91 Bonnaville SSE 3.8 Starting problem

Look down in between the radiator & block. The starter is on the right

How old is the starter? Have your altenator checked out as well. Was the volt meter gauge reading low?

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~287,124 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

I don't know how old the starter is. I bought my SSE over 4 years ago, and I had a brand new altenator put in little over 2 years ago. The volt gage was reading about 12 volts while the motor was running a few days ago, all though while starting the motor was very slow until now I have NO power to start the moter and full power everwhere else. I tried looking around on the right side in between the raditor and the block, all I can make out is a bunch of 4 small metal what looks like brake lines for the aircompressor, radiator hose, a aircompressor pump for the shocks, and the transmission housing. On the left side is the airconditioning compressor. Can you please tell me where the celenoid might be? I need to start cheapest first, not much money to work with. I feel really stupid for not knowing all this... Thank you for helping, any help at all is greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you Norm

The starter is right where I said it was, only now it appears to be blcoked by all the parts you mentioned in your previous post. The Solenoid is mounted to the starter. When you take the two bolts out holding the starter the solenoid comes off with it.

You may have to remove some of the other parts blocking access to the starter.

Good Luck.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~287,629 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

I'm sure the starter is there, it has to be were you say it is, I'll go from undernieth the car this time. Thanks for your help Harryface.

Thanks Again Norm

Harryface, I found the starter by crawling undernieth the front of the car. I grabbed my lug wrench and started hammering on the starter while my wife was turning the ingnition, the starter started turning over while I was pounding, but there was not enough power to start the motor. Does this mean that its the celenoid or could it still be the starter too? What would you replace first?

Thanks Harryface for your help, Norm

First, I'd make sure I got a fully charged battery and good, clean connections at the cables and connections at the starter. If you can get the starter off take it to an auto parts store that test's starters & altenator's the service is genrally free and can solve alot of guess work..

Sometimes banging on a starter will jar it enough to get it to start a vehicle. The brushes wear down & ground out on the comutator which prohibits the no start condition. Other internal parts also wear out.

If your going to buy a starter get a new solenoid too. There already mounted & ready to go.

A weak altenator can also cause drains the battery which can effect starter operation as well. Might be time to have the altenator tested too.

Good Luck.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~287,629 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

OK, I Charged the Battery all night to make sure it was fully charged, and same thing as yesterday, I was pounding on the starter as my wife was turning the ignition, the starter was turning over as I was hitting it but not enough power to start the engine. I'm going to take out the atarter this weekend and get it tested like you say, and then go from there. Thanks Harryface for you help, you helped me out alot.

Thanks Man, Norm

If you are reasonably mechanically inclined, try replacing the starter brushes yourself. I do my own, and it's no big deal. Add a new solenoid while you're at it, and you should be in better shape than if you had bought a rebuilt.

With a rebuilt, there's no way to know how badly abused the field windings and / or armature windings were, or if they were even tested properly. They can be marginal and still work OK in reasonable conditions, but fail you when they're hot or when you need extra cranking power (northern climates).

I'd go with a rebuilt only as a last resort, if your current starter is cooked.

If you try your own brush replacement and fail, well, all you're out is the cost of the brushes. Versus the cost of a rebuilt starter... It's almost a no-lose proposition.