Miss these old A Body cars. My Dad had a Chevy Celebrity in the early 90s was a good car and will always be remembered alongside our Ford Aerostar as part of my childhood
I had that happen to my 1993 Buick. Positive battery terminal has 2 cables, large one goes to starter, smaller one goes to the fuse box. The smaller one had a poor connection to the inside of the battery "clamp". It was an aftermarket side terminal clamp. The factory clamps also can get corrupted inside. The slow crank was worse when hot. I also replaced the starter before discovering this clamp issue. I think the lower voltages under load may have ruined the original starter---I did bench test and found it had shorted out---the first symptoms appeared last fall and returned again after I did a battery and a starter, so I concluded that it was the battery connection that caused it all. By last summer, the problem came back, slow crank while hot, but this time I was getting "no crank" at all--as if the ignition switch itself was not sending a signal. Jacked up the car, jumped the starter terminals with a screw driver, it cranked perfectly. Then I discovered the corrosion on that battery clamp-to-wiring connection. hope this can save some trouble.
It's not the alternator. Check the smaller wire from the positive battery terminal! Bad connection! When the slow crank issue happens, go under the car with a screw driver and crank the starter from below: if it starter right up then you have low voltage going to the starter solenoid/relay in the ignition key crank circuit---originating from the battery clamp itself
Could be maybe weak starter from sounds like weak starter will make it turn over really slow and it sometimes won't start my dad had a red 1990 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck it would start slow and it wouldn't start when it got hot because the starter was weak Chevrolet S10 pickup trucks from 1990 did that etc and it would start when it cooled off
Does the engine get hot and then stop stall at a red light? Your coolant fan does not cool the engine enough when you pause at a red light resulting in over heating. When you let the engine cool down a few minutes the engine starts up again. Check the cooling system. Your cooling fan is not coming on, thus vapor lock.Your gas vaporizes before it reaches the injectors, When the gasoline is cooled down it will cease to vaporize and the engine will start as usual until it overheats again.
I just went through the exact problem. EXACTLY...I WENT THROUGH THE BATT..CLEANED CABLES...USED A JUNPER SWITCH TO TRACK THE WIREING..HAD THE STARTER REMOVED SO I TOOK TO 3 PLACES TO CONFORM IT WAS GOOD...PUT IT BACN IN STILL NO START...IT WAS IN THE WIREING.. HIT ME UP IF YOU NEED MORE HELP...
Have the same problem changed starter,crank position sensor, drive it for 25 miles killes won't start sounds like it's out of time.. give it an hour it will start again..still trying to figure it out.. can find anybody that will work on a 1996 and below car I have A 1991 cutlass with 56,000 miles on it and not going to give up..good luck my friend 😕
Starter has an old stator winding and when it gets heat saturated it shorts and wont turn the motor till it cools down. Replace the starter, clean all connections and you should have been fixed up. If it's low amp draw when cranking, it's shorted between windings. If it's drawing high amps it's shorted to the case.
I love these cars! I own a 1992 Ciera and it's got around 130k on it. Drives pretty well for it's age. How many miles is on this one? Everyone says these things will run for ever. It's my daily driver.
Mine has 330k on it, hoping for 500k and then contact GM to see if they want to use it as a promo to show how durable their cars are ... they might even give me a new one for it.
@@bassman3212 change oil regularly, keep it running smooth by repair or replacement of any parts causing engine to miss, i.e. plugs, wires, fuel filter, etc. I am the 3rd owner and I got it w/288k on the odometer, previous owner got it when it had 180k and he maintained it also. Wish you the best.
I just bought one with 187k miles and sat for 3 years, poured water in radiator, topped off brake fluid, and it started right up and drove 30 minutes home like it never even got turned off
@@silverridgeramblin3066 they aren't that bad really... Half hour, maybe an hour start to finish... Just got to go for it.... Ps- I just wanted to say that your handsome .
That's what my friend did and it worked but he's gone somewhere and I forgot to plug it in and I've been trying to find out what I have to bang on? So what do I have to search up to see how it looks
@@brutusglock7869 Don't bang. I had a shop do that and my tranny started leaking. Didn't do that until they were banging on it. It's an old car 1993 Olds cutlass ciera.
Sounds like the starter motor. It can be intermittent. I had mine replaced about a year ago and I have your duplicate car. It can get weak, and finally dies completely. I have a broken 1993 Olds Cutlass Ciera. The key froze up into the starter (couldn't turn it off), had to pull fuses so I could turn it off, and can't get it out. Battery drained. I'm hoping an Auto Battery and Electric shop will fix it. They're very honest and reasonable.
