Thread: Need help quick!

So as some of you may know, I'm currently driving cross country in my $500 97 Grand Prix GT. I'm 1800 miles in and car works great, hasn't failed. Only problem I have seems to involve the computer. Sometimes I try to turn the ignition and it doesn't turn over, and won't let me take the keys out. The first time I just held the yellow button under the dash and that fixed it. The second time I unplugged the positive cable of the battery and reconnected it, and that fixed it.

I'm currently in a Fairfield Inn parking lot and am having the same problem. I can't seem to fix it, so if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it. Until then I'm stuck in this parking lot. Heh, thanks in advance. Keys won't come out, I'm going to try unplugging the battery for 15 minutes and see if that helps. I can get the lights and everything to come on, but the keys are still stuck.

Damn it, after reattaching and playing with the battery I finally got the keys out, but then after putting them back in to start the car they got stuck again. Maybe the battery's dead? But the lights in the car still come on. *sigh*

So basically when I reconnect the battery I can get all the inside accessories to turn on and take the key out, but the second I go to turn it on, everything dies and the keys get stuck again. I'm stumped, looks like I'm spending the night here and taking it to a shop in the morning, unless someone has an idea.

Ok, so it looks like the problem has something to do with the starter. From what I've read I can try manually starting it by rapping on the starter with a screwdriver/hammer, but unfortunately I'm too stupid to know where the starter is. I'm guessing it's on the rear of the engine either to the left or the right. What part of the starter am I supposed to tap? Do I need someone else to turn the key while I do this?

Since I can't turn the car on to roll the window up, I'm just going to sleep in the car and have it towed in the morning. So much for keeping this trip cheap. Still open to suggestions if anyone has ideas.

Btw, the starter doesn't crank at all. As soon as the key is turned, everything turns off and the key gets stuck until I disconnect the battery. Is it worth trying to jump it?:I doubt the battery is the problem since after messing with it repeatedly, the lights, alarm, etc still work 100%. Again, I'm pretty sure it's the starter, but I don't know what to check first. Any tips would be great.

I looked online at pictures of starters, but I'm still lost as to where I'm supposed to tap it, or what connections to chec or if there's anything I can try before buying a new one.

Thanks for the idea Liquifire. I did actually manage to shift it a few times from park/neutral/reverse, and that didn't do anything. Thanks though.

I'm only sharing this for a good laugh. As I said, I spend all night last night looking around with a flashlight, trying to figure out what was wrong. After unplugging the positive battery cable, reconnecting it and getting power, then trying to start the car only to find the keys were stuck again, I'd again disconnect the battery, rinse and repeat, trying to figure out what the hell could be wrong. I checked the starter and everywhere I could think for loose connections, and finally called an on-site mechanic.

As he got there, I was showing him the problem, and as I was messing with the positive battery cable, I reached over to the negative and...loose. Basically I spent the whole night messing around with it, called a mechanic, and then figured out the problem myself. I paid him the $35 house call fee even though he didn't have to do anything, then went on my way, ego bruised.

2300 miles down, 700 to go. I got an oil change yesterday, and the guy there told me the rubber mount that holds the exhaust system up was broken, so when I drive over speed bumps I'm hitting the exhaust. I'm guessing that's what caused the exhaust leak in the first place. The exhaust isn't completely falling off, it's just a little lower than it should be. Despite that, highway driving still isn't an issue, and the car has yet to let me down, except mocking me with that loose negative battery cable.

The coolant is also extremely rusty, but the car doesn't overheat so I'm going to wait until I get to Vegas to do it myself, they wanted $75 to change the coolant.

When explaining my cross country situation to the mechanic who changed the oil, even he seemed suprised that my $500 car has nothing seriously wrong with it. He said the motor and tranny seem great, no strange sounds or anything like that.

Let's just hope I didn't jinx myself by saying that. If I make it I'll let you guys know in a day or two.

Should get in tonight (I'm 300 miles away). I know the radiator needs to be flushed, but I was in the middle of nowhere and they wanted $100. I just added some dexcool, and when I get to Vegas tonight I'll take care of everything it needs, including mounting the exhaust, flushing the radiator, changing the brake pads and rotors, replacing the sway bar, possibly fixing the struts (If I can figure out how to do it myself), replacing the blower motor resistor, charging the AC, replacing the burnt out headlight, etc.

Only thing that sucks is that it's obvious whoever owned the car before me didn't take good care of it. Overall a lot of the undercarriage is pretty rusty, so I'm hoping it doesn't make replacing parts more complicated. I broke a socket wrench (A cheap one, but still) trying to replace a headlight, I don't know if the bolt was rusted or if it was just overtightened. Ehh, even with all the problems, I'm just glad it got me across the country. Even if it dies the second I get to Vegas, it was still worth the money. I will definitely try to fix it up if I can, I'll probably start a thread to keep track of how much money I end up spending on fixing it compared to how much mechanics quote me.

Time to hit the road again.