starting problems

i bought a 95 s series sw2 at an impound auction. i had to put a battery in
it and have a key made. when i try to start it i get dash lights and
headlights but thats it. no solenoid click, nothing. there's a new cable
going from the battery to the starter and i found a receipt in the car for
a starter that was recently put on. everything looks right. what else could
it be?

"eabbott" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
>i bought a 95 s series sw2 at an impound auction. i had to put a battery in
> it and have a key made. when i try to start it i get dash lights and
> headlights but thats it. no solenoid click, nothing. there's a new cable
> going from the battery to the starter and i found a receipt in the car for
> a starter that was recently put on. everything looks right. what else
> could
> it be?
>

My first step would be to check the ground cable.

Bad cables (positive and negative), bad/corroded connections (at either
end), a defective ignition switch, starter relay, or starter solenoid?


"eabbott" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
>i bought a 95 s series sw2 at an impound auction. i had to put a battery in
> it and have a key made. when i try to start it i get dash lights and
> headlights but thats it. no solenoid click, nothing. there's a new cable
> going from the battery to the starter and i found a receipt in the car for
> a starter that was recently put on. everything looks right. what else
> could
> it be?
>

In article >, "NapalmHeart" > wrote:
>
>"eabbott" > wrote in message
alkaboutautos.com...
>>i bought a 95 s series sw2 at an impound auction. i had to put a battery in
>> it and have a key made. when i try to start it i get dash lights and
>> headlights but thats it. no solenoid click, nothing. there's a new cable
>> going from the battery to the starter and i found a receipt in the car for
>> a starter that was recently put on. everything looks right. what else
>> could
>> it be?
>>
>
>My first step would be to check the ground cable.

If the lights work, the ground cable is good.

I wonder about the battery, though -- the OP didn't specifically say that he
put a *new* battery in it, and it's quite possible for a weak battery to have
enough juice to light up the headlights partially, but not enough to turn the
starter.

It can be very hard to judge, in the _daytime_, just how bright a headlight
is, and so seeing headlights isn't necessarily an indication of a strong
battery. Put a voltmeter on the battery. Should see _well_over_ 12V (e.g. 12.8
to 13+) if you want to have any hope of turning the starter over.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

thanks guys, i appreciate your sugestions. i thought i might have missed
something, but i've already checked all those out. last night while i was
going thru different web sites like this one, i don't remember where, but
on one of them it said that alot of the 91-95 s series cars had a factory
installed anti-theft device. are any of you familiar with that? on the
bottom of the dash, right under the hood release, my car has a little box
with a plug. on the back side is a group of six wires that go up and join
the main bundle of wires that continue on thru the fire wall. could this
be an anti-theft device? if so how can i get the piece i need to plug into
it? i'd really appreciate any info you guys might have about this.

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:55:54 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

>If the lights work, the ground cable is good.
>
>I wonder about the battery, though -- the OP didn't specifically say that he
>put a *new* battery in it, and it's quite possible for a weak battery to have
>enough juice to light up the headlights partially, but not enough to turn the
>starter.


If it was the battery or ground cable, the light would basically go
out when you tried to crank it, not just dim a bit. Also GM starter
generally need at least 9V at starter to engage and if it is below
that it will not do squat when you try to crank it.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

eabbott wrote:


> on one of them it said that alot of the 91-95 s series cars had a factory
> installed anti-theft device. are any of you familiar with that? on the
> bottom of the dash, right under the hood release, my car has a little box
> with a plug. on the back side is a group of six wires that go up and join
> the main bundle of wires that continue on thru the fire wall. could this
> be an anti-theft device?

The plug you're seeing is the ALDL (OBD1) plug.

Unless you have the RKE, you do not have factory anti-theft. I'm pretty
sure that wasn't even an option until '97.

Kevin