Its the starter. I inherited my grandmothers 89 Pontiac 6000 LE in 2003 after she passed with 50,000 miles. Mine was doing that the starter is pulling all the amps from the battery because starter is weak.
Same car, same problem. Same search. Found problem was a broken wire going into starter, was told it was a fused line designed to break (could be true), i just used a butt connector and problem solved.
I have not had a starter issue with my 2000 Buick Lesarbe but I did have a battery and alternator replaced, but I would check any fuse or relay before you go and buy a starter and if it is not that then I guess because the car is a 92 the starter is original and the electrics are probably going.
My '77 Vette had the same problem, starts cold and runs great but when warmed up and I shut it off it wouldn't start, ESPECIALLY in the summer .... it was the solenoid that need to be replaced and it was getting overheated because it was so close to the exhaust manifold/pipe and Chevy didn't design it with a proper heat shield.
You could have determined if you had 14 volts when the car was running with a $10 volt meter. If so, not the alt. If the horn blows and headlights come on, then it ain't the battery either...most likely a bad starter. Just won't crank when hot. Scotty Kilmer just showed a vid where a Honda did the same exact thing.
My car is the EXACT same make/model/year as this one! EXACT SAME issue. I just replaced the alternator...gonna try the starter now based on the O.P. and comments. 227,000 and (usually) running like new! These things will run forever!! Oh, I had the same issue with the one nut. The whole post ended up coming out with it, and the sucker would NOT come off the post. Ended up stripping it and replacing the connector as well. Waste of a good hour trying to get that nut loose 😂😳😢.
Not the starter! I pulled my starter, had it tested - it tested good! I completely agree about the battery and also the placement! Wanted to SMACK the idiot that came up with that!
Miss these old A Body cars. My Dad had a Chevy Celebrity in the early 90s was a good car and will always be remembered alongside our Ford Aerostar as part of my childhood
Yeah my 92 cutlass Ciera is ALWAYS giving me a new issue. even if you take great care of a car it always has something new for you to do
I had that happen to my 1993 Buick. Positive battery terminal has 2 cables, large one goes to starter, smaller one goes to the fuse box. The smaller one had a poor connection to the inside of the battery "clamp". It was an aftermarket side terminal clamp. The factory clamps also can get corrupted inside.
The slow crank was worse when hot.
I also replaced the starter before discovering this clamp issue. I think the lower voltages under load may have ruined the original starter---I did bench test and found it had shorted out---the first symptoms appeared last fall and returned again after I did a battery and a starter, so I concluded that it was the battery connection that caused it all.
By last summer, the problem came back, slow crank while hot, but this time I was getting "no crank" at all--as if the ignition switch itself was not sending a signal. Jacked up the car, jumped the starter terminals with a screw driver, it cranked perfectly. Then I discovered the corrosion on that battery clamp-to-wiring connection.
hope this can save some trouble.
It's not the alternator. Check the smaller wire from the positive battery terminal! Bad connection! When the slow crank issue happens, go under the car with a screw driver and crank the starter from below: if it starter right up then you have low voltage going to the starter solenoid/relay in the ignition key crank circuit---originating from the battery clamp itself
Could be maybe weak starter from sounds like weak starter will make it turn over really slow and it sometimes won't start my dad had a red 1990 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck it would start slow and it wouldn't start when it got hot because the starter was weak Chevrolet S10 pickup trucks from 1990 did that etc and it would start when it cooled off
Its heat soak when starter gets hot it wont crank or cranks slowly get a heat wrap or new starter
Vapor lock?
Does the engine get hot and then stop stall at a red light? Your coolant fan does not cool the engine enough when you pause at a red light resulting in over heating. When you let the engine cool down a few minutes the engine starts up again. Check the cooling system. Your cooling fan is not coming on, thus vapor lock.Your gas vaporizes before it reaches the injectors, When the gasoline is cooled down it will cease to vaporize and the engine will start as usual until it overheats again.
I do have the same car..and 3.3...I know alot about this car..
I just went through the exact problem.
EXACTLY...I WENT THROUGH THE BATT..CLEANED CABLES...USED A JUNPER SWITCH TO TRACK THE WIREING..HAD THE STARTER REMOVED SO I TOOK TO 3 PLACES TO CONFORM IT WAS GOOD...PUT IT BACN IN STILL NO START...IT WAS IN THE WIREING..
HIT ME UP IF YOU NEED MORE HELP...
Have the same problem changed starter,crank position sensor, drive it for 25 miles killes won't start sounds like it's out of time.. give it an hour it will start again..still trying to figure it out.. can find anybody that will work on a 1996 and below car I have A 1991 cutlass with 56,000 miles on it and not going to give up..good luck my friend 😕
Same problem I have with mine. 😢
Starter has an old stator winding and when it gets heat saturated it shorts and wont turn the motor till it cools down. Replace the starter, clean all connections and you should have been fixed up. If it's low amp draw when cranking, it's shorted between windings. If it's drawing high amps it's shorted to the case.
