My 1993 STS will not turn over. I turn the key and power is there, acc's are there, alternator is good, batt is good, tried starting with a boost, nothing. No sound, no clicking. Someone told me it could be my key and a resistor issue, so I changed the cylinder, the dealership told me the resistance is fine and nothing. WTF?
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Have the battery load tested. Check the cables and connections for corrosion.

Thanks for the tip. I will check to make sure the connections are good and give it a try.

I checked over the batt and posts, the battery is clean and the connections are tight. Still nothing. I'll keep checking other things out unless anyone has other ideas for me. Thanks Ranger.

Try putting it in neutral and starting it. If it starts right up, it's likely a bad neutral safety switch... Also check the starter relay; switch it with a known good one and try it.... Other than that it could just be a bad starter.

'93 has Passkey. Do you get messages that say STARTING DISABLED or WAIT 3 MINUTES? If so, and the dealer says your resistor chip is ok, maybe the fine wires that connect with that resistor chip are intermittent. Happens with age on some of these older Passkey units.

Thanks for the ideas!! I have left the car in my office parking lot and it hurts me to see it sit still. I will give the neutral start a shot, thanks. I did have the starter disabled issue last year, but so far no messages have come up. In this case I wish it was that easy, at least I could have figured out the problem a lot faster!! Thanks for the help!

Gave it a shot and nothing. I will give the starter relay test a go but I don't know where it is. I need some help with that. Thanks.

I believe the starter relay is underneath the engine compartment fusebox. you have to remove the black plastic panel covering the fuse and relay center (two plastic pins. pry the center up with a screw driver and it should pull out). Then you have to take a small 8mm (I think) socket and unbolt the fuse block from the frame. Then the positive cable attached to the fuse block has to be removed (either a 10mm or 12mm nut). Underneath you will see 4 large relays. The one closest to the drivers side of the car is the starter relay (I think). The other 3 are fan relays..... Let me double check on my FSM just to be positive.

I believe the starter relay is underneath the engine compartment fusebox. you have to remove the black plastic panel covering the fuse and relay center (two plastic pins. pry the center up with a screw driver and it should pull out). Then you have to take a small 8mm (I think) socket and unbolt the fuse block from the frame. Then the positive cable attached to the fuse block has to be removed (either a 10mm or 12mm nut). Underneath you will see 4 large relays. The one closest to the drivers side of the car is the starter relay (I think). The other 3 are fan relays..... Let me double check on my FSM just to be positive.

Scratch all of what I said... Apparently that is not the starter enable relay. I can't seem to find where it is in my FSM though... :hmm:

GM battery cables have a habit of corroding (inside the rubber ends). Have someone check your cables.

Thank you for trying to help!! I will keep looking for a solution to this, it's driving me crazy!

I changed out the starter in my 01 STS a few weeks back and this basically how I checked for power to the starter solenoid.Standing in front of the car and looking toward the left rear of the beauty cover there are a pair of wires about 3/4 " round in corrugated plastic sleeves.One of them has a harness with a purple wire-unplug it. With a volt meter check for 12vdc on the purple while starting the engine. If you have 12vdc the 10amp starting circuit fuse in the trunk,the P/N switch,pass key, ignition switch,pcm and start relay( mine was under the rear seat) are all good. If not check the fuse/swap out the relay with another ( rear defrost?? or heated seat?? make sure numbers on relay are the same) and recheck. I think the P/N switch is one wire in and one out. I didn't have to on mine but jump it out. Pass key and pcm should throw a code. If you do have 12vdc and there's no click there's a wiring problem to the starter solenoid or the coil is open and starter has to be replaced. Have the battery load tested anyway. Clean cables and tight connections are crucial for Caddy electronics to work properly. I know it's not the same year car but I hope this will help.

If...the key resistor is ok.

There is a 'starter enable relay' located under the drivers side door panel area.

You will have to remove the lower inner drivers door trim to get to it.

About 10 inches back there will be a relay taped to the harness.

Maybe...good luck.



Logan Diagnostic LLC
www.ledfix.com
www.airbagcrash.com
www.logandieselusa.com

The car is still sitting. I can't even move it because I have the parking brake on and it won't come up unless the car gets put in gear while it's on. i wonder how long before I get flat spots!!! Still nothing doing!!!@#$*&!

...I can't even move it because I have the parking brake on and it won't come up unless the car gets put in gear while it's on...

there is a small release lever attached to the side of the parking brake pedal. Be careful if you put your face down there to see it; it will not hesitate to smack you in the face on its way up. lol

All I can say is to switch out the battery with a known good one and then try it. If even that doesn't work, it's probably a bad starter.