engine won't start

[northstar1960]

2016 forester with 6000 miles on chevy chassis . every once and a while the unit won't start . it will do nothing, dash lights up, battery good ,head lights come on battery checks good voltage but when you turn the key nothing then every 20 trys or more it turns the engine over and starts . any suggestions ?

[HangDiver]

Could be as simple as the neutral switch being mis-aligned in the steering column. Next time it happens pull the gear-shift lever further into the "P" position as far as it will go. If it starts its an easy fix.

Rich J.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by HangDiver

Could be as simple as the neutral switch being mis-aligned in the steering column. Next time it happens pull the gear-shift lever further into the "P" position as far as it will go. If it starts its an easy fix.



Rich J.

Will it start in neutral? Foot on brake? All accessories in proper place?

Good luck my friend some of these can be hard.

Check battery connection also...cheap check. If it's loose it is prolly on the neg side.

[sgtlm17]

Yes check the battery terminals first. A loose battery terminal can drive you crazy.

[northstar1960]

ok started with the shifter . run through the gears in park nothing in Neutral nothing , checked battery connections all very tight . battery voltage 12.89 volts , checked starter wires all good . jump back in drivers seat ran through gears again and it starts . shut it off and start it up again . so now it seems to work until next time it doesn't . still at a loss .

[ScottBrownstein]

Your problem could be a number of things and you won't find it until it really breaks. I had a similar problem for years and finally found it but it is highly unlikely that your problem is the same. In my case is was a hairline crack in the positive battery lug on the chassis battery. It finally failed when I was driving at 60 mph! The quick solution was to push the boost start switch and the engine would come back. I really couldn't drive with my finger on the switch so I started the generator and the BCC automatically fired the boost relay for me and I continued on for a while.

Of course it didn't start the next morning so I fumbled around and all of a sudden heard the blower motor spin up when I messed with the lug. From there it was easy to fix.

You might try the boost switch the next time it fails. This will put an entirely new battery in parallel with the chassis battery, including a bunch of separate cabling.

till next time...good luck.

[Iwannacamp]

Just a thought... maybe key chip/battery weak. I have heard of Dodges with no start and bad fob battery. One more thing to try... take key out and retry... instead of off/on. Cheap checks.

[northstar1960]

well got it going this am . went to chevy dealer and they replaced a couple relays they say they have had some problems with , also checked the neutral switch , and then found a FR installed harness under the dash that had been rubbing against a bracket and fixed that . . . guess we will see if this takes care of it . no one want responsibility FR says GM / GM says FR . my best guess is it's an FR issues since they add to things with out regard to quality . just stuff the wires up there . fingers crossed it's all good now

[zoesdad]

Same thing happened to us the day after we took delivery. Tried jumping it, a couple of people said it had to be the starter. Googled 2017 chevy express starter and a thread appeared saying it was the neutral switch. Ran shifter from park to low and back and it fired right up.

[Jmkjr72]

I have a 2017 chevy service van that wouldn't start the other day till I taped on the starter
Took it to the crap chevy dealer in town they couldn't find anything wrong but did say they had some bad batches if starters but mine didn't fall in the right dates

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by zoesdad

Same thing happened to us the day after we took delivery. Tried jumping it, a couple of people said it had to be the starter. Googled 2017 chevy express starter and a thread appeared saying it was the neutral switch. Ran shifter from park to low and back and it fired right up.

Throwing the gear shifter all the way south and then back north temporarily re-aligns the contacts, but it really does need to be fixed (5 minutes) or the vehicle will start while in "Drive" or "Reverse".

Rich J.

[RamblerGuy]

Zoesdad,

I agree with Hangdiver, it should be fixed.


In the meantime, if it won't start, try to start it in neutral. Sometimes the safety switch needs adjustment and it won't reliably work in park. You can wiggle the shift lever more in neutral to hit the spot.

[zoesdad]

We plan on bringing it to the local Chevy dealership. I need to call first and see if they have a lift that will pick up a motor home before I drive over. Now that I think about it, the shifter did not line up exactly with the gear selector.