My 2002 cavalier is a pain!!?

Question

I have replaced the battery,the starter,the alternator and put in a new computer and the car still will not run. The starter sounds a bit draggy so i replaced it but that still hasn't helped. Can someone give me any ideas???

Answer 1

Most of the time its cheaper to take the car to a auto shop than it is to just start replacing parts.There are way to many things that can stop a car engine from starting. Take it to a shop and have them check it out.  

Answer 2

Throwing parts at a problem, in the vain hope that you'll luck on to what is wrong, is a very poor and terribly expensive form of troubleshooting. If you had taken it to a good mechanic who could diagnose the problem and repair it you'd be driving it now and would most likely have spent far less than what you have. Just because a starter "Sounds a bit draggy" (what ever that means) it's no reason to replace it. Poor connections at the battery have cause more starting problems than in other single thing. Even though they aren't corroded and look normal, they could have oxide buildup which will cut the voltage available for starting. A wire brush will cure that problem. The alternator has absolutely nothing what so ever to do with the starting of a car. The alternator charges the battery while the engine is running and does nothing until the engine is running. The possibility of the computer causing the engine not to start is very slim and on some cars is non existent. In order to run an engine needs compression, fuel, spark and proper timing. You need to perform proper troubleshooting to determine which one is missing and then troubleshoot to determine the component that is causing it.

Answer 3

I'm not saying this is the problem. With out diagnostic your shooting in the dark. However I found this interesting... http://www.topix.net/forum/autos/chevrol...

Answer 4

sounds like a short somewhere.  maybe something as simple as a loose wire somewhere.

Answer 5

sounds like you're spending a lot of money on guesses rather than a little bit on diagnosis.

it takes three things for an engine to run--fuel, air to mix the fuel with, and a spark to light the fuel.  if the engine turns over but doesn't start, the problem is usually with either the fuel or the spark as there is plenty of air around.

so, what happens when you try to start the car?  if the engine is cranking do you have spark?  if you don't it could be a coil pack or position sensor issue

do you have fuel?  if not, it could be a fuel pump, or a restriction in the lines or filter

do you have compression?  if the car is flooded you could have washed down the cylinder walls with gasoline so that you're not compressing the mixture to light it.  an engine that has jumped time could also be the reason for no compression

rather than going on buying more parts on guesses, spend the few bucks to have a technician check for spark and fuel and compression and go from there.