Key turns...swishing sound from console
 

Wife tried to start my 00 se this morning and she told me it tried to start but it did not turn over. when she tried again a swishing sound came from the console. I believe its a dead battery. But we had a heavy snow and temps are very low. It ran fine Sunday, voltage 14. Any answers to my problem? Thx.:mad::mad:

Fairly common problem. Clean your battery cables. When this happens you can still get full voltage but can't get enough amps to turn over the starter.

https://www.gmforum.com/t278927/

Danthurs, my battery is under my rear seat also it connected to a "side box". This is where you jump the car from. Also, remember my post about a possessed car...she's back. I went out to disconnect the posy cable to prevent damage and the "side box" was swishing and gently grinding, clicking. I don't know any thing about this nor how to fix it...she was doing it on her own. I did disconnect it. My father in law is coming over to clean the terminals. Wish me luck, and do you have any other suggestions.

You may need to clean where the cable connects to the starter and where the ground connects to the block. It is more likely the problem is at the battery. After cleaning put some Vaseline or dielectric grease on. this will help keep them clean. You may need to clean these 1 or 2 times a year.

My father-in-law came over and he is a farmer. We checked all the terminals and no corrosion. He is going to get his jumping set along with the battery tester. Where is the started located at on a 00. I know you have a late 90's Bonnie but do you know the location of the starter. It seems to be in self test mode. Also the snow we got last night was a damp snow and temps are in the 20's.

Your starter should be in the same place as mine. I don't have a picture of the starter, but I did find this. It's in front under the exhaust manifold. In this picture you can just see the cable going to it next to my hand. The exhaust manifold is removed in this picture.
Attachment 30231

I'll see if I can find a diagram showing it.

I did research this problem on the internet and it is a common problem... However, you are right about corrosion. It know for a fact that it can happen overnight. I disconnected the cables going to the fuse box and reconnected them. Would jumping the car be bright idea?

I should not be a problem. Just make sure you hook it up right. If it starts right up, then the problem is at the battery. Either corroded terminals, or a bad battery.

My father-in-law studied the manual and hooked it up correctly. We had lights and radio, but it would not turn over. His dio was a corroded starter. They use a spray down here as well as a bio green salt. I wander if letting this sit for two days caused it. Hmmmm..... Thanks Dan. I'm going to call my mechanic to see if he can assist me with a closer look... Thx a bunch, I as well believe its corrosion. My father-in-law checked the battery light-OK, checked the terminals that we could see-OK, and we tried to jump it- not ok. Did not turn over, but dome lights came on and the console went crazy. I got nervous and told him to disconnect and the car went back to the same thing over again... I'm thoughtless at the moment and a little pissed, Mom and I are dirt poor right now. She is laid off and pregnant. I just started a new job, after be laid off as well. Can't afford to fix it if its a big fix. I hope its the terminals. Wish me luck.

Once again the problem is the car won't turn over and the swishing sound comes from the console as well as the fuse box, located next to the vented battery.

Light on battery is good, termnals around battery and the posy jump terminal under the hood id good as well.

While it drove, the voltage ran up to 14.5 - 15, in cpu on mode the gauge ran 12 straight.

I think that if it was a terminal it would be the ground. I know because when I installed my last radio. If you took of the ground the radio did wacky things

If the jump didn't work then that leave the connection at the starter, and the starter. If you hooked the ground clamp on your car to the engine that eliminates the ground connection, leaving only the starter.

Thats exactly what my mechanic said... Could the started be bad in a broken-egg effect when my wife turned it over causing a ground to go bad? This could be the problem... I love the car, but hate the electrical stuff... (clicking my shoes together) "I wish it was a 70 SS Chevelle with blue two tone..." Crap...It's my good ol bonnie. Ok, I take it.

bear in mind if you find the time... alot of auto parts stores can check the starter if you removed it and took it to them for testing to make sure whether or not it works before replacing

I'm not a mechanic, I'm a driver. I've always been a driver. Drove Go'karts to stock, but never owned anything like this. Always had rice burners. Family comes first with funding. Thx for the help.

