2003 Cavalier Starting Issue

Just to let you know I have a question posted on here as well, but after looking at some of the answers on here I wouldn't trust anyone. Anyone can answer your questions, and right now I am in living hell with electrical problems no one is going to know exactly what wrong with your car. I can tell you that cavaliers wiring systems are all jacked up all years. Worst car I have ever owned.

_{CR4 Admin: Edited Post}

^{Abuse/Attack: This post was deleted because it was an attack on another user. Please review the CR4 Site FAQ and the CR4 Rules of Conduct.}

Thanks for taking your anger out on derailing my thread... go cry somewhere else.

I went thru the chow line at about 5:30 PM CST last night.

I see that after I had supper, sour grapes were added to the line. It appears that you, scottttttt, had an ample ration of them.

Yeah, I am hard pressed to understand why members of the forum have no interest in helping you.

Seems like some Cavalier owners have attitudes.

I guess one could hardly blame them, though. It must be stressful driving such a notorious _{(substitute favorite epithet here)} vehicle.

Nah, Lyn's just burnt out on Cavaliers. Seriously, we have tried to lobby for a special section just for Cavaliers. If you do a CR4 search on Cavalier you will see what I am talking about.

I know they fed us something about what CR4 stands for.

But beginning to beleive that the C stands for Cavalier.

I wonder what the R & 4 really stands for?

I think it stands for Return 4 another car

Check for corrosion in the fuse box/relay area. I have seen this on several GM models of late and give same indications.

Good Luck

Fixit

Bad ground somewhere.... good luck...many other forums will give you advice as they are not sick-of/burned-out/fed-up with Cavalier questions. I have never seen a car with so many problems described on any forum!|

I have to apologize because I DO know how many Cav threads you guys receive on this forum. I happened upon this forum roughly a year ago and I was able to solve my previous issue using bits and parts of everyone's replies on the thread I had going. So I will try and keep this thread alive as I try and troubleshoot my issues.

If any mods can remove scottttttt's posts to clear this negative energy, that would be largely appreciated, as I don't want that to be the focus of my fix it thread.

Thanks for the already given advice and any advice moving forward.

Brock

Oh sure, but when you report something, we do get a ticket, no need to post the request

It does sound like you may have multiple problems: 1. something is discharging your battery(but not each time you park) - perhaps contacts on a relay sometimes weld together, or perhaps a relay is being held in by some stray current.... 2. failing to crank/light the dash/prime the fuel ( after re-charging the battery) - this could be one or more bad contacts, or that same (possibly) welded relay contacts or other cause of power drain, draining some of the charging current. I would suggest installing an AMMETER in your charge/power line from the battery (NOT between the battery and Alternator) and check for discharge each time you park. Then when you observe the discharge you can disconnect circuits one at a time by pulling fuses until the discharge stops .... then you have localized you problem to that circuit and you can then chase it further using similar methodology.

Please do not hate all of us here. It just seems that the more Cavalier posts we get, the more flood in.

I do not like the idea of an amp meter as WAWAUS suggested, but in this case there is some merit to the use of one. Have you had the battery tested? If the battery is going dead, you will need to find out why before condemning anything else electrical.

Be careful with the amp meter install. There will be up to 60 amps going through it at times. Make sure there are fuses at both connections to prevent the chance of shorting the wires out. There could be a light that does not go out when parked, like a trunk light or a glove box light. Also pull the cigarette lighter completely out of the socket to be sure it is not sucking the life out of your battery. Good luck.

Hello. A lot written here so at the risk of duplicating;

Cavaliers are known to have high ignition starter current . Chevrolets fix was to install a starter relay. Now the ignition switch lasts longer but it is neccessary to replace the starter relays about every 5 years or so. About $ 14.00 @ Autozone. (not an endorsement). The starter relay is a good point to start your troubleshooting the starter circuit.

Hope this helps.

I am going to start by getting this battery checked and tested at les schwab. I will let you all know how that turns out. I have read in the past that if there is not enough charge, I could still crank but not get electrical cooperation... Not sure if it is true but it definitely is the cheapest place to start.

Hello. Yes battery condition is a good start. General rule of thumb we use is the battery maintains a minimum of 9 volts for the electronics while cranking.

hope this helps.