During a road trip, I developed an issue where the pulley inside the A/C compressor stopped moving and my belt was rubbing. It was smoking and smelled if burning rubber (obviously). We stopped for the night and when we woke up to take it to be fixed...the car would not start. Lights came on (battery was fine) but nothing as far as starting. No noises at all.

It was towed to a mechanic. They figured out how to start it...I have to turn the key to the on position, then pop the hood, remove cover from fuse box, and squeeze the starter relay. It fires right up. So...what is causing this? I've been told starter switch (by a general mechanic) and I've been told (by Chevy dealership) my pcm is bad.

Anyone here have any ideas? I'd very much appreciate your knowledgeable input.

Sode note...the a/c compressor was replaced fixing the belt problem too. But they don't think that issue had anything to do with the starting problem.

 

Did they try changing the starter relay?

 

if you squeeze the relay and it works that'd be the fastest cheapest and most logical place to start, or just swap it with another relay to verify

 

Yes. They tried that. The relay was fine

 

They did that. The relay was ok.

 

Yep. Tried that

 

what vehicle? and what were the explanations of why they thought that would repair it? are you able/wanting to do testing yourself?

 

It's a 2005 Chevy Equinox. I honestly have no clue how they figured out how to start it this way. They were messing with it for a bit. I'm definitely willing to try some things on my own. Is there a way to test if it's the ignition switch before I just throw money away buying a new one? Do you think that could be the problem?