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Cadillac Repair/1992 Sedan Deville (Electrical)

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Expert: - 4/23/2010


Question
Cadillac Sedan Deville
1992, 4 Door Sedan; Automatic Transmission


My problem is the occasional failure of the iignition.  I will drive the car for about twenty minutes, shut it off for about ten to fifteen, and when I try to start it again, it wont turn over.  

It seems that it just doesn't have the umph to even bother tuurning it over.  No clicks, no power to the ignition at all.  When this happens, I have to hook it up to a portable jump power unit for five or more minutes.

I have replaced the battery and it solved the issue for about two weeks.  Any suggestions on what it may be?

I have only replaced the battery and am pretty fluent in automobile repair.  The only things that I believe that need to be checked are the ignition module, the ignition itself, or the wiring harness to that area of the vehicle.

Once again, suggestions?

Answer
Hello,
Your description sound like a bad starter. It was common fo GMs to start cold and once they warmed up the common way to check this problem was to tap the starter with a hammer and the the engine would crank.

Could be after warmed by ambient temperature, the starter could be drawing much more amperage and that is why a booster will crank it.

Let me know.

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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