Shorting Out the Starter?

Charity
Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:18:02 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Hi. My “piece of junk” (as my husband refers to it) 2002 Chevy Venture broke down on me last year. It felt and sounded like a tire blew. There were no warning signs. It was very sudden. I had it towed to where I was buying it and they told me the motor was blown because I had let it run out of oil. I knew this wasn’t the case (letting it run out of oil) and so I brought it home. My husband discovered the oil pump was not working but before I could afford to put one on to see if this fixed it, it was repo-ed as I had lost my job for no transportation. For about a month, the car lot intended to take the vehicle to auction and then sue me for the rest. I was finally able to work out an arrangement with them where they held the car until I got my student loan money and paid for it. When I got it back, I expected it to start and to be able to try the oil pump. However, now it will only start when you short out the starter, runs for a second and dies. During these brief seconds, we discovered that the oil pump is pumping oil. I have a theory that while they intended to sell the vehicle, they started to fix it. But why will it only start if the starter is shorted out and then not continue to run? Will a new starter solve this? And could the motor completely blow up in a matter of minutes from the oil pump going out? If you have muddled through this to the end, thanks! If you can help me with these questions, even more thanks!

20 posts - 13 participants