Starting issue....

[heavy4x4]

Hey all, hopefully you can help my Dad with this problem.

He has a '97 Chevy Suburban that has recently been experiencing weird starting issues. Here's the breakdown:
-Sometimes when he turns the key, all he gets is a clicking from the starter
-Thinking it was the battery (it was 8 years old), he replaced it...same thing
-Then, he replaced the starter ($160!)...still happening

What could it be? I thought of two things...the ignition switch or alternator. However, I don't think it's either. Whenever he turns the key, he'll get the clicking, so it's not like the ignition switch is failing some times and working at other times. And, I don't think it's a charging issue, because after he makes the starter click between 10-20 times, it will turn over (so the battery does have enough juice).

What could it be? Sometimes it starts just fine, other times it clicks.

/forums/images/graemlins/1zhelp.gif /forums/images/graemlins/1zhelp.gif

 

[89K1500Chevy]

Mabey he got another bad starter. make sure the wires are all tight and not grounding out somewhere check the cables. hope that helps.

 

[zcarczar]

Check your grounds and battery cables, a bad connections will cause hte problem your experiencing.

 

[heavy4x4]

Any specific areas to check other than at the battery and starter?

 

[zcarczar]

You could check the relay, try and find a diagram of the starting system and go through and check everything.

 

[HarryH3]

Also check for corrosion in the battery cable ends. I've seen side terminals look just fine, but they had corrosion between the battery and the cable, causing the same symptoms.

In a salty climate like yours it's also possible that corrosion has travelled down into the battery cables, inside the insulation. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[jac6695]

I agree with Harry. My 97 GMC (from Maryland) had the corrosion build up between the cable terminal and the bolt, and was causing the battery to not charge (dual batteries for the 6.5). I also worked on a 94 GMC Suburban that did the same thing as yours. I suspected the cable on that was the problem.