Cadillac Repair: 1989 Cadillac Eldorado, cadillac eldorado, pep boys

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a cadillac eldorado a 1989 i just replaced the alternator and battery and today everytime I started it it was fine till I got out of the car to go to the store for like 30 seconds, climb back in and went to start it and it wouldn't start, i had it jumped and it started right up, took it to have the alternator and battery checked and they are fine, autozone shut it off and it wouldn't start again, I jumped it again and it started right up, they say the starter is shot, is this true?  Thanks for any help you can give

ANSWER: Hello,


My first thought is to never trust the goofs at Autozone. I am not picking only on them, but any parts store that tries to diagnose an electrical problem. They are not mechanics and should not be touching a car!!

Yes, you could have a bad starter or alternator, battery or a parasitic draw.

The first test would be to see if when running, at the battery the voltage should be 14.2.

It is very possible you have a major draw on the battery. To eliminate this is easy. Disconnect the positive cable from the battery. Put a test light between the battery and the cable. If the light is on, you need to pull one fuse at a time until the light goes out.

As for the starter, if it is drawing over 300 amps when cranking, the starter could be the problem.

The fact that the engine starts with a jump concerns me and also makes the battery suspect.

I would suggest taking the car to a reputable service garage in your area. Don't take it to the dealer for the diagnoses.

I see far too many people going to Autozone, pep boys etc. giving the wrong diagnoses.
With the economy the way iot is everyone is trying to save money and I appreciate that. Going to these parts stores can get someone in trouble. There are too many times that the continued misdiagnoses from these parts stores just cost the public a lot of money. These stores are out to sell parts. They don't care if you replaced a perfectly good alternator or battery. They are there only to sell parts and should not be using diagnostic equipment.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The battery goes up to 14 but not past.  I have no way to see or find out what the starter is cranking at.  I shut off everything in the car before turning it off and the radio doesn't work.  The battery is a second hand one that I bought at a battery shop here in my hometown and the hooked up a tester to it and said that it is suppose to read over 9.60 and was reading at 10.1 and told me the battery was ok and the alternator was replaced this past saturday and is ok.  Is there a way to test the starter before taking it in to a shop?  Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated and also my step dad is a retired car mechanic and said it could be the netural switch or something too.  I started it 10 times since this happened and it started every time...

Answer
Hello,

The problem is not a neutral switch.

I still question the battery because it starts when it is jumped. Usually if the starter is bad, jumping the battery makes no difference. In these cases, it sounds strange, but we would hit the starter with a hammer and the engine would start. If the starter in this case is the problem, I just do not think it would start with a jump.

This is the problem with replaced parts. Because they are replaced, it is always assumed that part is not the problem.

It sounds like your battery can't crank the engine. Please remember, I am not looking at the car and only going by your description.

Here is something to think about. Why is it a car with jumper cables makes it so the engine will start? I would suggest a new battery with 850CC and you should never have a battery problem again.