Vehicle is a 1997 Chevrolet Lumina, 106,000 miles with careful maintenance. For the last three or so years, the car will not crank after baking all day in the summer sun. Later, after the the car cools down it will start. Radio and lights operate normally. Local mechanic / technician replaced starter, neutral transaxle switch and dealer replaced antitheft part of the ignition switch. Battery is reportedly ok. Both repair sources want to catch the vehicle when this all occurs. My Lumina, of course, is too smart for any of that. Seriousally though, this could become a risk at a bad time and location and I can’t sell the car with kind of hidden malfunction. Any suggestions?
John Sells
Denver
jsells6332@aol.com
Has anyone checked the condition of the connections under the rubber boots on the battery terminals? Corrosion tends to build up there, unnoticed, especially on the positive side, which can cause a variety of electrical problems.
NYBo is correct. If you can hear the starter solenoid engage, and the starter doesn’t crank the engine, the starter motor may not be getting enough current because of corroded battery cables on the battery, or rust and poor connection on the other ends of the cables.
Find another mechanic/shop to troubleshoot this problem. It’s not true that a mechanic can’t do anything unless it’s failing “right NOW”.
A faulty ignition module shouldn’t cause a cranking problem.