'97 Chevy Lumina Startnig Problems

Hey all. My Grandparents have a 1997 Chevy Lumina with the 3.1L V6 and around 65,000 KM's on it. The problem is at times the car won't start. You can turn on the ignition, and the radio, air blower, and all the toys work, but when you turn the key to 'start' all you hear is a click (no power drain is apparent either when turning the key). Other then that, the car runs fine. This only happens about once every few months, but it happened twice today. After you leave it for a few minutes, it will start and work fine until it decides to do it again. The car has one of those keys with the chip in it, but we have tried two keys from that car, and they both do the same thing, and the one key has only been used a few times (it's not brand new, but it's never used). Now, as you can guess, with only 65,000 KM's (not miles) on the car, it doesn't get driven too much, but I am wondering if anyone out there has any idea's? One person I talked too said maybe I need to replace the lock cylinder.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all.

Reply to
80 Knight
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Although it could be as simple as a loose battery cable, my first guess would be the starter solenoid. I had basically the same symptoms in my

2000 cargo van, except I just kept turning the key from run to start until it started. The rate at which it worked declined rapidly and I feared getting stuck somewhere. Luckily I have a guy in town who rebuilds starters. Instead of buying a new starter that listed at about $200, I think I paid about $20 for a new solenoid and installed it myself. That was in spring and I haven't had a problem since. Oh, the the guy who owns the shop told me he replaces a lot of them on Chevy starters. I'd tell you how to test it for sure just using a screwdriver, but I don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself.

If you happen to try the repair yourself, please remove the positive cable from the battery first and replace it last!

Reply to
Tony Miklos

Could be a bad ignition switch or gear switch.

Reply to
« Paul »

Second this one..... I have owned Chevy's forever and I have repaired/replaced MANY solenoids. The copper disk inside gets HOT/Burnt and causes the other parts to make lousy contact, the parts that carry the juice to the motor itself. The click you hear is probably the solenoid pulling in, where if all was normal would be followed by the motor spinning up and turning over the engine.

Reply to
Sportster4Eva

Had the same problem with a '95 Lumina, although I would get cranking but no start. If it is not the starter solenoid, which others have rightly pointed out, then I would try replacing the ignition module. This worked for my 3.1L van, may work for you. Good luck.

Reply to
Aujr2

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