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'01 Blazer: Intermittent Starting Problems

Me again... I'm continuing to have a problem with my '01 Blazer (4.3L) that I thought I had cleared up last week. Here's the story: The wife takes it to work one day last week when we had some bad weather. She said it turned over slowly when she went to work, and at the end of the day, it just went "click, click, click" when she tried to start it to come home. We went out and jump started it without any problems. Got it home, pulled the battery and took it to a local shop. The guy there said that it was taking a charge, but to put it on a charger overnight... which I did. The next day, the vehicle popped right off perfectly. I drove the vehicle into town and had the guy at the battery shop test the battery again, test the charging system and check to see if there was any unusual draw on the battery when the vehicle was shut off. Everything checked out ok. So... I've driven the vehicle for a week now without any problems.

Today, we took a little 60 mile (round trip) jaunt to do some major grocery shopping, etc. We made several stops. When we returned home, I parked the vehicle closer to the front door to make the unloading of our bounty a little easier. I shut the vehicle off and unloded our goods. About a half hour later, I attempted to start it so that I could move it to its rightful place in the driveway. I got the "errr... err... err... click... click... click..." of an engine trying unsuccessfully to fire.

Anyone hazard a guess as to what's going on here?

Thanks!

P.S. Thanks to all who gave input about my $12 spark plug question!

Reply to
Phil McCracken
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Sounds to me like a bad ground somewhere

Reply to
justin

How old is the battery?

Reply to
aarcuda69062

Not sure. I've had the vehicle two years and it now has 138K on it. It is an AC-Delco, and when I pulled it last week I noticed that it didn't have one of those month/year things that indicate purchase/in service date for warrantee purposes, so I assumed it might even be the OEM factory battery. I could be wrong, tho.

Reply to
Phil McCracken

Take it to a shop or a parts store and get the battery load tested.

Reply to
Curmudgeon

Things that come to mind, are dirty battery terminals. Old battery. And charging system problems. Could also be something draining the battery, but doesn't sound likely.

I'd suggest since you've had the battery tested. Unscrew the cables from the battery. Push out the bolt / stud fromt he plastic ends of the cable. Wirebrush the bolt, and the metal end of the cable. Apply some grease for water protection, and put it back together.

If the battery has removable caps, check for water level. Many batteries now days don't have removable caps.

On my Blazer, drivers side, front of the front wheel, under the hood. Is the other fuse panel. I found the cable that comes from the battery, and was able to remove the cable from the fuse block. That gave me access point (beween cable and threaded stud) to check for amperage draw. You might have something like a light bulb left on.

Also please check the voltage at the battery with the engine running. Should be over 13.5, I think 13.8 is the usual value.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Near me, Advance Auto Parts will do load tests for free. I've been told Interstate is the best brand of battery. How true is this? Don't know.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Just a follow up...

Went to get all that work done on my Blazer this morning. My mechanic diagnosed the starting problem as a bad starter which was, for whatever reason, drawing current from the battery. So, a remanufactured starter is going on Thursday morning.

A P.S. regarding the $12 plugs... He pulled a couple plugs and determined that I did not need them replaced at this time.

Thanks to all for your time and input!

Reply to
Phil McCracken

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