Hypoxia and Medicine

badly need advise with car..disabled & needing 2 cancel doctor appointments /getting stranded noone 2 help me?

this is long but I am so desperate I pray someone reads it and advises me I am having a problem with the car intermittently not starting and leaving me stranded. sometimes it is ok for days and starts right up..other times I am driving it and leave the car for as short as 15-30 seconds. I come back in and try to start it and it is totally dead..no clicking sounds..no sounds at all..turn key noting (auxiliary things like radio work). replaced battery..cell was or went bad and replaced again so new battery replaced solenoid on starter..starter checked ok at auto zone (cold starter) alternator checked ok replaced battery terminals and replaced cable from starter to battery and tightened the connections. none of this helped. Took it to an electrical shop and did a check and all they told us was it needed an harmonic balancer. replaced that..there is a sensor near it that did not get replaced as they rarely go out but maybe it is that.. meanwhile, my brother who helps me fix my car as I am on a very low income got mad for unknown reasons and refuses to talk to me or answer trhe door when I fgo there. I was very dependant on him to help me with my cars and I am so worried. He was making no sense when I last saw him and feel I trreasted him badly when I didn't and I think he may be having a schizophrenic relapse. I did not know what to do so I called another electrical shop and explained the problems and the man told me he is "100% sure it is the starter"..he said that the starter is getting too hot and metal shrinks and it is shrinking and this is making the connections not connect and this is why is it doing it. He said this is why it starts again after sitting a while (twice it restarted after sitting for 15 or 20 minutes without a jump..the other times it was jumped and started right away. He said when I jump it that it is getting an extra boost and thus starts, He said h would take it out and rebuild it and this was the problem.. (he did not look at the car)..a brother in law told me that his car had similar problems and he was being told it was in the ignition but he replaced the starter and it started fine after that so this made me think the car shop that told me that was right. My brother in law said that he had a friend who was a mechanic and that he could replace the starter for me and to buy one off the shelf at the junk yard. I went there to get it so I have it for Sunday as they are closed Sunday when he is working on the car and I could not get ahold of the mechanic so I asked the junk yard if he did not do the part could I return it and they said only for a credit and I should be sure that is the part I need and they asked what car was doing and they both told me no way it was the starter because if it was the starter, it would not jump right away and they said it was the coil pak (by the spark plugs)..because I did not know if he knew how to do this, I got nothing yet. Then got ahold of the mechanic and he agreed to do both as I thought I cant take getting stranded anymore now that my brother will not come help me and it is so frustrating and all..I thought if I replaced both, it might fix it... I tried to get advise from brother but he refused to answer the door or phone so I went to brother in laws but he had left to go out of town..his wife then just called after I asked her to ask his opinion on the coil pac and she just called and said brother in law said it would not start at all if it was the coil pac and he did not think it was that. Finally got ahold of mechanic and he asked did it not start when it was hot or cold..I said both and he said he did not think it was the coil pac..so we are going to just do the starter I guess..do you think this is the right thing to do? Could it be anything else..any clues what. Other options I had was one shop said they would do a check on the starter to see how it checks out when it is hot (it went an entire week a few weeks ago and started everytime but is now doing it again so I am not sure if the problem will show up when it is doing it,. They said they would check it free and install a junk yard starter for me for $65 (stater is 30)...brother in law acted like this shop was ok but another brother said once they charged him $100 more than they said and they are not as good as the electrical shop that told me he was 100% sure it was the starter The man brother in law knows said he would do the coil pac and starter for 40-50 but now that he is doing just the starter it may be less so I would save a little. Money is a problem as I spent nearly $300 so far..I recently lost $6000 in a wreck replacing car and for medical bills and stuff and this took nearly all I had saved...I am barely surviving and only have $125 after bills for food, clothes, gas and misc...so money is a concern The third option is take it to the electrical shop that said they would take out the starter, rebuild it and that would fix it for $150. Brother said go there and spend the extra because if it still does it they will feel bad and obligated to find the problems and if it is wiring they are more qualified and that they may do all the expensive checking for free if they were wrong about the starter but I hate spending the extra since it is a hardship. which should I do and do you think this is the problem or something else and if so what..I am leaning towards having the friend mechanic do the starter which ill be about 70 or 80 dollars..the one shop would be 95 and the electrical shop would b 150..I am afraid if they do this free check and it is not the starter I will not know what to do next....please help me as I am going crazy this with many other recent life events and losses of late are making me feel suicidal but I cant do that so I must figure out what to do to fix this without my brother's help...I am praying someone cares enough to advise me. oh or could it be the radio or tape player..my brother thought it was that ..I turn it off and when I start the car, it automatically starts playing without turning it back on...he thinks somehow this is draining the battery..he advised to eject it before turning off the car but I forgot last time and the car did not start the next day..after ejecting the tape the car started several minutes later,...the tape is very hot could a wire be heating up under in the radio area and shorting the car out?? But it seems it did it even when I had ejected the tape the last time although I was playing it and had to speed to make my appointment and maybe somehow this overheated things?? oh brother also recently tuned it up..could messing with the spark plugs have messed the coil pac or anything up (it was doing it before he did the tune up though) sorry..it is a 93 Buick park ave 3800 supercharged it has not started intermittently with both hot and cold engine there is no grinding aor cranking sound like it is trying to start..turn the key and no sound...radio lights work though when I turn key biut no engine sounds at all

Public Comments

1. No! The starter *only* gets electricity through the solenoid. (True of every car on the road today). If you don't hear a "click!" from the solenoid, then you can't blame the starter. If you have no electricity at all when you turn the key on, you can't blame the solenoid either. You have an electrical fault in the wiring, might be the keyswitch, might be in the steering column, but electricity needs to get to the keyswitch, and it is not. DON'T pay for any new parts, until someone has done some testing. Anybody who suggests a new this or a new that, is nothing but a parts changer who needs to go back to mechanic's school. Find somebody who knows what he's doing, pay him for a couple hours' labor to find the actual problem. That way, you only have to fix what's broke. ==================================== "...radio lights work though when I turn key biut no engine sounds at all" means it could be the solenoid -- otherwise, no change in my answer -- know anybody can refer you to someone who knows what he's doing? seriously, a couple hours and you'll know exactly what's wrong. it'll be way more economical than just randomly throwing parts at it.
2. After reading carefully everthing almost twice, it sounds like the coil pac or just maybe a loose distributer wire. Some people call them plug wires. Nothing else could fit your problem since you've already had all the usual things either checked or replaced. Good luck.
3. It might be a paricitc load. the radio may not be completely shutting off when you shut the car off. thus draining your battery. and a harmonic balancer has nothing to do with an electric part. try diconnecting your radio for a few days. see if that works. Ive even seen lights in the glove box that wouldnt shut off that drained the battery. and make these people find the problem dont throw parts at it.
4. Disconect the battery cable and than strike it across the post. If it sparks you have a short in the system some where.
5. Replace the negative battery cable.
6. STOP..... My head is spinning faster than the starter. Basic electrical principals apply yes, but I need more info; Year, make and engine. 2, When it will not start, does the motor crank or not? Some people call it "grinding" So, does it grind? This will help separate a starter/battery/electrical problem from an ignition problem. Just the facts please.......TW