Ok so I was getting ready to take my mom home from my apt and got in the car turned the key **click, click, click**

Kept trying and nothing worked...checked fuses but everything else worked fine...lights were super bright.....so I was assuming the battery was fine...

I kept trying on and off for about an hour and all of a sudden it turned over. This time the security light stayed on the whole time I drove it. I went to wal-mart....only thing open this late....and did a quick battery swap just to make sure.....well, the new one did the same thing so it wasn't the battery. MY question is what could the problem be?

When it starts it hesitates slightly like it is choking. I tried to pull codes from the ECU and I get the old 5 short 5 long so that means everything is ok according to it...

I recently did a spark plug change about 600 miles ago or a lil more. Also did an oil change about 700 miles ago which is only less than 2 weeks ago. Do you guys think that could be an issue.....the car has always started great and the starter is only about 10 months old. Since it is choking could it be the alternator?? Any feedback would help...I'm kinda stuck and don't wanna have to take it to the stealership.....

 

for some older cars, it can be the gas cap. believe it or not, if its not tight, sometimes that can happen. but if that doesn't work, check to see if you're starter is in the working order.

 

I had something similiar to this. I would turn the key and then nothing. I would then turn the key, hold it, and then it would turn on eventually. I ended up replacing the ignition switch, and everything worked fine. I got the ignition switch at auto zone for about $40.

 

Where did you get the starter from? If you are just hearing clicks, thats a sign of a bad starter... if it happens again, give the starter a whack and see if that helps... I'll put my money on a bad starter.

 

+1^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Stater is 10 months old and I just got it tested today....supposidly it is fine but the machine they used said my alternator was only putting out 4 amps of power....is that even possible.....the car starts now but it rough at first and then runs like normal.....

I'm almost certain it isn't the starter. I don't even know what to do anymore cause it is like so many little things that it could be....I have close to 134,000 so might be the alternator cause its stock still....But somehow it could be the 10 month old starter or the ignition swicth and all I have ruled out is the battery. I guess I'll go get it retested tomorrow somewhere else just to be certain.

 

Stater is from the dealer.....it's a long story but I was trying to regrease my old starter and messed up the bolt that hooks the pos batt cable to the selonoid and when I tried to take out the whole thing the bigger (14mm?) bolt wouldn't budge....tried everything and then had to get towed....they had to do drastic **** to get the bolt off and then replaced the broken selonoid and starter.

 

anything else? Since it is now struggling but eventually starting does that rule out ignition switch problems or the starter?

To recap I have no CEL or SES
I know for sure it isn't the battery cause I replaced it and it didn't help
Connections are clean
When I first tried all I got was multiple clicks
Then eventually it started
Now it struggles to start like the engine is going to die but then, once operating everything is cake

 

Sounds like alternator is going out.

 

Had it tested at another auto zone and a checker and both said starter, alternator and battery are all fine.....what about cams? What else could be the issue....The first start in the morning is the hardest but after that it struggles but usually starts on the first time.

 

Seriously, you are describing the same problems I had. I replaced the starter and the car still had the intermitent problems of starting. For mine, I would turn the key and nothing would happen. Sometimes I would turn the key, wait for a few seconds and then the car would start to turn over. I then replaced the ignition switch and everything was fine. All it took was removing about 6 screws around the steering column and unplugging the old switch and replacing with new switch. I saw another thread on here that was describing the same thing and the faulty part was the switch too.

 

dealing with similar problems right now, you can read my post about
new battery + new alternator = new problems. turns out it could have been my ignition switch the entire time. going to pick one up in a bit and replace it to hopefully solve my problems. i knew i had a bad switch but never would have thought it could cause so many problems since i could always start the car by just turning the key harder. eventually led to many headaches when i should have just replaced the damn switch.

 

omfg and my car is sitting at the dealer right now... ----_____----

Luckily they are just checking the starter since it is still under warranty....if this works I will be the happiest poor kid on the planet =P

 

So does that mean you won't be selling your soul?

 

just picked up the switch at the dealership for $37, it was cheaper there than at autozone or other places. about to replace it so if i have any other troubles i will let you know.

 

Cool thanks man

 

well i just installed the switch and everything looks good. the only other problem i had was getting to the top screw that holds the switch in. i lowered my steerig wheel all the way and had to use a combo of tools. i used a short phillips bit, like what you would put in a drill, put that in a socket and used my small ratchet to get it loose. other than that it was real easy, only took about 20 minutes for me. i hope this info is usefull to others because it seems that a bad switch will lead to more problems than previously thought. like i said you can see the problems i was experiencing in my post about new battery + new alternator = new problems. good luck!

 

Ok and now mine is fixed also....apparently it was the starter signal fuse....it is a 7.5 fuse that is in the fuse box under the steering column....I KNOW for sure that I checked it but here is my question. The dealer is saying there wasn't even a fuse there. When I got home I was PISSED but decided to try and the car had trouble starting without the fuse but still started. Apparenly when I checked it I put it in the wrong spot.....granted it was very late at night with dim lighting. My question is how can the car possibly start without the starter signal fuse and more importantly why would the car just **click click click** at first when the fuse was in there and suddenly start later??

 

I had both issues - at the same time. About a year and a half ago , I would sometimes
turn the key and nothing happened . I'd turn it a second time and car would start
right up. Wife complained about having to turn key a half dozen times on occasion.
Then one night 35 miles from home -nothing , 20 minutes of key turning, giggling, moving
gear selector and nothing. I remembered the "tap the starter" tip from the org - grabbed the tire iron and tried it . It started right up. Got home , shut it off and had
to tap starter once again to get it started. Next day put a rebuilt starter in. The car
started reliably -- cut down the occurence of turn key - no start 90%, BUT still an
occasional problem .So I Replaced the ignition switch , since then starts 1st try every time.