Hello, I'm a new member, signed up today, I bought a 99 Suburban with 126K miles on it. It was not running as it had no battery. Prior to purchase I checked fluids etc, eyeballed all major parts of the engine, plus it was recently inspected. But the main serpentine belt was missing as was the tension pulley. I've got it all back together and when I turn the key to the on position (not cranking) all electrical dash accessories, window's etc, work fine. When I go to turn the engine over,,, nothing. It almost feels like the ignition is faulty. doesn't feel tight like it should and feels like it's stripped. You know when you put in the key and turn it you feel each stage of the cycle? I hope I'm making myself clear. I'm not a mechanic but I've owned of these before and I have the ability to do what I'm shown or told, diagnosing such issues is where I need help. So this is as far as I've got today. I will crawl under to make sure I'm getting power to the starter too. should I breakdown the ignition housing to inspect it? I've also got one of those tools that will confirm voltage, continuity, etc.

 

If the switch is as you stated, bad, it woun't start, you probably (reading your post) have to replace the switch.

 

I assume that means the whole ignition switch, the one that comes with the new wires & housing etc, for about $95, Should I then purchase the new cylinder/lock with new keys? I only got one key with the truck & it is a duplicate too.

 

Yes, and probably expect taking it to the dealer to get it matched to the computer.

 

hold on a minute. DOES THE CAR HAVE A STARTER? IN IT? CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY? AND IF IT DOES....DOES IT WORK?

Then try to jiggle the gear selector and/or try to start the car in all the gears. It should only start in P and N.

Crawl under the steering area and remove the kick panels and knee bolsters and see if someone installed an anti-theft or remote start in this thing or if it was a theft recovery.

 

boy do I feel stupid. Great tip RacerX!!! I can't believe I over looked that one critical piece of the puzzle. It is missing. I saw the empty cavity and just about died. I then checked back behind the 3rd seat where the spare tire is and found the starter. I'm not sure if it's good or bad. I will mess with it in the morning. I bought this SUV at a charity auction, thus I don't have much data on the vehicle, including the ability to start it prior to purchase. If I have power getting to the starter/solenoid and it does not click/engage I suppose I can pull the solenoid apart and clean the brushes etc, making sure I've got good connections..... would hate to buy a $150 starter/solenoid if I don't have too. Again, thanks for pointing me to the obvious............... Duh....

I will post back later tomorrow with a progress report. Thanks everyone.

Aaron

 

Take the starter to your local parts store and have them check it if you can't. Also, the starter was probably off for a reason. I can't imagine why someone would pull a good one off the truck.

 

had the starter bench tested an it's ok. I did purchase the ignition switch & key's with lock/cylinder. I went to connect the code reader that I rented and it continues to give me error that it cannot link up. My guess is that since the ignition seems stripped that it's not finding the on position, with engine not running. Am I on the right track? I will pot back once starter is installed.

 

I'd think you might be right.

 

OK. Got starter in, engine turns over. Won't fire up yet. sounds & feels a little rough. I'm afraid of doing damage as I don't really know what the problem was that made the previous owner donate the truck. Of course, lot's of people donate their vehicles in order to get a good tax write off, but it could be that this Suburban has serious issues.

No pressure but we are supposed to leave on vacation Sat. am and need the truck to be operable.

Any ideas from here? The code reader is not linking up with the truck. My Haynes manual is pretty much useless in this situation. I need some help everybody.


'thanks,

Aaron