I'd it possible to swap out a top mount battery mine is shot and I don't wanna install another side mount battery
I love these cars! I own a 1992 Ciera and it's got around 130k on it. Drives pretty well for it's age. How many miles is on this one? Everyone says these things will run for ever. It's my daily driver.
It had 110k on it I believe
Mine has 330k on it, hoping for 500k and then contact GM to see if they want to use it as a promo to show how durable their cars are ... they might even give me a new one for it.
@@robertpierce8567 330 wow! Any tips on maintaining to last longer? I hope mine last that long.
@@bassman3212 change oil regularly, keep it running smooth by repair or replacement of any parts causing engine to miss, i.e. plugs, wires, fuel filter, etc.
I am the 3rd owner and I got it w/288k on the odometer, previous owner got it when it had 180k and he maintained it also. Wish you the best.
I just bought one with 187k miles and sat for 3 years, poured water in radiator, topped off brake fluid, and it started right up and drove 30 minutes home like it never even got turned off
It's the starter.... Try banging on it while someone turns the key, bet it fires right up...
Thats what I think too I just dont feel like fixing it ugh
@@silverridgeramblin3066 they aren't that bad really... Half hour, maybe an hour start to finish... Just got to go for it.... Ps- I just wanted to say that your handsome .
That's what my friend did and it worked but he's gone somewhere and I forgot to plug it in and I've been trying to find out what I have to bang on? So what do I have to search up to see how it looks
@@brutusglock7869 Don't bang. I had a shop do that and my tranny started leaking. Didn't do that until they were banging on it. It's an old car 1993 Olds cutlass ciera.
I have a 1991 Olds Cutlass Cierra - same exact problem! Nuts! MAF sensor - disconnect and car may start! Not a permanent or everytime fix!
Sounds like the starter motor. It can be intermittent. I had mine replaced about a year ago and I have your duplicate car. It can get weak, and finally dies completely. I have a broken 1993 Olds Cutlass Ciera. The key froze up into the starter (couldn't turn it off), had to pull fuses so I could turn it off, and can't get it out. Battery drained. I'm hoping an Auto Battery and Electric shop will fix it. They're very honest and reasonable.
Its the starter. I inherited my grandmothers 89 Pontiac 6000 LE in 2003 after she passed with 50,000 miles. Mine was doing that the starter is pulling all the amps from the battery because starter is weak.
Indeed it was
Same car, same problem. Same search. Found problem was a broken wire going into starter, was told it was a fused line designed to break (could be true), i just used a butt connector and problem solved.
My starter had gone bad replaced it and it worked fine
@@silverridgeramblin3066 Good. I replaced starter 2x and no luck at the time. Cars are fun, especially these older ones as they keep us thinking.
I have not had a starter issue with my 2000 Buick Lesarbe but I did have a battery and alternator replaced, but I would check any fuse or relay before you go and buy a starter and if it is not that then I guess because the car is a 92 the starter is original and the electrics are probably going.
Yeah its orginal I believe so the starter could be bad
Yes!
The starter or its connectors...
My '77 Vette had the same problem, starts cold and runs great but when warmed up and I shut it off it wouldn't start, ESPECIALLY in the summer .... it was the solenoid that need to be replaced and it was getting overheated because it was so close to the exhaust manifold/pipe and Chevy didn't design it with a proper heat shield.
Replaced the starter and it worked fine. I think it was getting cooked from the motor
You could have determined if you had 14 volts when the car was running with a $10 volt meter. If so, not the alt. If the horn blows and headlights come on, then it ain't the battery either...most likely a bad starter. Just won't crank when hot. Scotty Kilmer just showed a vid where a Honda did the same exact thing.
Yeah thats my guess too thanks for your help shes still sitting there
My car is the EXACT same make/model/year as this one! EXACT SAME issue. I just replaced the alternator...gonna try the starter now based on the O.P. and comments. 227,000 and (usually) running like new! These things will run forever!!
Oh, I had the same issue with the one nut. The whole post ended up coming out with it, and the sucker would NOT come off the post. Ended up stripping it and replacing the connector as well. Waste of a good hour trying to get that nut loose 😂😳😢.
I got to turn the key on then off then mine cranks over.
Did you try the starter
Not the starter! I pulled my starter, had it tested - it tested good! I completely agree about the battery and also the placement! Wanted to SMACK the idiot that came up with that!
I can help.
A $6 dollar VOM would tell you
Think your funny