If it won't start while being jumped it's probably a bad cable somewhere that connects to the starter.
2007 Cobalt won't start!!! HELP
- Thread starter tracylritter
- Start date
If it won't start while being jumped it's probably a bad cable somewhere that connects to the starter.
Bass_Waves
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Lol if it leaking then the cells are bad and may be giving false readings. Get an autozone gold label. 7 yr warranty. Just use your correct phone number. There is a Cold Cranking Amp reading and you battery may be lacking it or the cells broke thru. Cheer up shot happens. Be happy its not a Vw.
I sent this thru the Intranet™
I sent this thru the Intranet™
I don't feel like reading through everything but I would check your battery cables. The ground cable on the front side of the engine and mounts to the frame. Check relays again (try swapping rear defog relay to the crank relay). Try running a 12v straight to the starter to see if the solenoid engages. Are there any "engine power reduced' codes coming up on the dic?
---------- Post added at 06:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------
and after reading a little bit, i see you already tried the 12v. my diagnostic is the relay or maybe your gear selector is not cooperating. turn the key to the "run" position, but don't start it. apply the brake and slam the shifter all the way down and slam it all the way up, then try starting it
---------- Post added at 06:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------
and after reading a little bit, i see you already tried the 12v. my diagnostic is the relay or maybe your gear selector is not cooperating. turn the key to the "run" position, but don't start it. apply the brake and slam the shifter all the way down and slam it all the way up, then try starting it
UncleDave
Member
Things happen. The Dealer should stand by a product.
The first thing I would do is get a manual, that you can buy at any Auto Parts store, and start to read. And go through the maintenance scheduals. Do all the checks. While you are doing this you will be learning about the car.
All you get, you say it a click. That in my day was a relay contact closing. This will be a heavy current one. One simple piece of test equipment will be a 12 volt light bulb with some leads and clips. You clip one end (Black) to the ground on the battery, and then with the other end, you go looking for the loss of the 12 volts. You have it at the battery. what happens when you turn the key? The light will stay bright on the Battery? Then you can check for the 12 volts at the starter. It had to be there to cause the click. The 12 volts, what happens when you hear the click?
If the starter has been replaced, it could be a bad starter. It happens.
The second piece of test equipment is a Battery / Alternator Tester that you also can get at the Auto Store. It goes in the cig liter. It will tell you how the battery is doing.
It will give you an indication of the 12 volts. If the car starts, it will show an increase in the voltage. or it will show the voltage drop. However you heard the click things were trying.
Have some one stand in front of the car. Turn the lights on. They should come on. Leave them on, and try to start the car. Did the lighjts dim? If the starter where trying to start, but the battery is dead, they will go out. If he contacts in the starter where not replaced properly, the lights would stay on.
The cold weather is coming. At the parts store they make what they call Trickle Charger. You can plug these into the cigerret (I do not smoke, or spell.) lighter. It will slowly charge the battery over night. When you try and start it first thing. The battery should have a charge, and when the car is running you should see the generator is working.
Kid, welcome to the real world. If you can get this far with me you will be OK. One step at a time. Do not panic - what ever you do, do not panic. Go back and read the book these books Haynes have the into in there.
Get your self a little book. When you buy gass record it. when you change the Oil again record it, but Underline it. When you fix any problem Underline it. Change a light bulb, underline it. When our daughter needed a car we gave her ours. A year later she and her husband wanted to up grade. They had made the full exchange, and a week later, my kid found that book, and took it to the Dealer, explained that I had her keep it, and that some person such as yourself would find it helpfull for (you) to do what you are doing. The dealer have her 500 Canadian with out blinking an eye.
There is another book I would recomend. Car maintenance for DUMMIES. Actually it is the DUMMIES that will not read it.
I am you Uncle Dave. God Speed. PS Change a tire. Have some one Watch you.
The first thing I would do is get a manual, that you can buy at any Auto Parts store, and start to read. And go through the maintenance scheduals. Do all the checks. While you are doing this you will be learning about the car.
All you get, you say it a click. That in my day was a relay contact closing. This will be a heavy current one. One simple piece of test equipment will be a 12 volt light bulb with some leads and clips. You clip one end (Black) to the ground on the battery, and then with the other end, you go looking for the loss of the 12 volts. You have it at the battery. what happens when you turn the key? The light will stay bright on the Battery? Then you can check for the 12 volts at the starter. It had to be there to cause the click. The 12 volts, what happens when you hear the click?
If the starter has been replaced, it could be a bad starter. It happens.
