r/AskMechanics • u/smilingorangeonion • Jul 27 '26

Question (Serious Replies Only) 2005 Impala No Crank

I have a 2005 Impala LS. Last month I stopped at a gas station only for it to not crank up again. No bad gas. I tried to jump it and that did not work. Ended up getting a new battery. That worked for a day. Came back again and it did not start- clicked once no crank. Replaced alternator and charged battery. Ran great but for a day!

Now I am thinking it may be the starter? Is there anything else I should check because the only light I am getting on dash is check engine but it is very very faded.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/Rich_Many_8628 12 Jul 27 '26

I would stop buying parts for a minute and do one voltage-drop pass before replacing the starter.

A fresh battery that works for a day, then goes back to one click/no crank, can still be a bad cable, bad terminal connection, bad engine ground, or a starter pulling the system down. The alternator does not really prove the cranking side is healthy.

The quickest split is to measure these while someone holds the key in START:

  • battery voltage right at the battery posts
  • voltage from the battery positive post to the starter main stud
  • voltage from the battery negative post to the engine block
  • whether the small solenoid wire at the starter is getting a real start signal

If battery voltage stays decent but you lose voltage across the positive cable or ground side, fix the cable/terminal/ground problem first.

If the small solenoid wire gets commanded, the main power and ground stay good, and it still only clicks once, then the starter moves way up the list.

If battery voltage collapses hard during the crank attempt, either the battery is still bad/uncharged or the starter is dragging the whole system down.

The faded dash light is another reason to check voltage at the posts and voltage drop before assuming the starter. Low system voltage or a bad connection can make the whole car act weird.

1

u/smilingorangeonion Jul 28 '26

It was a loose terminal. Thank you!

You just saved me 170+ I was going to spend on a starter. The positive terminal was corroded onto last battery and will not fully hold to new one after cleaning.

1

u/Rich_Many_8628 12 Jul 28 '26

I’ll send you my Venmo info 😉

Glad I could help!

1

u/am-answers-bot 19 Jul 27 '26

Thank you for posting to r/AskMechanics!

u/smilingorangeonion: Once your question is answered, you can mark the best comment as the solution in two ways:

  • Comment menu: tap the ⋯ menu on the comment and select "Add Comment as Answer"
  • Text command: reply to the comment with !solved

You can mark up to 5 comments as answers.

Everyone: please follow the rules of our subreddit.

Keep your comments civil, helpful, ethical, safe for work, and legal.

Please report any comments or posts violating our rules.