what could be wrong?

Asked by jjzander Apr 24, 2016 at 05:45 PM about the 2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

nothing is on. my battery drains over night. car wont start. no sound when
trying to start. i by passed the battery to selenoid, checks ok. not sure how to
check starter itself unless i take it off the car?

1 Answer

42,415

The first thing you should do before touching the starter: You did check the start RELAY and fuse? I suggest once again Perform a voltage drop test on the starting system. Postive .05 drop. Negative side .02 drop this DOES NOT just check static voltage! if the start circuit is not functional it will indicate so. 1. The car Grand Am MUST be CRANKING! it will apply power directly to the starter without energizing the ignition, have an assistant help or use a remote handheld contact switch connected to S terminal of starter. If It does NOT crank with the remote switch change the STARTER! Connect your multi meter RED lead to battery + next connect Black- lead to starter POSITIVE B terminal at starter. You can test the POS side of circuit for current flow .05 or less OK. Next, NEG side of circuit remove RED lead + and connect to battery NEG side then remove the Black lead from B terminal to starter housing.. when cranking it will give a Negative number still the amount of voltage drop -0.2 OK, IF cranking and these numbers are OK...START RELAY or FUSE. Regards....

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