Took a road trip in the Grand Prix to surprise a friend for his birthday. He was shocked, and just couldn't get over the car. Well worth it.
However, the trip wasn't without its Gremlins.
Stopped to get gas, filled up, got back in and it was the dreaded *click*
Oh hell..
Now, it always cranked a little slow, but it always cranked.. all thru the winter.
Took a look at the battery (honestly, I never paid much attention to it, turns out I should have) and I knew it had those Damn "Top to Side Post Converters" on it.. turns out the negative was loose. Then I looked at the battery itself. 5 year old "Value" battery. And The Wrong One.
How many Cranking Amps should we have, fellas? 650-800 right? Nope... 500
Got a jump from a really nice guy, and he led me to an Auto Parts joint. Tested the battery, sure enough, dead cell. The only battery they had? $150. Geez. But, it is a 800.
Swapped the battery, and it cranked slow like it always had, but started. Maybe the battery sat awhile and was a little low.. Cool. Back on the road, it will charge up.
Got to my buddy's house, got into the venue, had a great time. Went out to the car... *click* Uh oh... Smacked the starter with a hammer, old school like... and it fired up. Next morning at the hotel, fired right up. (albeit still a little slow cranking). Filled up, and *click*. Oh man...
Smacked it with a hammer again, and it cranked and started... but it didn't like cranking... acting like the battery was low, but its new and had been run for a few hundred miles.. alternator is good.
So, I'm thinking battery cable to starter, starter solenoid, or starter itself. First thing Im going to do is pull the starter and check the connections, clean them up, and see if that helps. Second would be a starter solenoid, but they're $30 and a complete starter is $49.
Then, I stopped and grabbed a burger and got back int he car... the steering wheel was rough to turn.. what the? Flat tire. Brand New Tire. Flat. You gotta be kidding me.
Got out the air compressor, popped it on there, and started filling it, looking for leaks/punctures/nails/etc. Nothing. Went to take off the air compressor because it sounded like it wasn't on all the way, and... well, look at that. Valve Stem cracked.
Got out the cell phone, and put in "Tire Repair Around Me" and low and behold, a damn firestone was across the street.. just a left at the next light and behind some car wash joint (couldn't see it). Aired it up, and timed the light. At the appropriate time (20 seconds was about right) checked traffic... nothing... ready, set... pull it, jump in, and GO!
And the damn turn arrow didn't trip. Green to go straight, but left was red. I ran it. Pulled into firestone, got out... still some air in it. Another $20 and back on the road again.
Rest of the trip was uneventful, but I sure didn't turn the car off anymore.. took the keys off the ring and locked it running with the Club on the wheel.
The battery, valve stem, gas, and the bar tab kinda drained the funds, so its going to be hoping the battery cable cleaning will get me thru the next couple weeks, but I really think its the starter solenoid.
Anyway, the rest of the trip was uneventful, except for me going "what next" the last 300 miles, watching the gauges like a hawk, WAITING for something else to happen.. Checking the fluids (even the transmission) repeatedly (except coolant, obviously) I just couldn't just relax and drive... A little under 950 miles, and I averaged around 290 miles a tank (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less (my foot getting a little heavy playing around definitely affected the mileage) but I didn't think the average was bad at all.. (200-R4 4 speed, stock open rear end - I'm doing 1400-1500 rpm at 65-70 or so)
-Gonz
However, the trip wasn't without its Gremlins.
Stopped to get gas, filled up, got back in and it was the dreaded *click*
Oh hell..
Now, it always cranked a little slow, but it always cranked.. all thru the winter.
Took a look at the battery (honestly, I never paid much attention to it, turns out I should have) and I knew it had those Damn "Top to Side Post Converters" on it.. turns out the negative was loose. Then I looked at the battery itself. 5 year old "Value" battery. And The Wrong One.
How many Cranking Amps should we have, fellas? 650-800 right? Nope... 500
Got a jump from a really nice guy, and he led me to an Auto Parts joint. Tested the battery, sure enough, dead cell. The only battery they had? $150. Geez. But, it is a 800.
Swapped the battery, and it cranked slow like it always had, but started. Maybe the battery sat awhile and was a little low.. Cool. Back on the road, it will charge up.
Got to my buddy's house, got into the venue, had a great time. Went out to the car... *click* Uh oh... Smacked the starter with a hammer, old school like... and it fired up. Next morning at the hotel, fired right up. (albeit still a little slow cranking). Filled up, and *click*. Oh man...
Smacked it with a hammer again, and it cranked and started... but it didn't like cranking... acting like the battery was low, but its new and had been run for a few hundred miles.. alternator is good.
So, I'm thinking battery cable to starter, starter solenoid, or starter itself. First thing Im going to do is pull the starter and check the connections, clean them up, and see if that helps. Second would be a starter solenoid, but they're $30 and a complete starter is $49.
Then, I stopped and grabbed a burger and got back int he car... the steering wheel was rough to turn.. what the? Flat tire. Brand New Tire. Flat. You gotta be kidding me.
Got out the air compressor, popped it on there, and started filling it, looking for leaks/punctures/nails/etc. Nothing. Went to take off the air compressor because it sounded like it wasn't on all the way, and... well, look at that. Valve Stem cracked.
Got out the cell phone, and put in "Tire Repair Around Me" and low and behold, a damn firestone was across the street.. just a left at the next light and behind some car wash joint (couldn't see it). Aired it up, and timed the light. At the appropriate time (20 seconds was about right) checked traffic... nothing... ready, set... pull it, jump in, and GO!
And the damn turn arrow didn't trip. Green to go straight, but left was red. I ran it. Pulled into firestone, got out... still some air in it. Another $20 and back on the road again.
Rest of the trip was uneventful, but I sure didn't turn the car off anymore.. took the keys off the ring and locked it running with the Club on the wheel.
The battery, valve stem, gas, and the bar tab kinda drained the funds, so its going to be hoping the battery cable cleaning will get me thru the next couple weeks, but I really think its the starter solenoid.
Anyway, the rest of the trip was uneventful, except for me going "what next" the last 300 miles, watching the gauges like a hawk, WAITING for something else to happen.. Checking the fluids (even the transmission) repeatedly (except coolant, obviously) I just couldn't just relax and drive... A little under 950 miles, and I averaged around 290 miles a tank (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less (my foot getting a little heavy playing around definitely affected the mileage) but I didn't think the average was bad at all.. (200-R4 4 speed, stock open rear end - I'm doing 1400-1500 rpm at 65-70 or so)
-Gonz
