'89 GT won't start

swt89pony said:

I have a '89 GT. If I jump it it will start, but as soon as I shut it off it won't start again till I jump it. I have replaced the battery, battery terminals, starter, coil, altnator. I have check all the grounds that I can find in the engine bay. They are all good. I am hoping someone out there can please help me.

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Can you keep it running by holding the throttle open?

swt89pony said:

ya it will run fine once it gets started

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Oh ok, I thought it was stalling or something.

Do you hear any clicking? How about the starter solenoid?

We assume that when you go to start the car, it makes no noise or maybe you get a faint click. If not, post up what noise it makes.

When it otherwise would not start for you, see if the headlights will stay bright for a little while. If not, the battery does not have enough stored energy to start the car.

If the headlights are plenty bright, recheck the battery terminals and the negative battery cable.

Good luck.

maybe you have a drain on the batt??

While its running use a multimeter to check and see if the alternator is charging the batt.

Here's a checklist:

Since some of the tests will bypass the safety interlocks, make sure that the car is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Becoming a pancake isn’t part of the repair process…

Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.

A voltmeter is handy if you are familiar with how to use it to find bad connections. Measure the voltage drop across a connection: more than .5 volts across a connection indicates a problem.
See http://www.fluke.com/application_notes/automotive/circuit.asp?AGID=1&SID=103 for help


1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check battery.

2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.

3.) Jump the big terminals on the starter relay next to the battery with a screwdriver - watch out for the sparks! If the engine cranks, the starter and power wiring is good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.

4.) Then pull the small push on connector (red wire) off the starter relay (Looks like it is stuck on a screw). Then jump between the screw and the terminal that is connected to the battery. If it starts, the relay is good and your problem is in the rest of the circuit.

5.) Remember to check the ignition switch, neutral safety switch on auto trans and the clutch safety switch on manual trans cars. If they are good, then you have wiring problems.
Typical start circuit...

Diagram courtesy of Tmoss and Stang&2birds.


See http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d80195963.gif for 88-90 year cars .OR see http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d80195964.gif for 91-93 year cars. See http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/1d/db/3c/0900823d801ddb3c.jsp for 94-95 model cars.

6.) The starter may be hung, loosen up the bolts that hold it on, and give it a good whack with a big hammer. Tighten up the bolts and try again.

7.) If that doesn't work, use a jumper cable from the positive lead on the battery direct to the starter post where the big wire from the relay connects. If it cranks then, it is the power wire from the relay gone bad. This will be hard to do, since there isn't much room to do it.

8.) Pull the starter and take it to Autozone or Pep Boys and have them test it. Starter fails test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.