No start - I give up. Help needed in mid Michigan (Page 1/1)
trivet MAY 17, 11:30 AM
Ok, I've been plagued with this issue for over a year now. No start - no crank, burned out the fusible links by the battery.

1987 Fiero GT 2.8 auto with 87k miles.

Has been running well for the last 10 years I've owned it, last spring it decided to not start. I didn't have the time/patience/energy to work on it, so she sat in the garage until this spring. The battery was dead, so I swapped in a good one and she started right up.

I thought I was lucky and it was just a battery issue, but after parking her, no start again (battery is fine and fully charged). Smell smoke, fusible link is burnt out. Replaced, same issue, no start, burnt the link.

I give up - is there anyone in mid Michigan that might be able to help? I don't have the time and patience to work through this anymore. I'll have to tow/trailer it to someone to fix.

Tim

[This message has been edited by trivet (edited 05-17-2021).]

Skybax MAY 17, 06:55 PM
With burning out another link and having burning smell, that isn't something I would take lightly cause you don't want to end up like this... https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/099773.html

The best suggestion I can give you is, the old-school shops that rebuilt starters and alternators are like mad scientists, these guys know their stuff more than anyone when it comes to these systems. I am blessed to have one of these shops locally and I have used them to rebuilt lots of my units of the last 40 years. I always tell my customers, don't put a junk parts store alternator/starer on your vintage vehicle that will only last 2 weeks or 2 years, take your old one to these guys and have it meticulously rebuilt correctly with quality parts and it will last another 36 years.

How does this help you? I looked on Google Maps and you are also blessed to have one of these places in Central MI (Lansing) so I would suggesting calling them, tell them your situation, and ask if they offer vehicle diagnosis if you bring the vehicle to them. If not and they only rebuild units, maybe they can steer you in the right direction or they might recommend you pulling your starter and bringing it to them for overall if they suspect a short in the solenoid. Regardless, its a great starting point (pun, haha) and here is link to their website and contact info... https://www.precision-pwr.com/

[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 05-17-2021).]

IMSA GT MAY 17, 07:39 PM
So when the link burns out, is the engine turning over but not starting or is the starter completely frozen and burning out the link?
trivet MAY 17, 08:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by IMSA GT:

So when the link burns out, is the engine turning over but not starting or is the starter completely frozen and burning out the link?



Won't turn over at all. But I used to get it to start by wiggling the positive cable off of the battery, so I at first though I just had a bad connection to the starter. Then I replaced the dead battery, started right up.....next time, smoke and burning from the fusible link.
Skybax MAY 17, 08:42 PM
I just saw you are in Bay City, not really middle MI, so I don't think those guys can help you.

[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 05-17-2021).]

trivet MAY 20, 08:38 AM

quote
Originally posted by Skybax:

With burning out another link and having burning smell, that isn't something I would take lightly cause you don't want to end up like this... https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/099773.html

The best suggestion I can give you is, the old-school shops that rebuilt starters and alternators are like mad scientists, these guys know their stuff more than anyone when it comes to these systems. I am blessed to have one of these shops locally and I have used them to rebuilt lots of my units of the last 40 years. I always tell my customers, don't put a junk parts store alternator/starer on your vintage vehicle that will only last 2 weeks or 2 years, take your old one to these guys and have it meticulously rebuilt correctly with quality parts and it will last another 36 years.

How does this help you? I looked on Google Maps and you are also blessed to have one of these places in Central MI (Lansing) so I would suggesting calling them, tell them your situation, and ask if they offer vehicle diagnosis if you bring the vehicle to them. If not and they only rebuild units, maybe they can steer you in the right direction or they might recommend you pulling your starter and bringing it to them for overall if they suspect a short in the solenoid. Regardless, its a great starting point (pun, haha) and here is link to their website and contact info... https://www.precision-pwr.com/




This is a great suggestion, but unfortunately no near me.

Would a (sometimes) frozen starter cause the fusible links to burn out?
fishsticks MAY 20, 10:48 AM
Here is the diagram for the starting/charging circuits.



Are you blowing fusible link A, E, or G? I suspect A.

If so, something is causing a huge load to travel across the circuit where you are blowing the link. A likely culprit is a short in the starter solenoid that is causing the motor to draw current through that path.

[This message has been edited by fishsticks (edited 05-20-2021).]

trivet MAY 20, 10:58 AM

quote
Originally posted by fishsticks:

Here is the diagram for the starting/charging circuits.



Are you blowing fusible link A, E, or G? I suspect A.

If so, something is causing a huge load to travel across the circuit where you are blowing the link. A likely culprit is a short in the starter solenoid that is causing the motor to draw current through that path.




Well, it is red, I think it's "A" - but I'll have to put some time into this to figure it out.

I'm having it towed to a local shop that I trust, as anything electrical is beyond my capability.

[This message has been edited by trivet (edited 05-20-2021).]