93 Caprice no crank

[kevm14]

This is unbelievable.

I went out to start it so I could move it into the garage and secure the exhaust. It would not crank. The solenoid clicks but there is absolutely no cranking. I tried the following:
- Beating on the starter with a wooden post and a 2.5 lb sledge. With and without cranking while hammering.
- Disconnected and reconnected both battery cables which look very good.
- Jumper cables from the Roadmaster in case the extra couple volts would be enough to get it going.

None of that worked. I found a receipt in the glove compartment. July 2013, Napa reman starter. It's not even that old. In fact I remember when that happened. It was cranking really poorly and sounded like the starter was able to fail. I left work a little early, and it barely started. Drove to Napa in Middletown, bought that reman (leaving it running) and drove straight home to change it. I am sure the oil my car leaks on the starter doesn't do it any favors but I don't know that I've ever had a starter just fail like this.

And yes, before you ask, I did grab the serpentine belt and rolled the engine over a little by hand, to make sure it wasn't locked up. It is not locked up. I am going to see if I can figure out the warranty. Maybe give them a call.

[kevm14]

Ok so what I have now is a Napa RAY 246-5110.

NAPA Power Premium Plus
Important Information: Optional;w/ 2.9" Field Case Diameter
# Starter Teeth 11
Starter Kilowatt Rating 1.7 Kw
Starter OE Manufacturer Delco
Starter Polarity Negative
Starter Rotation Clockwise
Starter Series PG260M
Starter Type Delco PG260

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/RSE2465110

It's actually $6 cheaper now than it was in 2013. Stagflation? Other economic jargon? We lose money per unit but make it up on volume?

Looks like a lifetime warranty:
https://media.napaonline.com/is/content ... 64pdf?$PDF$

Kind of funny - the rebuilder is cited as BBB Industries, the people with the free wiring diagrams and TSB info.

So I guess all I need to do is go exchange it at Napa Middletown. It looks like it is regularly stocked. That will probably have to wait until I get back from my trip next weekend...it'll be warmer anyway, as I will be changing it where it is parked.

[kevm14]

This predated my forum by a few months so I found an e-mail about the issue (dated 7/18/13), since I like to document everything:

The starter in my Caprice gave up a couple days ago. I left work a little before lunch to drop Paul’s ECM off at the post office and when I cranked it, it seemed slower than normal, but it’s been hot. When I got back to work, I shut it off and recranked. Sounded slow still. Then I shut it off and went inside. After lunch, I went back out because it was bothering me, and tried cranking again, after it had cooled some. Really slow. Shut it off, tried again. REALLY slow….uh oh. So I left it running (with the A/C blasting of course), went inside to check Napa’s website to see if they stock what I needed, and went to Napa, leaving the car running.
The application I need is a 94-99 C/K 350 starter, but the gear reduction version, not the direct drive. PG260 gear reduction (can’t run LT1 because they share the 153-tooth flywheel with the old 305 – L05 has 168-tooth). Small and light. This was a Napa-brand reman and only $144 plus core. Even came with a neat dyno sheet.
Drove home, parked where I wanted it, shut it down and said….I wonder if it’ll restart? NOPE. No crank. Close call. Of course at this point I was just guessing on the starter.

Put the new one in, and man, I don’t think this car has EVER cranked this fast, even when the previous starter was brand new. Very strong. Nearly 3hp.

And the dyno sheet:

Look how excited I was. Little did I know...4.5 short years later, BAM.

[kevm14]

Get ready for a mystery.

My in laws are here and we were outside checking out the Roadmaster, talking about how I was going to flush the heater core (and then do the Caprice starter). I said, hey, let me grab the keys for the Caprice so you can see how it clicks.

I turn the key and....it cranked and started right up.

I shut it off and recranked 3 times. Started perfectly.

I did clear flood mode and cranked it for a while then did periods of cranking for 2 seconds then waiting, and repeated like 15 times. It even started in clear flood mode because this engine is hilarious.

Anyway, I have it in the garage now so I can do the exhaust hanger stuff.

This is pretty baffling. We can't figure much except either some kind of freezing water (ice) issue on that cold Sunday or the solenoid was somehow not connecting battery power to the starter motor (corrosion?). No idea as the weak link in this argument is it started fine (twice) like 18 hours prior. I don't know that I fully trust it but I also don't know if it makes any sense to just blindly throw a new one on when it works fine right now. Maybe the answer is....use the car more regularly. Imagine that.

So I guess this thread will go on hiatus until this returns (or maybe it won't). Yay?