No crank,No start Issue 2004 Chevy Silverado

[Will]

Hello people,I’m new to the forum here, Been a fan of ETCG for quite some time.I know he urges people to post car problem questions here,Here’s my Issue….

I have an 04 Chevy Silverado,5.3 vortec,Automatic trans,95K miles.
Recently while driving the truck to my local corner store,I shut it off,
Came back out minutes later and when you turn the key nothing happens.
I tried jump starting it to no avail,I hit the starter while someone
else was trying to start it,That didn’t work either.

Had AAA come out,They tested the battery,Test came back “Good” with 12.2V,
They also beat the hell out of the starter trying to get it to start,They towed it back to my place.

A few hours later,I went out to try to start it for the hell of it,Sure enough it fired right up? What gives? :blink: I’ve been driving the truck the last couple days,It starts right up like normal,except i let it idle when i go somewhere so i don’t get stranded again.

Tried to start my truck again today,And sure enough its doing the same exact thing,No crank,No start 🙁

What do you guys think it might be? Whats odd is the starter was replaced recently by my mechanic at a shop,He was doing a different repair on the truck,One of the tech’s accidentally dropped my starter and broke it,They put a new starter in but im not sure if its a cheapo rebuilt or what. Any help would be appreciated,Thanks.

Topic

[Will]

Common starter relay problems

* Failure of the energizing circuit. The relay is effectively “dead” when this circuit fails. Attempting to start the engine will be unsuccessful. Replace the starter relay.

• Failure of the contact circuit. The usual reason for this failure is a burned-out contact caused by the high current carried through the unit over time. The energizing circuit may still function. A “clicking” sound is the indication of this failure, caused by the contacts attempting to close.

Read more: Bad Starter Relay Symptoms | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5431512_bad-starter-relay-symptoms.html#ixzz29Vy0FRXj

[aknight_sa]

this could be the neutral safety switch, this switch doesnt allow the engine to crank if you are not in Park or Neutral, you can test by shifting the gear between N and P several times and see if it cranks.. you can also try cranking it in N

try that for now

[Will]

[quote=”aknight_sa” post=34197]this could be the neutral safety switch, this switch doesnt allow the engine to crank if you are not in Park or Neutral, you can test by shifting the gear between N and P several times and see if it cranks.. you can also try cranking it in N

try that for now[/quote]

Thanks for your reply,I saw a Video that Scotty Kilmer did a repair on a GM car that did have a faulty park/neutral safety switch.I have thought about that being possibly the issue as well.

I did in fact shift the trans into all gears several times.I also did try to start the truck in Neutral as well yesterday with no luck,As well as in Park.

I wish i had one of those electrical testing devices eric mentioned.I’m going to replace the Starter Relay first,Because it’s the cheapest replacement part in the system right now,They are as cheap as 5 dollars for a Ac Delco unit.Hopefully that fixes the issue,If not,I will investigate further.

[Will]

Eric the car guy,Or any technician or DIY’er on here,Have you seen Starter Relay’s go bad before in your time,Either on a clients car,Or your personal car? Also,Is it mandatory to have a Relay puller tool to replace the relay?Or can i do it by hand? I read to disconnect the Negative battery cable,Which of course i will do.

[dave]

For the hell of it i checked the fuse box,I noticed i have a 60A fuse missing for the VSES/ECAS,I have never messed with my fuses before ever,Stock radio in the truck and everything.Is that a Vital fuse to be missing?

According to the attached electrical schematic for your vehicle, the VSES/ECAS (electronically controlled air suspension) fuse is not used. If you got any extra fuses laying around, you could use this space as SPARE.

Also,Is it mandatory to have a Relay puller tool to replace the relay?Or can i do it by hand?

you can pull a relay by hand or use pliers. needle nose might also work.

I read to disconnect the Negative battery cable,Which of course i will do.

This is not necessary. One benefit of leaving the battery connected would be a simple diagnostic: with the relay out, go back to the relay socket and use a paper clip to jump terminals #30 and #87. If the starter engages, then you know that your problem is either the relay itself or a problem in the control circuit. If you want to make life simple, just replace the starter relay with a known good working relay (like the horn relay for example) and see if your vehicle will start.

advanced electrical testing mumbo jumbo
The relay socket is actually a good place to start probing with your DVOM because much like my ex-wife it is quick and easy to get to. In your specific case, you should have power at pin #85 with the ignition switch in ‘start’ or ‘run’ AND with the PNP set in ‘park’ or ‘neutral’ (or depressed cluch in manual transmissions). If no power, then you know the problem is somewhere ‘upstream’ in the relay control circuit. Additionally, pin #30 should be ‘hot at all times’ via battery voltage. If no power, then the problem is upstream of pin #30.

Attachments:

• ecas.jpg
• relay.jpg
• 2004silverado5.3_2012-10-17.png

[Will]

Well, I warrantied my battery and bought a starter relay,That didn’t fix the issue.So i called up the shop who did my last repair.Had it towed over there,Ended up being a bad starter after all.Their only charging me labor for putting a new starter in,I can’t complain:P Thanks to everyone for the help,I’m crossing my fingers that my truck issues go away for quite some time.

[college man]

Thanks for the update.keep us posted if things change.;)

[dreamer2355]

Thanks for posting the fix 🙂

[Will]

Thanks guys,Drove it all over today,It’s running good and starting up fine 🙂 banana:

[EricTheCarGuy]

One more thing to try if you suspect a starter is try tapping on it with a hammer when it’s not working, if it starts to work after you do this then it’s likely a starter issue. Keep us posted.

[Author]

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