No crank after replacing starter.

[Frog]

Howdy all,
I have a 2005 LS AWD with 3.4v6.
Bought the car with blown head gasket. Replaced head gaskets, test ran. Discovered the a/c clutch is seizing and killing the motor. Starter was giving issues as well. Car sat for a few months. Towed it to my garage about 200 feet in neutral but still sounded like was in park. No idea why making that noise. No battery in car at the time, but still shifted into neutral when depressing brake pedal. Replaced starter, removed belt to eliminate a/c killing the motor so could test run for a couple minutes. Turn key, no power to starter. All fuses are good, checked them all. Checked grounds, all are good. Good battery with good connections. Test light shows no power to solenoid when key in start position. With key in run position I can short across solenoid and engine will start and run for about 3 seconds and die. Also, mysteriously, no turn signals or hazard lights now. All fuses and connections are good. Could this possibly be an ignition switch issue? Just don't want to start throwing parts at it. Car has about 188k miles on it. Thanks for any and all input!

 

[Frog]

Thanks for the reply. Starter is new, and I bench tested it before installing it. Battery good with full charge. (Even tested battery on older rv with 454 engine, turned it over great, 800cca). Test light shows no power to starter solenoid when key in start position. The only changes since it ran before is, it sat for a few months with no battery, new starter, removed serp belt to bypass a/c clutch that's frozen, and it was towed in neutral about 200 feet. There are a few rodent droppings under the hood but no sign of damages, and they never got inside the car. I even removed the battery box to make sure no nests or damage to wiring or hoses. All looks good. Starter has 2 larger wires that connect to the large terminal on the solenoid, and the smaller one that connects to the small terminal. Starter works when shorting across terminals. Engine starts and runs for about 3 seconds then dies. It acts like power not going thru start/run circuit. I'm leaning toward replacing ignition switch...

 

[Frog]

I'm kinda OCD when unplugging wires, hoses, connectors. Everything is tagged with label maker if I unhooked it. Nothing I can find is not where it should be. It ran after doing head gaskets, all I've done since is replace the starter, as the old one was getting weak. What would make the drive train sound like it was being towed in park, even though it was in neutral, and could that have anything to do with this? Oh, I did check to make sure I didn't bump any wires or harnesses when I removed the serp belt, just to make sure. I've looked on all sides and under motor/trans and on top, just to make sure all wires and plugs are in place. I can't find anything that is unhooked or loose. I've even been under the car to see if a wire got pulled when it was towed. I can't find anything out of place...

 

[Frog]

Ok. I'm just gonna say this makes no sense to me. I found a 10 Amp fuse for the ac clutch that was blown. I put a new one in, and just cuz I've done it after every single thing I've tried, I turned the key. Dang thing started up and ran nice and smooth! So, somehow, the ac clutch fuse will disable the ignition. Man, I just don't understand why, but it worked.

 

[Frog]

The fuse for the ac clutch must have blown the last time the clutch seized and killed the motor. I have the compressor out now and I can't turn the pulley, it's totally seized. Funny thing though, I thought I was very thorough going fuse by fuse checking them all, but somehow missed that one. Oh well, I now know how to remove the battery box easily, and know my neutral safety switch is in the correct position. I found an online manual that's about 26,000 pages long, and around the 7,400 page or so there was a reference about what systems each of the modules (ECM, PCM, etc.) control, and it showed the ac system and start system controlled by the same module. That was what made me check all fuses again. Crazy. The things we learn, huh? Thanks again for the help! This forum is a great resource. Hope maybe my adventure helps someone else!

 

[Frog]

Here's a link to the manual I found online.

Chevrolet Equinox Service Manual PDF [2005-2010] | ServicingManuals

Find Chevrolet Equinox service manuals in PDF format for the years 2005 through to 2010 for free. View them online, print them or download the original to keep on your computer.

servicingmanuals.com

 

[Frog]

I'm in Oregon. On the coast. We don't use salt on the roads, fortunately. And the sea salt air isn't bad if you keep your car clean. My '05 Equinox has no rust anywhere. But, on all my vehicles, I like to take them thru the car wash that cleans the underside with soapy spray too, just to help keep salty road grime from building up.
On my '72 Chevy C20 and my squarebody suburban I keep all the drains and frame channels and wheel wells rinsed out to avoid rust as long as I can. The best you can do is try to keep any place that crud can deposit cleaned out and free of build up. We get lots of rain, so it helps keep things rinsed out pretty well.

 

[95-007]

The fuse for the ac clutch must have blown the last time the clutch seized and killed the motor. I have the compressor out now and I can't turn the pulley, it's totally seized. Funny thing though, I thought I was very thorough going fuse by fuse checking them all, but somehow missed that one. Oh well, I now know how to remove the battery box easily, and know my neutral safety switch is in the correct position. I found an online manual that's about 26,000 pages long, and around the 7,400 page or so there was a reference about what systems each of the modules (ECM, PCM, etc.) control, and it showed the ac system and start system controlled by the same module. That was what made me check all fuses again. Crazy. The things we learn, huh? Thanks again for the help! This forum is a great resource. Hope maybe my adventure helps someone else!

Interesting story, I'm going to look into my service manuals schematic diagrams tomorrow to see why that fuse makes sense as a failsafe for the starting circuit. (or not)

Thanks,

Brad

 

[95-007]

Interesting story, I'm going to look into my service manuals schematic diagrams tomorrow to see why that fuse makes sense as a failsafe for the starting circuit. (or not)

Thanks,

Brad

It turns out that there are a couple of circuits that need to give the "go ahead signal" to the PCM to allow the grounding of the starter relay. I guess best practice should be to check every underhood fuse in a no crank situation. Good info to know, thanks for blazing the path.

 

[Frog]

It turns out that there are a couple of circuits that need to give the "go ahead signal" to the PCM to allow the grounding of the starter relay. I guess best practice should be to check every underhood fuse in a no crank situation. Good info to know, thanks for blazing the path.

Happy to help, and glad I found it. So strange to have the "go ahead signal" for the start circuit tied to the ac clutch. I just hope this helps someone else fix their issue sooner.
My name is Brad too. My kids just call me Frog. Stands for Freakin Ridiculously Old Guy. I'm 13 years older than their mom.
Oh, one other thing. I'm surprised through the whole no start issue that NO codes were triggered. One day maybe these technologically advanced vehicles will finally be able to tell us exactly what the problem is.