Starts but doesnt start well

My 00 STS seems to have trouble starting sometimes... dont know if it could be the starter or something else what do you guys think?

We need more information, does the starter turn over? Does the starter drag? OR does it take a while to catch and fire up? Where do you live, temperature, last oil change?

I live in Cleveland, Ohio... Temp has been around 25-35 degrees... Its take a while to catch up & fire and it does drag. Has an oil change every 3000 miles.

Thanks AaronJP, I live in Canada, Toronto, so starting is a problem here all winter that's why I asked temp and climate. My Deville is good but our Suburban started to drag and take a bit to fire two weeks ago. I know this is may be obvious but I just went out and got a new battery. My wife uses the big rig to take the kids to and  from school so I did not want any hassle of a dead battery. A new battery just lights the Vortec right up now. The cold really drags the batteries down and the Big GMC had the original Delco in it which was now 7 years old. I got a 96 month warranty unit for $114, so not a big expense.

Yeah that sounds like a good idea... but im also thinkink it could be the ground or ignition...

Has it never started at any time?  The starter ground could be an issue. On my hobby car a few years back it would just not start sometimes. I'd pop the hood and then I'd hear the fan blower come on get back in and presto. Turns out it was the ground to the starter being loose was the problem and me popping the hood was enough motion to complete the circuit. If you have the original Delco battery I'd say its getting long in the tooth but checking and cleaning all connections is always a good first steup.

Yeah maybe what I should probably do is check the battery... make sure the ground is not loose... what about anything with the ignigtion?

No wires, Coil packs over plugs on 2000?

I had the exact same problem, and it was my battery. I had it replaced at the Cadillac dealer in my area, and  I never had another problem. It was around  $200.00 dollars, but  I wanted to insure I kept it at factory specs. Everyone has their own beliefs, I'm positive any battery will do, as long as it has the factory specs, regarding cold cranking amps.
 
04 White Diamond Caddy- the last of the full size Sevilles

quote:

ORIGINAL: tonythemongoose

I had the exact same problem, and it was my battery. I had it replaced at the Cadillac dealer in my area, and  I never had another problem. It was around  $200.00 dollars, but  I wanted to insure I kept it at factory specs. Everyone has their own beliefs, I'm positive any battery will do, as long as it has the factory specs, regarding cold cranking amps.

 
I agree 100% with tonythemongoose in using a replacement GM AC Delco battery on the Cadillac. In fact I always use GM/Cadillac parts, the only way to go!

Yeah I guess I will check the battery I mean it was like 42 degrees here today and I had the same damn problem again... anyhow Now I'm getting low oil is that **** normal?

Well 42 isn't that cold but once it starts to die it's best to just get a new one.
 
Low Oil, unfortunately oil usage in Northstars is common, but so common not to be a big concern. One of the best things about a Cadillac is it tells you about problems. Imagine driving around with low oil and not knowing it. Is it time for an oil change?  Might be a good time to do a piston ring cleaning.
 
Here is what I know about this. You need to get the rings cleaned. This is a job for a mechanic and probably best left to the dealer.  Cadillac says to use cleaner kit PN 12378545 and you need a Kent-Moore J-45076 induction/evacuation tool. Cleaner is added to the cylinders through the spark plug holes and allowed to soak for 2 hours. Next vaccum out the crude and excess cleaner then do an oil change. Also clean the throttle body and EGR valve at the same time.
 
After that make sure you check underhood every month or whatever interval you like but not more than one month, when you stop for gas fill up. This way you will be on top of all fluid levels that are critical for good performance.

Yeah well I'm getting tired of the car... I am spending too much money on stuff... but I guess thats just a Cadillac... I want to get rid of it.

What you are experiencing is regular maintenace on a 7 year old car. You have to decided what is best for you but you have a premium automobile that imo will last you another 7 years. Yes you have to mainatain it, just like any car. Some people want new cars but iIhave always taken care of my autos and recieved many years good service from them. My 34 year old hobby car runs better than many people's 2004 because I take care of it. It's you money but these starting issues you just told us don't warrant getting rid of a classy ride like the 00 STS. I don't even consider your car old.
 
PS. I just noticed that you have posts all over this board on things from stability errors to non start conditions, to car just turning off. Have you owned this car from new?

Nope havent owned it since new...
I guess it is normal maintence... I need to get the sensor to fix the stability issue... the car has never shut off again... it happened one time on a real ice cold night... that could be part of the battery as well...

Ya, for sure your battery is the culprit once I put those two posts together. Bad connections+cold +low battery = no start. You never know how a previous owner cared for the car so you have to do some catch up before it settles down.
 
