Ignition switch or starter or other?

Tiny
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2002 Grand Am GT 3.4L v6 52,000 mi
Every once in a while, when trying to start the car, it would turn over but not fire. Turn the ignition off and try again and it would usually fire right up. Yesterday, it started right up and drove fine, parked the car for about 40 minutes, came back and it won't even try to start. The battery is less than a year old, but I tried to jump it anyway, still nothing. When you turn the key on, all the power accesories work fine. When you try to start it, there is nothing, not even a click. Left the key in the ON position, and shorted the starter solenoid. The car turned over easily, but would not fire. Also tried all of this in Neutral with the same results. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Thursday, October 4th, 2007 AT 8:53 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
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Sounds like it may an anti-theft issue, Have seen ignition switches on these go bad, First try a different key.

When you jumpered the starter, the anti-theft is probably not allowing fuel as well as ignition disabling.
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Thursday, October 4th, 2007 AT 9:57 AM
Tiny
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I have already tried the spare key, and had the same results. Is there anyway to override the security system to see if it is the faulty link?
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Thursday, October 4th, 2007 AT 10:38 AM
Tiny
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Probably, but I haven't done that myself. There are probably wires that can be connected differently. Often, there are codes stored in the computer when this happens.
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Thursday, October 4th, 2007 AT 10:44 AM
Tiny
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Ok, so I definitely think you could be right about the security system. Went home for lunch today, and just decided to try it, and wouldn't you know it started right up. Let it run for about 5 minutes, shut it down, and retried it. It started right back up. Are there any part stores that can read the computer and get me the error codes?
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Thursday, October 4th, 2007 AT 12:16 PM
Tiny
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Autozone can.
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Thursday, October 4th, 2007 AT 1:03 PM

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