The second piece of test equipment is a Battery / Alternator Tester that you also can get at the Auto Store. It goes in the cig liter. It will tell you how the battery is doing.
It will give you an indication of the 12 volts. If the car starts, it will show an increase in the voltage. or it will show the voltage drop. However you heard the click things were trying.
Have some one stand in front of the car. Turn the lights on. They should come on. Leave them on, and try to start the car. Did the lighjts dim? If the starter where trying to start, but the battery is dead, they will go out. If he contacts in the starter where not replaced properly, the lights would stay on.
The cold weather is coming. At the parts store they make what they call Trickle Charger. You can plug these into the cigerret (I do not smoke, or spell.) lighter. It will slowly charge the battery over night. When you try and start it first thing. The battery should have a charge, and when the car is running you should see the generator is working.
Kid, welcome to the real world. If you can get this far with me you will be OK. One step at a time. Do not panic - what ever you do, do not panic. Go back and read the book these books Haynes have the into in there.
Get your self a little book. When you buy gass record it. when you change the Oil again record it, but Underline it. When you fix any problem Underline it. Change a light bulb, underline it. When our daughter needed a car we gave her ours. A year later she and her husband wanted to up grade. They had made the full exchange, and a week later, my kid found that book, and took it to the Dealer, explained that I had her keep it, and that some person such as yourself would find it helpfull for (you) to do what you are doing. The dealer have her 500 Canadian with out blinking an eye.
There is another book I would recomend. Car maintenance for DUMMIES. Actually it is the DUMMIES that will not read it.
I am you Uncle Dave. God Speed. PS Change a tire. Have some one Watch you.
UncleDave
Member
There is one thing missing. What part of the country are you located? In New England salt is used for Snow removal. This plays havoc with the electric connections. This car may have been in an area that used salt, but when it went onto the second had market it has been moved to another area.
I have had to change the starter on several cars. Part of the job is to check and clean the connectors.
I would start to ask around. One place I would go to is the Fire Dept. Their equipment MUST work. Ask them for ideas. I used to work in Television. Sometimes they like to look into things like this.
One thing is Bluff. Go back to the dealer first, and ask them to take another look. They have their tow trucks, no problem to take your car in for another look. Start to ask questions.
I have not seen mention of your Dealer. Is it GM? If it is not GM, they may not know what they are doing. Ask them if they could recomend a good GM Dealer.
There is always the BBB, and then a Lawyer. He could say too bad. But he might take another look at the Law.
I would find a local car of this model, and try to test a running car. If you get a plug in Battery / Altenator tester, this would show you what you should see.
keep at it.
I have had to change the starter on several cars. Part of the job is to check and clean the connectors.
I would start to ask around. One place I would go to is the Fire Dept. Their equipment MUST work. Ask them for ideas. I used to work in Television. Sometimes they like to look into things like this.
One thing is Bluff. Go back to the dealer first, and ask them to take another look. They have their tow trucks, no problem to take your car in for another look. Start to ask questions.
I have not seen mention of your Dealer. Is it GM? If it is not GM, they may not know what they are doing. Ask them if they could recomend a good GM Dealer.
There is always the BBB, and then a Lawyer. He could say too bad. But he might take another look at the Law.
I would find a local car of this model, and try to test a running car. If you get a plug in Battery / Altenator tester, this would show you what you should see.
keep at it.
UncleDave
Member
I do not see any progress.
I would suggest that you get a Haynes Repair Manual #38017.
Go to page 12-16. This page shows the wiring of the Starter. Look it over.
It shows the Heavy Red wire from the Battery to the Starter.
Also it shows Ground points the Black Dots.
If you can obtain a VOM (Volt Ohm Meter) you can check for Voltage on the fuses, and start to get a feel for how to go about this. It will be a rather simple process of
tracing out the path of the 12 Volts.
I believe that the starter is bad. But it is easier, and cheaper to make the voltage checks. The manual will be about $25 as well as the VOM. $50 However this should be a one time expense.
It is late, and I typed this all out to be told that I had entered a wrong password.
Will type it out again, but is is late.
We will go though it, and you should KNOW were the trouble is.
I believe it is in the starter.
God Speed
UncleDave.
I would suggest that you get a Haynes Repair Manual #38017.
Go to page 12-16. This page shows the wiring of the Starter. Look it over.
It shows the Heavy Red wire from the Battery to the Starter.
Also it shows Ground points the Black Dots.
