2005 Chevy cobalt shit off while driving

Asked by Dvelazquez104 Jan 17, 2019 at 09:58 AM about the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt LS Coupe FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Driving home yesterday, my car shut off at
red light. Would not start back up and it felt
like cables were loose. Turned the key
nothing happened. Cables were tight and
fine. Tapped on starter with hammer even
though starter is brand new. Turned the key
still did a click and all dashboard lights came
on but seemed dim. Had to have it towed
home. Tried it again once it was home,
turned key and multiple dashboard lights
flickered off and on back and forth, even the
rear view mirror lights.. pulled out the starter
but not sure if it has to be grounded or not to
check the pinion gear. It only engaged once
and we tried it like ten times.. won’t do
anything. Battery is brand new.. starter is
brand new. Does the starter need to be
grounded? Anyone have any ideas? Money
for a shop isn’t an option at the moment.. my
dad usually does all my car work so we buy
the parts if it’s soemthing we can do.

5 Answers

65,470

Battery maybe new but if terminals was loose alternator was not charging the battery so you need to have the battery charged.

1 people found this helpful.
22,630

Load test battery now to see if any cells are dead. Do a complete charge if battery is still acceptable before running car. A low battery puts too much strain on alternator sometimes ruining alternator

18,665

Scan it for trouble codes. Make sure all grounds are clean and tight. And forget about the starter. It’s used for starting the car if it shut off at a light that’s not starter related. Whatever made it stop running is also what’s preventing it from starting.

Well battery was just fine. Perfectly charged. Starter, couldn’t even get a read off of it. The guy said it’s done. So I have a 2 year warranty on it and my husband is currently taking it back to get a new one. So we do know that the starter was the reason it wasn’t turning back on. So crazy how we’ve had that starter a month and a half and it’s malfunctioned/broke already. So I’m wondering what else could have caused it.

Your Answer:

Cobalt

Looking for a Used Cobalt in your area?

CarGurus has 25 nationwide Cobalt listings starting at $1,999.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    munron
    Reputation
    8,430
  • #2
    John Carson
    Reputation
    2,290
  • #3
    MoGo
    Reputation
    1,990
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Chevrolet Malibu
43 Great Deals out of 1,156 listings starting at $1,495
Used Chevrolet Colorado
25 Great Deals out of 1,459 listings starting at $6,800
Used Chevrolet Corvette
23 Great Deals out of 1,038 listings starting at $14,900
Used Honda Civic
173 Great Deals out of 3,651 listings starting at $2,495
Used Honda Accord
44 Great Deals out of 910 listings starting at $2,799
Used Toyota Corolla
120 Great Deals out of 1,971 listings starting at $2,795
Used Chevrolet Impala
9 Great Deals out of 109 listings starting at $4,995
Used Chevrolet Equinox
85 Great Deals out of 2,789 listings starting at $4,499
Used Toyota Camry
57 Great Deals out of 981 listings starting at $2,212
Used Chevrolet Silverado 1500
184 Great Deals out of 5,897 listings starting at $2,975
Used Ford Mustang
56 Great Deals out of 1,260 listings starting at $4,995
Used Ford Focus
27 Great Deals out of 502 listings starting at $2,950

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.