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Car trouble this morning...

JohnCU

JohnCU

Banned
This morning I got up about 6 and went and got my car (1997 Chevy Lumina, 59k miles) and drove it to my dorm so I could go ahead and load up my stuff and head home later this afternoon. Well I parked the car, put on the emergency blinkers (so I wouldn't be towed) and went and got my stuff. Come back, load the stuff into the trunk, get in the car, turn off the blinkers, and turn the key. The radio and dashlights and everything came on but when I turned the key there was no sound from the motor. None at all. I didn't think it was the battery because the radio and windows worked.

I then thought it may be the trunk, so I popped open the trunk and slammed it back hard. The car started fine. I drove it about 10 miles and it still did fine. Could the trunk have been the problem?

It could have been the weather, too. It rained the past 2 days non-stop and this morning it is still very foggy and damp... thanks.
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
your car may have a safety to not start when the truck is open, though i have never heard of that before.
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Quite weird, but possible I suppose 😱
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Wouldn't want to let your kidnapee's escape, would ya?
 
I'd think that you might have a loose connection on your starter. Slamming the trunk lid jarred the wire enough that it started. I would have said to check the connections on your battery, but since your windows work, I doubt that's it.
 
There should be no connection between the trunk and the ignition system. I suspect that there might be a bad connection somewhere - which was slapped back into shape when you slammed the trunk. If I were you, I'd have some basic electronic diagnostics performed on the car, the battery terminals cleaned and possibly the terminals to the starter itself. Also, is the battery the original battery? There could be enough juice to provide power for the interior light and radio - but, not enough to turn your car over. Cold weather usually "makes or breaks" your battery. During the simple electronic diagnosis, they could check the battery to see if it's starting to die on you.

Best of luck! 😉
 
Originally posted by: radioouman
I'd think that you might have a loose connection on your starter. Slamming the trunk lid jarred the wire enough that it started. I would have said to check the connections on your battery, but since your windows work, I doubt that's it.
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I think we were thinking the same thing. It took me about 5 minutes to formulate what I wanted to say, so my response took about 5 minutes. However, to our credit, great minds think alike. 😀
 
I had really wierd problems like that whenever I turned off my hazard's and tried to resume normal operation. This was just before needing to replace my alternator so good luck.

 
sounds like a wire loose on either the starter or celinoid (SP?). Or a starter/celinoid starting to go bad... If it does it again in the next couple days, I would have it looked at. Otherwise it will eventually get to where it will not start unless you pop the clutch (And alot have security not to allow that these days) for a manual shift tranny. For a automatic, well your sh!t out of luck.


 
the question is; is the problem repeatable? Can you "do what you did" again and analyze how it happened? If not... umm.. blame GM, I do I have 2 of 'em 😱
 
You could easily test to see if it was the trunk by going outside and trying to start the car with the trunk open. You could also contact a dealer and ask if there is a safety device installed on that model that would cause that to happen. 🙂


: ) Amanda
 
I don't know about a fuel cutoff in the trunk, but i may call the dealership later today and stop by and see what they say.
 
Originally posted by: JohnCU
I don't know about a fuel cutoff in the trunk, but i may call the dealership later today and stop by and see what they say.
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As others mentioned can you replicate this by opening the trunk and being unable to start the car? No need to call a dealership to see about a fuel cutoff in the trunk if, when you try this again, you're able to start the car.

 
When you say trunk, are you referring to the front of the car, or the rear of the car.


😀


seriously, I vote for a loose starter connetion or maybe a bad spot on the starter.
 
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