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Help Please!!! 94 Impala Starting Problem?

3.4K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  defdaboss  
#1 ·
I am new here so please bare with me. Ok. From the start this is what led up to the point that I am at now.

My Impala stopped blowing cold air about 2 or 3 months ago. I didn't worry about it too much. I figured that I had a small leak somewhere and the freon had escaped. About a months ago a squeaking noise was coming from my serpentine belt. I noticed that it seemed like the compressor pulley was sticking a little bit when the air was on. So I stopped messing with the air all together.

I went to work one day and when I came back to my car that evening it would click but not turn over. Of course my first thought was that my starter had went out. So I go out and spend the money to get a new starter. I put it in and the car still clicks but won't turn over. I have my wife try to start the car while i watch all the pulleys. I see the alternator pulley trying to turn but looking like it is stuck. So I take the belt off and spin all of the pulleys. Two of them don't spin. The crank pulley and the a/c compressor pulley. So with the belt off I try to start the car again. The first 2 times I try the starter clicks and the car doesn't start. The third time the car starts and runs until I turn it off about 30 seconds later. I had a seized a/c compressor.

Now I'm slapping myself because I wasted $200+ dollars on a starter when the old one was fine. I decide to keep the new starter due to the fact that it has a lifetime warranty and I don't feel like taking it back off. I remove my a/c compressor and swap it out for an A/C Bypass Pulley. I will get a compressor later on down the road and have a shop install it. Right now I just need it running again. So everything is looking good and I put my serpentine belt back on. Now my battery is completely dead. So I get a jump and try to start it up. It just clicks once again. So I go back to the hood and look at the alternator pulley barely turning once again. I remove the serpentine belt and while still being jumped I have mt wife try to start the car. The crank pulley turns about 1/8 of a turn every time the starter clicks. I've been working on this for a while now. Does anybody have any idea what could be making the crank not turn over all the way?

Maybe starter not engaging flywheel properly? Maybe starter not getting enough power?

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this.
 
#2 ·
Maybe you just got a weak battery connection :confused:


Try taking the terminals off, cleaning them, and while you are at it run some sand paper around the battery + and - (if its a top post).


From there I would try to jump the car again, but let the car charge for a bit.... if you have to, run up the RPMs on the other car just to get the juices flowing.... let it run for a good 5 minutes or so and then try cranking it again.



Also, I could be wrong so if anything else gets effed up in the process, I assume no responsibility.
 
#3 ·
It sounds like a dead battery. Typically, when they fail they fail hard. But also check the harmonic balancer to be sure it has not worn out. Its the pulley on front of the engine coming off the crankshaft.
 
#4 ·
My car does the click thing too. If you try to turn it over a few times it will usually engage and start after a few tries. My dad had a truck do the same thing...in his case I think it was either starter or battery cables. I probably need a new battery myself and just haven't gotten to it...let us know what you find
 
#5 ·
Im with the others, clean your battery connections and cables GOOD with a wire brush. If my cables aren't clean and snugged to the point they can't be moved around at all, the car won't charge as good as it should, and eventualy one cold morning, it will just "click and groan" when cranking. I also had a starter wire get corroded up and lose connection, but it don't sound like your issue, as your engine attemps to turn over. I shut off my car in the breakfast line at Hardee's/Carls jr. so people could order, and when I went to start back, all I got was the sound of the flexplate getting hit by the bendix, but no attempt to turn the engine (absolutely NO attempt, and the battery was stout, and the cables were tight). I made alot of people mad that morning at 10:28am! I pulled my starter, had it tested, and cleaned up the terminals and connections, put it back and its been fine since then.
 
#6 ·
***Update***

After cleaning off the connections to the battery terminals I tightened the battery cables back up as snug as I could get them. I hooked the jumper cables up to my car and held the RPMS right at about 2000 for a few minutes. Afterwards, I jumped in the impala and turned the key. She started right up with no hesitation. I turned her off, hooked the serpentine belt back up, unhooked the jumper cables, and attempted to start her again. No power.

So I threw the jumpers back on, waited awhile and tried again. Once again she turned over with no hesitation. I drove around for a couple of miles and then took her back home. I let her run for about an hour in the driveway hoping that the alternator could charge the dead battery. I turned her off and on 3 times. Both times she turned over without a problem. I let her sit for 2 more hours. She started without a problem once again. I think its save to say that my impala is back.

Thanks a lot for the help. I would not have know that it was strictly a battery issue without you.