# Loghts are on , but vehicle won't turn over?



## rockin ronnie (Aug 29, 2005)

I've got a 91 Stanza that an great this morning but after being parked for less than 2 hours it won't even turn over. 

All the lights on the dash work and I know that the battery is fully charged. 

We even tried a boost but that didn't help,not that I expected it to, the tow truck driver thougt it might be the starter or possibly the remote control car starter? 

I am usually pretty good at diagnosing problems but I am at a complete loss as where to even begin with this one?

If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts on this one, I would certainly appreciate the feedback. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Macc (Jul 4, 2005)

First off check the battery connections and cables. A battery terminal connection can be decent enough to light the dash lights but not operate the starter. Then check the fuses (there should be one for the starter circuit). Since you have remote starter I assume you have an alarm. Unhook the negative battery cable for atleast ten seconds and then reattach. Then, depending on the type of alarm system you have, go through the process of letting the alarm relearn the remote. After doing this make sure the alarm works properly (this will help to rule out the alarm's disable feature which has been known to cause this type of problem before). You did not state whether it is an automatic or standard. I will assume automatic. If none of the above helps then try moving the shift lever into various positions and then try to start it in park (there could be a problem with the neutral safety switch/inhibitor switch). Also, while in park, push the shift lever forward while trying to start it. Then, while in park, pull the shift lever backwards towards reverse, without going out of park, while trying to start the car. If that does nothing then try banging on the starter with an object (sometimes the starter will have dead spots and banging on it will get it to work temporarily). If that doesn't work then check/jump the starter relay. If still no luck then go to checking the inhibitor switch (it could be bad). Finally, if still no luck, then maybe jump the starter directly.
Good luck, post back what find!


----------



## rockin ronnie (Aug 29, 2005)

Thanks for the help Mac, this is where I am at;

First off, yes, the car is an automatic. My initial reaction was that the steering wheel or shifter was off slightly not allowing the car to start so I tried all these things first, none of them fixed the problem, I guess that still does not rule out a fault safety switch/inhibitor though. 

I have disconnected the battery for a minimum of 10 seconds , probably closer to several minutes, and no changes. Although it does not have an alarm the door locks still work. I also tried to start the vehicle with the command start and listened to see if there was anything that would provide any clues. I could hear the system making various connections under the hood but it would stop there. 

I have checked all the fuses and they are all OK, I also checked the Fusible Links and there does not appear to be any problems with them either. 

The only thing that I haven't had any success with yet is tapping the starter to see if in fact there is a deadspot. I think that I have found it but I am not 100% sure, haven't been able to crawl under it to confirm. If it is the starter that I have found and it turns out to be the culprit I will not be looking forward to changing it. 

For now I am leaning towards two possible problems; 
1 - The starter
2 - The safety switch/inhibitor. 

I am going to keep trying any suggestions I get throughout the weekend and if I am unsuccessful I will have to haul it into a repair depot. 

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Ron


----------



## rockin ronnie (Aug 29, 2005)

Mac, it was as suspected, I tapped the starter numerous times and of course it turned over and is now running. 

With that deadspot, how often do you think that it will be a problem for me? I guess either way I should be sourcing a starter out as soon as possible.

Bottom line... probably the most difficult partto replace and it happens to be the problem. 

At any rate...THANK YOU for your help and if you can offer any other suggestions they would be appreciated. 

Thank You

Ron

Bye the Way ...My 16 year old daughter will be EXTREMELY pleased now that she doesnt have tospend the evening at home again. LOL


----------



## rockin ronnie (Aug 29, 2005)

Final Posting on this subject, I took the car fo a drive and all is well, however, when I got home and tried to start it again, it was groggy and then wouldn't turn over again. 

Guess I wiull be towing it to a shop on Monday and having the starter replaced. 

Thanks

Ron


----------

