Went out to leave for work and the car wont start?

DAVEBOB

MEMBER
1999 PONTIAC GRAND AM
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
152,214 MILES

I bought my daughter a 1999 pont. Grand am se it runs great and all but the other morning she went out to leave for work and the car wont start. The battery was fully charged and it cranked over but it would not start. She left it sit about 2 mins tryed it again and it started. 3 days latter it did the same thing again and then it started. I looking for any ideas to what could be going on with this problem. I am sure it will happen again

Monday, January 18th, 2010 AT 5:40 PM

1 Reply

SQM

MECHANIC
6,383 POSTS

Hello,

It sounds like it could an issue with the crankshaft position sensor.
From the heat and vibration of the engine the crankshaft can lose its internal calibration.
As the crank sensor starts to go bad it could produce these intermittent no start.
Typically you can try few times it will start. However overtime it will progressively get worse and won't start at all.
It can even stall the engine while you are driving.
The crank sensor is located at the bottom of the engine, right next to the oil filter housing.

You might find these articles helpful:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-a-crank-shaft-angle-sensor-works
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-a-bad-crankshaft-sensor
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/crankshaft-angle-sensor-replacement

I have attached diagrams for your reference.

Please let me know of any questions.

Thank you.

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