If you can obtain a VOM (Volt Ohm Meter) you can check for Voltage on the fuses, and start to get a feel for how to go about this. It will be a rather simple process of
tracing out the path of the 12 Volts.
I believe that the starter is bad. But it is easier, and cheaper to make the voltage checks. The manual will be about $25 as well as the VOM. $50 However this should be a one time expense.
It is late, and I typed this all out to be told that I had entered a wrong password.
Will type it out again, but is is late.
We will go though it, and you should KNOW were the trouble is.
I believe it is in the starter.
God Speed
UncleDave.
UncleDave
Member
If it was jumped from the starter, and it ran, exactly what do you mean by starter?
Under the Hood there is a post on the Fuse Block / Near the engine coolant bottle. Should be covered with a red cap. This is for the +12 Volts.
There is also the three Bolts on top of the Shock absorber, one mark as ground.
Are these the points that were used to get the car started?
There is a Heavy red wire that runs to the starter from the Red Post. It could be started from there, but it is hard to get at, so normally the top post is normally used.
I have a Cobalt 2010, and it gave me a problem one morning. I use a spare battery that was in the garage for a jump, and it worked. I was using a heavy set of cables. I keep the battery charged with a Walmart Trickle charger.
I may have left the Interior light on? Or the Headlights?
Another thing you could do is to get a Tester that plugs into the Lighter outlet. It will tell you your battery voltage. It should be 12 volts, but should go up to 13.5 when the car is running. I am told that AutoZone sells a Digital one for about $4. Nice thing to have for Testing.
There is one more thing. There is a Crank Relay. This has to be energized. Are you pushing in on the Brake? Could be an interlock to keep the car from rolling, by having the brakes on while starting. Normally I do not think about it. You being a new driver? might not. You should always start in Park or Neutral. Preferable Park.
What I would like to know is what you mean that it Will start from the Starter?
The Haynes Repair Manual #38017 Page 12-16 shows the basic Starting Diagram. They cost about $25. It is a good book to have.
I will listen to every one, however I like to have agreement.
I used to have a Jetta TDI. I had trouble getting a wheel off when it had gone Flat. I was on the road. When I did get it off and fixed went back to my Trusty VW Dealer and asked the sevice manager about it. He told me that everyone Knows that when you take a wheel off, you should put a little anti-sieze on the axial. Then my Dumb question was, Why when I was in the month before was this not done?
O yes, this was the night that Jennings was playing for One Million Dollars on Jepardy! Yup, wife missed it!
Now you know why I have an interest in this.
Uncle Dave
Under the Hood there is a post on the Fuse Block / Near the engine coolant bottle. Should be covered with a red cap. This is for the +12 Volts.
There is also the three Bolts on top of the Shock absorber, one mark as ground.
Are these the points that were used to get the car started?
There is a Heavy red wire that runs to the starter from the Red Post. It could be started from there, but it is hard to get at, so normally the top post is normally used.
I have a Cobalt 2010, and it gave me a problem one morning. I use a spare battery that was in the garage for a jump, and it worked. I was using a heavy set of cables. I keep the battery charged with a Walmart Trickle charger.
I may have left the Interior light on? Or the Headlights?
Another thing you could do is to get a Tester that plugs into the Lighter outlet. It will tell you your battery voltage. It should be 12 volts, but should go up to 13.5 when the car is running. I am told that AutoZone sells a Digital one for about $4. Nice thing to have for Testing.
There is one more thing. There is a Crank Relay. This has to be energized. Are you pushing in on the Brake? Could be an interlock to keep the car from rolling, by having the brakes on while starting. Normally I do not think about it. You being a new driver? might not. You should always start in Park or Neutral. Preferable Park.
What I would like to know is what you mean that it Will start from the Starter?
The Haynes Repair Manual #38017 Page 12-16 shows the basic Starting Diagram. They cost about $25. It is a good book to have.
I will listen to every one, however I like to have agreement.
I used to have a Jetta TDI. I had trouble getting a wheel off when it had gone Flat. I was on the road. When I did get it off and fixed went back to my Trusty VW Dealer and asked the sevice manager about it. He told me that everyone Knows that when you take a wheel off, you should put a little anti-sieze on the axial. Then my Dumb question was, Why when I was in the month before was this not done?
O yes, this was the night that Jennings was playing for One Million Dollars on Jepardy! Yup, wife missed it!
Now you know why I have an interest in this.
Uncle Dave
UncleDave
Member
If you can stick with me. I would like to get this worked out.
I have been looking around for a Digital Volt meter that you can plug into the Lighter Jack.
I looked at all the Auto Parts stores in my area within 40 miles. Finally Today, after the loss of Steering on a Steep, Turning, Dirt road, and getting MAD at GM, I stopped a Walmart to get a set of Ramps, to get underneath, to get at the ground connections. I took another look at the rack by the Auto Batteries. Took a second look, right back to the wall. Found one. $15. 16.93 to be exact. Called a Batt Monitor. It is listed on the receipt as 002989205161. This was the last one, way in the back HIDDEN away. This will give you the Number and you might want to order it.
I checked on a Clip-on Current Meter to check on the Currents of the Alternator, and the Starter. Some of the older clerks DID know what I was talking about, even had one in their tool boxes, However they could not help me order one.
I do Know that in my 2010 Cobalt that the Lighter Jack is tied to the battery, Just went out to take a look. 12.6 volts, which went down to `12.5 volts as I opened the door and the roof light came on.
Now if you can get a Battery Maintainer. $25? If you can get one with the Lighter Jack, on it, you could leave it on the seat, plugged in and keep a Trickle Charge on the batter. Next time you go to start the car, Take out the charger, and you should have 12 something volts on the Meter. Try and start the car. You should keep the 12 Volts. It will drop when the engine is turning over. May go down close to 10 Volts.
Caution! If the car is outside! but actually, at anytime you should have the extension cord plugged into a GFI Ground Fault Interrupter. This will help avoid Electrical Shock.
So Far So GOOD?
If you can get a manual for the car, try doing the Basic Maintenance; Check the oil, Coolant, look at the tyres to see that they have some air. You may have a small compressor in the Trunk. If any are low, try to blow them up. Your Battery may not have enough of a charge. Just re-connect the Battery Charger, and tomorrow is another day.
Not to Worry. After 24 hours the battery will have enough charge to try some more testing.
If you get the thing running say so.
I gave my daughter our old Escort. She kept that little book with all the troubles, and the repairs that we made. When she turned the car in, the dealer gave her $500 for that book without Batting an Eye. If there had been a book like this in the Glove Box, think of all the trouble we would be avoiding.
My wife is British.
Your Dutch Uncle Dave.
I have been looking around for a Digital Volt meter that you can plug into the Lighter Jack.
I looked at all the Auto Parts stores in my area within 40 miles. Finally Today, after the loss of Steering on a Steep, Turning, Dirt road, and getting MAD at GM, I stopped a Walmart to get a set of Ramps, to get underneath, to get at the ground connections. I took another look at the rack by the Auto Batteries. Took a second look, right back to the wall. Found one. $15. 16.93 to be exact. Called a Batt Monitor. It is listed on the receipt as 002989205161. This was the last one, way in the back HIDDEN away. This will give you the Number and you might want to order it.
I checked on a Clip-on Current Meter to check on the Currents of the Alternator, and the Starter. Some of the older clerks DID know what I was talking about, even had one in their tool boxes, However they could not help me order one.
I do Know that in my 2010 Cobalt that the Lighter Jack is tied to the battery, Just went out to take a look. 12.6 volts, which went down to `12.5 volts as I opened the door and the roof light came on.
Now if you can get a Battery Maintainer. $25? If you can get one with the Lighter Jack, on it, you could leave it on the seat, plugged in and keep a Trickle Charge on the batter. Next time you go to start the car, Take out the charger, and you should have 12 something volts on the Meter. Try and start the car. You should keep the 12 Volts. It will drop when the engine is turning over. May go down close to 10 Volts.
Caution! If the car is outside! but actually, at anytime you should have the extension cord plugged into a GFI Ground Fault Interrupter. This will help avoid Electrical Shock.
So Far So GOOD?
If you can get a manual for the car, try doing the Basic Maintenance; Check the oil, Coolant, look at the tyres to see that they have some air. You may have a small compressor in the Trunk. If any are low, try to blow them up. Your Battery may not have enough of a charge. Just re-connect the Battery Charger, and tomorrow is another day.
Not to Worry. After 24 hours the battery will have enough charge to try some more testing.
If you get the thing running say so.
I gave my daughter our old Escort. She kept that little book with all the troubles, and the repairs that we made. When she turned the car in, the dealer gave her $500 for that book without Batting an Eye. If there had been a book like this in the Glove Box, think of all the trouble we would be avoiding.
My wife is British.
Your Dutch Uncle Dave.
UncleDave
Member
I thought that I saw that all we were getting was a click.
Should be able to start in Neutral then the car will be less likely to take off? But the foot brake should be applied?