Will not engage starter

AGRI1949

MEMBER
1999 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
250,000 MILES

Everything turns on, but starter will not engage. NOTHING. Battery new, replaced ignition switch and wiring, replaced starter and solenoid, Everyone seems at a loss to figure out why. Kicker, only does it sometimes. Then will sit for hours and bingo, starts. Except this last time, been dead for two days. Any ideas where wiring could be broken? Would running two wires to starter solenoid for push button start bypass problem?

Friday, July 10th, 2015 AT 6:14 PM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

The most likely suspect when the problem is intermittent is the neutral safety switch on the transmission. Also, if someone has been poking test leads into the terminals for the starter relay socket, those can easily become stretched and make intermittent contact. I don't have access at the moment to a wiring diagram, but all of the preliminary testing can be done at the starter relay's socket. If you need help with that, I should be back within the next two nights.

Try shifting to neutral, then cranking the engine.

Read this guide, it will help you narrow down the issue

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/starter-not-working-repair

The wiring diagram for your starting circuit is attached below

Image (Click to make bigger)