electrical issues 97 lumina
 

Ok, here's what's going on. Ac comp locked up and starter burnt out. Replaced the ac comp with bypass pulley and changed out the starter with a used one. WIth the replacement starter, it turns but doesn't catch unless I give it gas. I noticed that after I hooked the battery cable back iin, the passenger side fan would start even without the key in the ignition. Also, in try to start it, I noticed that smoke would come from the starter. My question is the starter bad or should I look at a relay ( the fuses were checked and they're fine)? Or is it something else?

The fan issue may be due to removing the ac. Starter is what it is, the solenoid may be the issue, but it wouldn't be a relay.

I changed the solenoid today without luck. The old one had a single grounding post and the new one had a double so maybe theirs an issue there.

Nope, those are not grounds. The S small post is from the ignition switch, the other small post you ignore that would be from previous units with electronic ignition aftermarket.
If your starter is smoking, should tell you that's is an issue, used, unkown condition, your call.

It's a good thing I don't work in a shop for a living! I tested the battery and saw that the charge was low. I'm thinking it may be the starter but may be an unassociated electrical issue. That fan that would start on it's own would stop when I removed a certain relay which pertains neither to that fan or the starting/ignition system. I'm going to try to switch out the starters again. If that doesn't work it's going to the mechanic.

Hi my name is Matt and I suck at cars. The reason it was smoking is because I was putting the battery wires on both the big posts instead of just the nonground post. I appreciate the help. Thank you