95 Olds Cutlass Supreme; ignition won't turn over

Asked by Anna Aug 12, 2015 at 04:55 PM about the 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 4 Dr S Sedan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My car is having ignition issues; it won't turn
over, it just clicks. This started at about
100k miles, it now has 120k. At 90k the
head gasket blew and so that has been
repaired. I had the battery, alternator, spark
plugs and timing belt all changed then too.
My friend suggested maybe it is an
electrical problem in the switch in the
steering column. When the problem first
started all I had to do was jimmy the shifter
around in park and it would start no
problem. It's since gotten worse and now is
incredibly difficult to get it turned over.
Sometimes it starts up just fine on the first
try, but it is never consistent, I never do the
same thing twice to get it going. My battery
light hasn't come on, though I've thought
about changing it out along with the
alternator and spark plugs again. Do you
think it's more complicated than that? Will
this be an expensive fix?

2 Answers

18,685

Find the problem before randomly replacing things. Have your battery load tested. That will tell you whether its worn out or not. Your alternator can also be tested to find out if its faulty. If its been replaced it is unlikely that that's your problem, but you need to rule it out. Also your starter could be the culprit. Again, it can be tested. Spark plugs won't prevent your car from starting nor will ignition wires. Check that your battery cables are tight at both ends and that the connections are clean. Check your signal light flasher. Mine was a plastic one and the clamp that holds it had actually crushed it. That seemed to be creating some sort of a draw on the system that made it start inconsistently. I changed the flasher and all my electrical problems went away. Strange, but true. The fact that moving the shifter used to help a bit is worth investigating further after you have ruled out the main electrical components. Could be a broken wire or loose connection.

2 people found this helpful.

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