Starting problems

bmasse_1958

Please help... I have a 2012 Chevy Equinox. On Sunday the 19th of Aug. It stopped starting. I tried everything I could think of & ended up towing it to a repair shop. They said it was the starter. I had it towed back home & replaced the starter with a brand new one. It still won't start. What now could be wrong? I've looked in the repair manual & it doesn't tell me anything.
In the last 2 months I have bought a brand new battery and a brand new starter.

bmasse_1958

It even clicks when the keys not in it. Someone help..

Mr_Shiftright

We'll need more information.

Is this a crank but no start, or no crank / no start?

Any security light on, in the dash?

Has anyone extracted trouble codes with a code reader or scan tool?

Guessing is expensive--which it sounds like the shop did, because perhaps they didn't have the car long enough to do a proper diagnosis.

A shop has to verify the problem, and clarify when/how it happens, then scan the car for codes, and by elimination and further testing come to the answer.

imidazol97

Mr_Shiftright said:

We'll need more information.

Is this a crank but no start, or no crank / no start?

Any security light on, in the dash?

Has anyone extracted trouble codes with a code reader or scan tool?

Guessing is expensive--which it sounds like the shop did, because perhaps they didn't have the car long enough to do a proper diagnosis.

A shop has to verify the problem, and clarify when/how it happens, then scan the car for codes, and by elimination and further testing come to the answer.

I've decided that in this area mechanic shops are dangerous places. They guess much like we might have done 15 years ago and could hit the likely problem 80% of the time. But now, cars require diagnosis to determine where the real problem lies--can't just guess and throw parts on like in the old days of points, distributors and generators.

With Equinoxes having some fretting problems on the contacts in places, it could be something as simple as a contact in a connector with 48 contacts not making good contact and not passing a signal to tell the starter to crank.

I suggest a dealership that has a reputation for good service and diagnosis.

A lot of local mechanics shops are guys who didn't have a job and thought they could make a living working on cars without fully investing in diagnostic equipment, computers and such, that are needed.

thecardoc3

imidazol97 said:

I've decided that in this area mechanic shops are dangerous places. They guess much like we might have done 30 years ago and could hit the likely problem 40% of the time.

Fixed that for you.....

imidazol97 said:

But now, cars require diagnosis to determine where the real problem lies--can't just guess and throw parts on like in the old days of points, distributors and generators.

Keep that thought while you go back and reread some of the articles that always tried to tell consumers what was wrong by just pulling codes and how shops that charged for diagnostics were ripping them off.

imidazol97 said:

With Equinoxes having some fretting problems on the contacts in places, it could be something as simple as a contact in a connector with 48 contacts not making good contact and not passing a signal to tell the starter to crank.

Why does this relatively simple circuit need a dealership technician to troubleshoot it?



As soon as you look at this schematic you should be able to choose the most logical point to make the first test. Hint, it's on the top half.....

imidazol97 said:

A lot of local mechanics shops are guys who didn't have a job and thought they could make a living working on cars without fully investing in diagnostic equipment, computers and such, that are needed.

A lot of local shops are ex-dealer techs who decided to go out on their own because of the poor pay etc.

imidazol97

@thecardoc3

Thx. I appreciate the corrections and the comments.

Re: ex-dealer techs starting own business...
Here I get the feeling they charge as much as the dealer but don't have all the tech tools for diagnosis.

Here in the midwest where we were especially slow as an economy during the time since 2009, many folks set up their own repair business, without license, etc., advertising on Craigslist. The shade tree mechanic who helped do a lot of things on my leSabre that lived conveniently nearby, is likely heading to a lawsuit over some repair. He's more of a sledgehammer guy.

Diagnosis, he thinks? "What's that? I saw a car years ago that did this or that and the problem was that or this. Let's throw one on."

My Cobalt is showing signs of inner CV joint wear at 120,000, making a heavy rattle on slight bumps at low speeds.

It's going to the dealer although I could call him and take it to his new house. If there's more that needs done in the suspension, they'll diagnosis accurately and first time.

thecardoc3

imidazol97 said:

Re: ex-dealer techs starting own business...
Here I get the feeling they charge as much as the dealer but don't have all the tech tools for diagnosis.

Well that's one of the gotcha's. Running your own business doesn't let you "go on the cheap" if you actually intend to stay in business and the tools that are required to do everything are very expensive. A lot of those things have to be acquired over five to ten years because the average tech doesn't make enough money to have much left to put aside for that day they take the leap.

imidazol97 said:

Here in the midwest where we were especially slow as an economy during the time since 2009, many folks set up their own repair business, without license, etc., advertising on Craigslist. The shade tree mechanic who helped do a lot of things on my leSabre that lived conveniently nearby, is likely heading to a lawsuit over some repair. He's more of a sledgehammer guy.

On one hand the first thought is good, he probably did some damage to the people who own legitimate shops that were going running their businesses the right way. On the other hand without knowing anything about him and exactly what he was doing day in and day out and knowing why he has a problem now it's not worth spending much time talking about it.

imidazol97 said:

Diagnosis, he thinks? "What's that? I saw a car years ago that did this or that and the problem was that or this. Let's throw one on."

Isn't that what slamming a gas cap on a car for an evap code is doing?

imidazol97 said:

My Cobalt is showing signs of inner CV joint wear at 120,000, making a heavy rattle on slight bumps at low speeds.

OK this will be good. What are you basing this suspicion on that you feel it might be the inner joints? The noise you descibed of a heavy rattle on slight bumps? Inner joints do go bad, they create a vary specific sensation in the car and a rattle noise over bumps isn't it.

imidazol97 said:

It's going to the dealer although I could call him and take it to his new house. If there's more that needs done in the suspension, they'll diagnosis accurately and first time.

BTW There were two points to start that diagnostic depending on someone's tooling. The 30 amp fuse right below the relay would have been one of them, while the BCM is the choice for someone equipped with the right tools to access the system.

bmasse_1958

I took it to the Chevy dealership. First they said it was the starter relay & they replaced it. It worked for 3 days then did they samething. No start, all that happens is the check engine light flashes. So it's back to the dealership again.

bigkritter

Here's the deal with the dealership. They tell you lies and say they found nothing with the four lil words,
(CAN NOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM )