Whats wrong with my car?

Question

I HAVE A 97 BUICK LESABRE.MY CAR CUT OFF ON THE FREEWAY. I HIT THE GAS A LITTLE IT GOT TO ABOUT 85. IT PICKED UP SPEED BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON .THEN THE CAR START LOSING POWER AND CUT OFF ON ME WHILE I WAS ON THE FREEWAY.I TRIED TO START THE CAR IT JUST MADE A CLICKING NOISE. THE LIGHT COMES ON .I BOUGHT A NEW STARTER IT STILL DOES THE SAME THING.CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP BECAUSE I HAVE THREE KIDS AND THATS MY ONLY TRANSPORTATION.

Answer 1

have your battery tested, if it clicks and you have a new starter make sure the cillinoid(sorry not sure on spelling ,pronounced sillanoid)was replaced as well with starter usually cillanoid is mounted on starter,if battery is good, it is common when a coil is damaged or gets wet,will cause engine to die once it heats up(you drive a few miles and then suddenly car will die)worse case scenario would be no oil in engine and it seazed up when it got overheated, i hope thats not it.
check:
battery
cillanoid
coil
engine oil

if it is coil, car will start again once it cools down,but will die when it gets hot again.
also could be as simple as a loose cable from you battery to new starter,that would be best place to start.cable could also be damaged or bare somewhere causing it to short out.
what ever work you recently had done should be double checked for negligence.
hope that helps

Answer 2

It may not have been the starter. It could be a relay between the ignition and the starter. Or the solenoid on the starter could be bad, but that usually gets changed with the starter. However that doesn't explain why it cut out on the freeway. Once the car is running the starter doesn't do anything. Your best bet is to take it to a mechanic who can check the trouble code that is causing the check engine light. It is most likely a sensor that is telling the cars computer the wrong data so the car is losing power.

Answer 3

First things first, check all connections, both at the battery terminals and below.

Because you said that at first you got it back up to speed and then it cut out again, that is something you should really look at first.

Your battery terminals should be free of build up and be greased and then very tight.

Now to the click, was it a constant clicking or just one click.

Constant clicking would be indicative of power supply problems, and if all connections are clean and tight, have the car checked for battery and alternator function. You do not need to take them off the car to check them, but you would have to get it to a mechanic to get it checked. If the car can be jump started, meaning getting battery power from another vehicle, let it stay connected to the other vehicle for a while after it starts, if your battery is capable of holding the charge, it will get you to the mechanic.

One click is indicative of starter problems, you stated that you bought a new starter, but I am not sure why, your car would never quit while runnng if the starter went bad.

Hope this helps a bit.

Answer 4

would be a erroneous starter/ solinoid.. If it used to be the alternator, the vehicle might begin the caution lighting might be at the sprint always and the primary signes might be as your riding alongside the radio wouold fade out, then the vehicle might reduce out and no vigor in any respect...then you definitely wait and the battery might get better, and the vehicle might restart.. however might best run for a shorter distance. Every night time you might ought to recharge the battery and within the morning the vehicle might begin first time at any time when. So i suppose changing the alt used to be a waist of pennies. Perhaps if you'll upload if the vehicle actuatly turns over whilst you positioned the important thing in and take a look at to begin it.. or if the whole thing is useless?, while the engine wont begin- does the radio paintings pleasant?. If it used to be a gas pump i might think it might flip over and slutter to lifestyles with what's within the carb/injection process

Answer 5

who put the starter in? .....Did you request that they give you back the old part?? Unfortunately many repair shops prey on women who have little or no knowledge of auto repairs.
Always ask for old parts back. Does your lights or radio work...
if not, it could be your alternator. When they go they drain the battery with it. I am a women, who by necessity has learned allot about cars. It could be starter module or a number of other things. Whoever did the work go back to them but educate yourself first. Go on line to see if there has been any recalls on that part that u weren't aware of.... Good luck

Answer 6

sounds to me like ya have a bad alternator or battery since ya have put a new starter on try replacing the battery just keep in mind after ya install the new battery ya have to drive the vehicle atleast 20 miles to reset the computer

Answer 7

if the car stalls after it gets hot but starts back up after it cools down then it's probably a GM HEI Module or the GM DIS Module. of course they are ignition parts. good luck

Answer 8

If it only clicks when you try to start it, you might need a new battery.

Answer 9

I agree with the relay stuff. try it .