I have a 97 auto and the thing does not want to start all of the time. I replaced the starter, nothing, swapped out the starter relay with the wiper relay, nothing. It acts as if nothing is getting to the starter. I tried starting in neutral but that did not change anything. I can turn the ingnition once and it will work then the next time I want to start the car I may have to turn the ignition twenty times. Any ideas????

 

so the starter doesn't engage at all? Obviously you have power to everything else right? Have you used a VOM on the starter leads when trying to start it to see if it's even getting power to the starter? My guess would be short somewhere that will get jarred enough to let you start occasionally but then be grounding out most of the time.

 

What is the condition of your battery?

 

You could eliminate the starter by jumping with a wire or screwdriver across both terminals at the same time. If the starter turns over than it should be alright. If that's ok there is a part that hooks up to the key switch it's a small wire harness that is most likely the problem...you just have to undo the top and bottom plastic shroud that covers the column and replace harness.

 

Just a suggestion when I had similar symptoms with a previous car of mine... just remove your battery cables, wire brush the contacts and terminals and clean them up, replace the cables and try it again.

 

I had your problem, and replacing the entire starter (motor&solenoid) did the trick. maybe the starter you got is bad? take your old one to get tested? get your battery cleaned and tested too.... can't hurt, y'know?

almost forgot...
in my car, it wont start unless the key is pulled up while being turned, like it won't make the necessary contact by simply turning the key. i bet in your frustration you may have tried wiggling the key around and whatnot, but its just a thought.

 

good, I had it checked when I had the oil changed