calling the smartest cookies out there

[buffblazer]

ok gotta good one for whoever thinks they know the most and can figure stuff out quick. 98 chevy 1500 4x4 ext cab farm truck at random times the vechicle will start cranking the starter. no ignition no fuel just the starter so it cranks but never starts. it does it whenever it wants you can sit in it slam the door stare at it or curse at it, it picks the time and place to do it. ignition off by the way. i figured it out but it took me 2 days so i wanna see how long it takes for someone to mention what the closest to the right anwser is because nobody will ever guess the exact cause. so any questions ask away i will try and help clear up a few things but i wanted to share this with everyone because it had everyone in the shop wondering. a few hints no blown fuses and a brand new starter on the truck, and it was doing this before the customer put the starter on it. have fun....

 

[Pookster]

ok gotta good one for whoever thinks they know the most and can figure stuff out quick. 98 chevy 1500 4x4 ext cab farm truck at random times the vechicle will start cranking the starter. no ignition no fuel just the starter so it cranks but never starts. it does it whenever it wants you can sit in it slam the door stare at it or curse at it, it picks the time and place to do it. ignition off by the way. i figured it out but it took me 2 days so i wanna see how long it takes for someone to mention what the closest to the right anwser is because nobody will ever guess the exact cause. so any questions ask away i will try and help clear up a few things but i wanted to share this with everyone because it had everyone in the shop wondering. a few hints no blown fuses and a brand new starter on the truck, and it was doing this before the customer put the starter on it. have fun....

Someone leave a coat hanger/wire/screw driver by the starter?

 

[buffblazer]

no the starter is wired right and there is nothing interfering with the wires around the starter

 

[USSkoval]

Someone leave a coat hanger/wire/screw driver by the starter?

X2. Maybe bad ignition switch (the switch itself, not the key lock)?

 

[buffblazer]

X2. Maybe bad ignition switch (the switch itself, not the key lock)?

thought the same thing at first but no the ignition switch tested out ok but we ended up putting a new one in anyway just to double check and it still didnt fix it.

 

[Jason4x4]

prndl switch?

 

[kgblazerfive]

remote start from the old alarm

 

[wasted wages]

Radio waves from the planet Nebulon were exactly on the same radio frequency as the windings in the starter solenoid and whenever Micheal Jackson's song "Beat It" came on the radio the starter would engage ?.....

 

[badmix]

garage door opener interfereing.

 

[vortec]

coolant leaking onto the wires?


maybe a mouse name jerry goofing around?

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

Radio waves from the planet Nebulon were exactly on the same radio frequency as the windings in the starter solenoid and whenever Micheal Jackson's song "Beat It" came on the radio the starter would engage ?.....

most creative..... I've got my money on this as the cause

 

[noJeepshere]

Starter: check.
Screwdriver: none
Starter switch: check
whats left? the starter relay under the hood. also, use a multimeter to find if any of the wires are shorting to ground. The starting system on these chevys are switched to the ground side, meaning they have power straight from the battery, and the switch is behind the load on the ground wire. If there is a short on the ground side, it will make the circuit active. Get a wiring diagram of the ignition system and start poking.

 

[Mudstud]

Squirl, snake? Anytype of creatures involved?

 

[onetonbb74]

Since it's a ranch truck, here is my guess, Last year a rat chewed threw some wires on my grandpa's 91 (nice and warm spot for a rat to spend the night after the engine is warm), I couldn't figure it out until i replaced the starter, the wires didnt reach all the way down to make things easy, so i pulled the wireloom apart and found a bunch of bare wires inside and the convulated tubing all chewed, so i rewired it and was good to go. Rat poision pelets were the trick. The purple wire was arcing on the red wire inside the harness, if you drove the truck, and you hit a speed bump, the starter would engage and make that gawd awful sound.

 

[Mike D]

How about this. The 10 guage wire that comes from the alternator to the top(+) of the starter ( that charges the battery ) was randomly touching the start wire connection within the wiring harness because heat and age has crumbled the insulation where the wires come close to the exhaust manifold ( near cylinder 8 ). These two parallel (bare) wires touch when the door is slammed or the truck rocked. This will cause the starter to crank but the engine would not start ( ignition is off ).

WAS THIS THE PROBLEM ???!!! -- I am dying to know!

 

[USSkoval]

Aww, c'mon, spill the beans already

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

I think its a gremlin.... maybe the same gremlin that is now trying to kill me

 

[Dafey]

subscribed

 

[NorCalKid]

Aww, c'mon, spill the beans already

I agree this thread is just teasing me

 

[Cowboy_80]

It was the cat that won the 'tie their tails together' fight and still had a piece of bailing wire attached to its tail. Every time it crawled under the truck for a place to rest it jumped the starter.

Other than that I would have to guess a anti theft switch under the seat that would get triggered depending on how you sit.