Oldsmobile wont start.

A neighbor across the street from me owns a 1995 Oldsmobile, 3900 Series II engine.This morning, his car wont start.He said the battery is good and the battery cables are clean and tight.The horn works and the little warning beeper works.When he switches on the ignition, there is nothing at all from the starter motor.What would likely be the reason his car wont crank? cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin
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I believe you mean 3800 Series II. Find out if it is the starter system, or if the plenum has failed and the cylinders are full of water.

Reply to
HLS

My keyboard made a typo, on top of the engine it says 3800 Series II.The car is a Royale model.By plenum, do you mean the housing that contains the air filter unit?

He doesn't have any ramps to put the car on and I don't own any ramps either.He said he isn't going to crawl around under the car.As fat as I have gotten over the years, that low to the ground car would need to be on a two post lift for me to look under there.He knows a guy who works at an auto repair shop.He phoned to guy and asked him to come over and look at the car when he gets off work today cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Have him turn on the headlights and then crank, then tell us whether the headlights dim or remain unchanged while he's got the key on START.

Reply to
clifto

No, that is not the unit I am talking about, cuhulin. GM used a plastic "manifold" in this series, and it has a heat riser going through it. These things deteriorate, and may fail without any notice. They often set a code indicating multicylinder misfire, and may fill the cylinder with water, just like a blown head gasket or cracked head. Concensus is that these things fail sooner or later. Cure is to open the engine up, clean out the water if need be, install a new aftermarket plenum (improved), and button her back up. Costs $350-$700, or in that range.

Be sure you have a charged battery, turn on the lights, and then try to start the car... If you see a strong dimming effect, then the battery is pushing current to the starter, but the starter is not turning. Could be a number of things, including hydraulic lock of the engine. But you should really be able to HEAR this.

If no dimming effect, then you may have a bad connection (high resistance) somewhere in the starter circuit, a bad solenoid maybe, or a bad/open starter.

Reply to
HLS

I woke up about at 8:00 AM this morning.(little doggy, she was slurping my ear out, to take her out in the front yard) I noticed my neighbor's

1995 Oldsmobile isn't in his yard over there.I guess he got it going, somehow.The car isn't over there now.I hope that car didn't quit on him out somewhere.I don't know how to work on those new fangled contraptions. Call me dumb, but I still don't get it about the plenum thingy. cuhulin
Reply to
cuhulin

The plenum thingy;

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Reply to
aarcuda69062

Neighbor guy showed up over there about ten minutes ago in his 1995 blue Oldsmobile car.He said when the guy showed up over there yesterday evening, the car started right up.He said he said the igniion switch is going bad, it might work the next ten or fifteen years, you got to play with it.(the key in the ignition switch) cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

aarcuda69062 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.chi.sbcglobal.net:

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Reply to
Tegger

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