Hello fellow Monti Carlo owners.



My car is an 2004 3.4 liter.


I changed the starter a few days ago as the car would for no reason just not start.


Seems after I changed the starter the problem is still there. Also my RPMs sometimes act up. So I purchased a TPS which I will install tomorrow.


What happens is I will be driving the car from point a to b and later when I go start it, not all the time but seems when the weather changes the car will not start. Sometimes moving the car back and forth seems to trigger It to start as I thought. Today it happened again but moving the car and tapping the new starter did nothing. I left the car alone for about 10 min and came back and it started no prob.


Could this be an issue related to the Throttle Position Sensor


Or something else.


Thanks all.


Rob

 

Check your ground wires to make sure they have a good and tight connection. If they do check them again and clean them too.

 

When you attempt to start the car, does the starter make any noise? If you hear only ticking, there is probably not enough power, if you hear it actually trying to crank the engine, then that is good. If you hear nothing from the starter you have other issues.


I doubt the TPS has anything to do with this. That is used to tell the computer what position your throttle is in, which has no affect on starting the car.


As drivernumber3 mentioned, grounds. If you have a funky ground, say corroded, loose or damaged wire that is not making proper contact, this can cause weird problems.


You can try starting the car in park and try it in neutral. There is a Park/Neutral safety switch that allows you to only engage the started in those positions. Perhaps that is having an issue.


Does the security message show on your instrument cluster? If so, you may have an issue with the car's anti-theft system.


Just a few thoughts.

 

It does show the anti-theft light more often then not. How do I check that. I had the two keys I have remade from GM due to a recall. But one of my keys are just a Canadian Tire copy which in the past has acted out for starting. But it was very rare for it to do this.

 

Like Jason said, my first thought was the neutral safety switch

 

Does the "Message Center" actually say "Security" when you have this problem? Or do you get a padlock symbol on the message center? Can you get a picture of it and upload it?



You *might* get away with a security relearn (I attached the steps in a Word doc).


Luckily these keys are NOT chipped. But it could be a sign of part of the security system failing. That system is 3 pieces, BCM, PCM and a chip on the lock cylinder.

 

It shows the paddle lock, but not all the time. it seems I can start the car after putting a wrench between the bolts on the starter, wait for the starter to turn over and it will usually start.. Which means either my new starter is also faulty or something else. it also seems in the past couple of days the throttle/rpms have been axting normal. next time I see the paddle lock signal I will take a pic.

Thanks,

Rob

 

Scratch that about putting the wrench on the starter. would not do the trick this morning? Checked all fuses, all good. pushed on the gas pettle b4 turning over, heard a click? then tried starting it and it worked?

Tottally confused.

Rob

 

If you tried jumping the starter solenoid with a wrench and it doesn't turn over your starter is bad or the power wire is loose , if it was a security issue the car would either start and die right away or not start at all due to the security system. Good luck

 

So I found that the padlock icon is supposedly used in Canada (where the U.S. uses the word security). Per the owners manual:
If this is displayed continuously while driving and stays on, there may be a problem with the passlock system. Your vehicle will not be protected by passlock and you should see your dealer for service.

So I confirmed in the shop book that if passlock believe their is a theft issue, the starter relay is not going to engage (so the starter will not crank) and the injectors will not activate.

I have a feeling that your issue is with the security system. It could be a failed passlock chip in the lock cylinder, I have heard of a key used so much it is worn down... do you have an aftermarket remote start on the car?