Help - Hot Engine will not start

[Upland WE4]

My '87 WE4 will not start after driving around on a hot day, running the air con makes it even worse. The car wont stall, it just wont start after driving around in the hot so cal weather. Water temp is about 200- 205. If I let it sit and cool down for about 30 or 40 minutes it will start. Any ideas what the problem is?? It's been doing this for some time now. thanks.

 

[turbolou]

Reply

My '87 WE4 will not start after driving around on a hot day, running the air con makes it even worse. The car wont stall, it just wont start after driving around in the hot so cal weather. Water temp is about 200- 205. If I let it sit and cool down for about 30 or 40 minutes it will start. Any ideas what the problem is?? It's been doing this for some time now. thanks.

How about some more info. Does it crank over & not start, Has the fuel pump ever been replaced, how has it been maintained etc.

 

[Upland WE4]

a well maintained cream puff. if while driven around on a hot day, when the car is turned off, it will not start again until it cools down. it will not crank or turn over...until it cools down. usually 30 or 40 minutes. fuel pump had not been replaced in some time. my mechanic is a turbo regal guy but he is stumped.

 

[Gary Wells]

Changing mechanics to Turbolou will resolve that issue.
Help support our hobby and TB.com by supporting the suppliers / vendors / turbo Buick shops that support TB.com.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

If it's the original starter, it may be time for a mini.
Also, an amp draw check could be helpful.

 

[turbobose13]

I Had That Happen to me, and it was the Timing sensor out, just thought i would throw that in.

 

[Upland WE4]

this message board is pretty kick ass. I had a previous Regal problem and got it fixed with the advice and experience of one of the members here who had the same problem. As for Turbo Lou, I just realized he has worked on my car in the past, several times, very good work. There are always several black cars out front of his shop. thanks!

 

[Gary Wells]

Upland WE4:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/so...rnota-membership-tb-com-sponsorship-team.html
HTH

 

[turbolou]

Reply

this message board is pretty kick ass. I had a previous Regal problem and got it fixed with the advice and experience of one of the members here who had the same problem. As for Turbo Lou, I just realized he has worked on my car in the past, several times, very good work. There are always several black cars out front of his shop. thanks!

Thanks Guys!
If you would like to give me a call. Maybe I can put you in the right direction.

 

[turbolou]

Thanks Gary!

Changing mechanics to Turbolou will resolve that issue.
Help support our hobby and TB.com by supporting the suppliers / vendors / turbo Buick shops that support TB.com.

If he has a good guy.I would give him a chance to try & figure it out. If he can't then I'm available.Just don't want any feelings hurt.

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
So you are saying that the starter will not engage after a hot soak? And you also comment that your regular guy is stumped? Has he personally observed this problem? My reason for requesting clarification is basically that there is a terminology gap sometimes when it comes to the description of symptoms. As a professional tech, I run into this often. It is very important to quiz the vehicle operator regarding the EXACT situation during which the problem occurs. Don't mean to sound like I think you are dumb, just trying to get down to the bottom line, diagnostically.

 

[Upland WE4]

a hot soak? if that means driving around on a hot day, running the air con and getting the engine nice and hot, then yes. after a hot soak, if I turn the engine off and then try to start it again right away, more often than not, it wont start, wont crank over, no clicking, nothing. dead. But if I let the car sit for 30 or 40 min. and cool down a bit, it will start right up. I've had this 87 WE4 for 12 years now, this is a new never seen before issue.

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
Change the starter. They are cheap, so it's not a situation where you will be bent over trying to pay for it. After that,I can't help you. Good luck with your trouble!

 

[Upland WE4]

thanks!

 

[TurboBuRick]

I second that starter.

Hey Chuck, you have a part # for that mini?

 

[Upland WE4]

OK, change starter to a mini.

 

[SS/GNX]

I had a 68 camaro with the same problem, and I could not get to the bottom of it, thought is was the starter, then the battery, couldnt figure it out.

Found out that I actually had a wire grounding itself out... and for whatever reason unknown to me or any other human, it only happened once in awhile and would start back up if you gave it some time... maybe the wind blew the wire back, I have no CLUE, but check all your wires going to the starter, battery, alternator, everything and make sure you dont have any shorts and/or exposed wires anywhere.

Could very well be starter though.. just want you to check so you dont spend money for nothing!

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
Good advice! The best you can do is just what you are doing;the car will be ok.I am impressed with your resilience. Good luck!

 

[turbolou]

Reply

Sure sounds like a bad starter. Some time ago I ran into a problem with a car that only acted up at the track. Under hard launch the car would cut out momentarily. Never anywhere else. It turned out to be the positive battery cable with melted insulation grounding against the header. This may be a bit off topic but that cable can get close to the header & I make a point of checking that when ever I'm working in that area.

 

[Underboost]

I had a problem like this and others have also there was some corrosion behind the fuse block. It was an intermittent problem only when hot. Acts like a bad starter solenoid.