Where are you located? Sometimes there is another member near by that can help.

im into backyard performance hehe... removing the starter is not hard... its a pain and its time consuming but its not hard - just removing a couple bolts and pulling it out

but if you dont wanna venture into it... try to find some close members to help... i would but im sure im not close at all lol

You wont need a lot of skills to remove it. If you have a few tools and a garage to work in it's a snap, even for a beginner.

Disconnect negative battery cable.
Remove wires from starter
remove two bolts holding starter to engine.
Wiggle starter out.

That's it. A bit cramped but not to bad.

the only real pain will be getting to it. You will have to work around a few things. But if you simply don't have the tools and skills, we understand.

Im the kind of guy when I fix stuff...it turns to crap. My wife did say that it tried to catch when she turned it over but it stopped and the lights on the console started to flicker....it must be a ground. I live in New Paris, OH

That sounds like a bad battery or corroded connections. A bad starter would more then likely not work at all. It sounds like the starter is engaging and not getting the amps it needs. That's why the lights are flickering. Now, you said you checked the connections at the battery. So that leaves at the starter. Hmm, I seem to remember someone else having this problem with the battery in back. I'll do a search and see what I find. Right now I'm thinking the starter may be fine. There's a chance you have a bad cable also.

Dan, She said that it tried to turn over then died... I think its the battery. Can corrosion ground out a battery? After the first try she tried again... nothing... She won't do nothing but what seems like be in a self-check mode... I am worried that a mouse did some damage... Thx for all your help.

What your describing sounds like a dead battery. But didn't you say you tried jumping the car?

yes, my Father-in-law jumped it...so I thought. He put the posy to posy under the hood and the neg on the metal bar that connects the Alt to tho the engine. I think this was set up wrong, but I did not want to piss the old man off. The dome lights did come on but no turn over, just some more swishing at the console. Dan, I believe it a corroded ground or its not grounded.

Ok, first, that's how you jump a car. The running car has the clamps put on the battery posts. The disabled car has the positive on the post, and the ground on the engine, not the battery. This is also the last clamp to be put on. This is done in case the battery explodes, that happened to my dad, it's not a good thing. If the ground was corroded jumping like this will bypass that. But still clean the ground anyways. You should have the battery load tested. If it's bad this will tell you. Signs of a bad battery or corroded wires is slow crank, then clicking, and or dimming lights. Bad starter is generally nothing, and lights don't dim much if at all.

Hmmmm.... I noticed that when it gets done self testing...wait a tick...Is it possible to upload video to you guys in a low format. I wonder if I can take video of the problem.

Just upload the video to some place like photobucket, then post a link to it here. I'll take a look.

ok, will do

Well, I went out this morning and thought maybe just maybe it would start....nope. So I got a battery tester and tested the battery... I proceeded to try to take the red protective cap off of the posy on the battery when the whole posy assembly post came undone frome the battery...CRAP!!! I noticed that the inside of the posy assembly looked rusted also the battery read dead. The green indicator light is very dim. Could I just have a dead battery?

I would say that's a very good possibility. Change it and I'm sure the car will be fine.

Its funny how things work....and make you the biggest ass on the planet!

If it makes you feel any better, we have all had something happen that makes us slap ourself in the forehead saying, what the? :rolleyes:

ya... myself... $500 in parts to fix a problem brought on by a fracture in a spark plug... engine missing but no codes for a miss fire... couple for sensors so i replaced the sensors, lost the codes still had the miss... took to the best tech in the shop and he diagnosed 1 cracked plug in 10 mins... made me feel like an ass but now i have all new sensors so no biggy... lifes full of lessons, take it, learn from it, and never short change yourself

Dan, it was the battery. I had my mechanic make a house call and he put in an Interstate vented battery. I an sold on Interstate bat's. Holy crap the whole care seems and feels better. What had happened was when my wife tuned the key the starting to corrode battery died and the eight year old battery was overlooked... I felt so dumb. My mechanic, Dustin, installed the battery and he was shocked stating that the corrosion with the killing load actually cut the post in half and it could have started a fire. You were right about the corrosion, you forgot to tell me to the the inside of the battery...LOL

So next time, I think its a good idea to ask the age of the battery.

My symptoms where whooshing sound from the dash.

That's already been added. Thanks.