of water over the starter to cool it down. If the starter then operates normally then problem is heat soaking of the starter.
I’m trying to figure out what this means: “the starter would start, stop, start and then catch” Can you be a little bit more descriptive about it? Maybe describe the actual sounds that you get. Because if the starter “starts” then it “catches” - the flywheel and turns the motor. So I’m trying to figure out what is happening before the “catch.” A couple of loud clicks?
Either way, though, I’ll probably go along with the flow so far and say you have to eliminate cable/connection problems first. Do you have a voltmeter?
Thanks Tester, the pipe is located close to the starter maybe 6 to 7 inches to the right. do these models have a heat shield that is suppose to be mounted there?
Cigroller. The sound is hard to describe. It’s like the starter engages but it like there is not enough power to turn it. Very slow and then it kicks over
The top reasons for that then are weak battery (covered); failing starter (covered); cables - probably still need attention. At some point in time you might want to just replace the cables all together and be done with it.
Drive to an auto parts store and have the battery load tested. Many do this for free. If the battery checks out, I would still just replace the cables. It’s not as if they aren’t old enough already. And many electrical problems are worse the warmer things get - the resistance on everything is higher, and that includes the cables.
If you’d rather check the cables first on a hot start you need to know about voltage drop. There are probably 100 videos on youtube (and about 100 other web instructions) that will show you how to do that. It’s easy.