Low voltage, no starter 1999 Buick Park Ave.?

Question

My wifes 1999 buick park avenue started running very poorly, she pulled over and shut off the engine.
She checked all the fluids and everything was ok.
The car would not even engage the starter to try and start it again.

I showed up and checked the voltage using the dash computer and it read 11.2 volts.
I plugged in a code reader and got "random misfire" code off the computer.

I figured she must have lost the alternator and just drove it till the battery was dead, when the voltage got so low it could not maintain the electronic ignition it started misfiring and running poor.

I connected jumper cables to it and even after 35 minutes I could not get any reaction from the starter (dash lights go dead, small click). I pulled the battery out and put the battery from my pickup in the car (cables clean, everything tight) and the car still will not engage the starter.

I put her old battery in my pickup and it fired right up, so battery was not the issue.

I also used the dash computer in her car to check the voltage on the battery from my pickup and it also only showed 11.2 volts. I know that battery is hot.

All grounds from engine to body and frame are tight and clean.

If she had not had the rough running issue and "random misfire" code I would be thinking "replace the starter" but I have never seen a bad starter block voltage from a running car so that the electrical system could not get enough voltage to function properly.

If anyone has any thoughts on this I would love to hear them. I am going to go buy a starter tomorrow if I can't come up with anything else to check but this issue has some strange elements I have not seen before.

Thank you for reading!

Answer 1

If the battery was not dead you don't have a bad alternator or battery, with the cables being clean and the grounds intact I would say it would have to be a bad starter or failed neutral safety switch.



Neither of those would explain the low voltage reading unless the starter solenoid has burned through most of the connection internally though.



This may be one of those rare cases where two things failed at once, I would replace the starter and then if it fires up troubleshoot the missing if it still exists.



Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yes, it just could be a bad starter although it sounds like a failing alternator.If while running the voltage meter does not read about 13.5 volts or more the alternator is failing or you have a short some where.

Answer 3

some thing is loading the gadget and draining the battery and over loading the alternator. examine to work out if the radiator fan is coming near at the same time as this happens. if so then you genuinely opt for a sparkling fan motor. They require alot of voltage to ramp up and if the bearings are going undesirable which may reason the potential loss. My ninety seven cougar is doing an same aspect, at the same time as the fan activates.

Answer 4

If your battery will not start her car even though her started yours, etc. it sounds more like a short in one of the wires, not an alternator. I have heard of a bad chip doing that to a car as well.