Ride out the storm, you have to lay down $30,000 here in Canada just to get a basic Camry, so why get into something like that? You have a Cadillac, and nothing else can announce your arrival like that.

Katzmans is absolutley right, a Northstar engine burns approximatley  one quart of oil every thousand miles. The Northstar engine is a very high reving motor, not to mention it has deep oil groves throughout the cylinders for better oil retention and flow.
 
The reason the Northstar hold roughly 7 1/2  quarts of oil, is due to the oil breaking down and evaporating. The larger amount of oil, protects you're engine life.  Like any cars; Cadillacs have their share of problems, but with proper maintenance they'll run forever.
 
Unfortunatly you never know what problems your going to have, when a car is purchased used.
 
Good luck.
Tony
  

Try the procedure as posted below.  It's a great exercise for your motor.








" I swear these are great for cars, make sure to do it on a HOT engine (not when your coolant gauge reaches the middle, that just means the coolant is hot, not the oil) make sure its been running 15+minutes, you can down shift too to keep the revs up (pull the tranny down to the gear you want before it shifts to a higher one, downshifting an auto isnt the best thing to do) and run it hard for a few minutes, obviously if your car is falling apart i wouldnt reccomend this, so be careful, but it can have great results.  
Heres what the cadillac forums guys reccomend for N* owners, but it works on any engine:

"There are many advantages to occasional full throttle accelerations with a Northstar and any engine.

It keeps the carbon cleaned out of the combustion chamber. This is maybe a little more important with the Northstar than some other engines due to the tight squish volumes between the piston and the cylinder head. It's designed this way to promote good in-cylinder mixture motion (good combustion) but it has the down side of providing a ready place for carbon build-up to touch the piston - causing noise. Ever heard of the Northstar "cold carbon rap" problem?? Simply put you'll hear a rythmic, piston slap-like noise when the engine is cold. Very prominent and very annoying. Cause: excessive carbon build up causing the the piston to contact the carbon on the head - causing it to rock in the bore and "slap" Much more evident when the engine is cold and the pistons haven't expanded to full diameter yet. Simplest and easiest "fix" for this: A few good WOT (wide open throttle) accelerations to clear the carbon out. That is all it takes to eliminate the problem and prevent it from re-occurring.

Occasional WOT accelerations also help seat the rings to the ring lands and exercise the rings and keep them mobile and from becoming stuck in carbon in the ring lands. At high RPM and WOT the rings move around on the piston - they actually rotate on the piston and will polish away any carbon and seat themselves to the sides of the ring grooves. This is especially important on the 2000 and later Northstars which had hard anodized top ring lands on the pistons. Very hard and wear resistant - also harder to break-in and seat the rings to the sides of the ring-lands to promote the best possible seal. Many oil consumption complaints on the 2000 and later engines are related, to some extent, with the rings never seating to the sides of the ring-grooves due to lack of load as the engine was babied around forever. Even engines with rings stuck in the ring-grooves due to carbon build up can eventually be freed up with enough high RPM operation.

WOTs warm up the engine thoroughly and clean out the exhaust due to temperature in the exhaust and high flow rates blasting particles, rust and such out of the system.

Frequent WOT operation will not hurt the engine or the transmission. They're designed for that. The healthiest engines that I have seen at high miles are always the ones that are run the hardest. Rings are free on the pistons and sealing; no carbon buildup.

The exercise that I think works best for many things is to select manual 2nd gear on an isolated stretch of expressway. This takes the transmission shifting out of the question if you are worried about hurting it. Start at 55 MPH or so and go to WOT in 2nd gear and hold it until the RPM reaches near the normal shift point - i.e. 6500 for an L37 and 6000 for an LD8. Hold the throttle wide open until the engine reaches, say, 6200 for an STS and then just let completely off the throttle. Leave the transmission in 2nd so that the engine brakes the car and creates some pretty heavy over-run conditions at high vacuum levels. Let it slow until it is about 55 or so and then go to WOT again and repeat. This exercise really loads the rings, allows variable RPM operation at WOT for several seconds continuously, creates heavy over-run which tends to unload the rings and make them move and thus exercise them in the ring grooves and it will blow-out carbon and the exhaust - all without creating a spectical of yourself and attracting the attention of cops. You can do it on most any freeway and stay within the 70-75 MPH range allowable. Once a week like this will keep the engine cleaned out and healthy and is DEFINITELY recommended for the Northstar in particular.

The Northstar engine was designed/developed/validated to be run hard. It was expected that people would use the performance of the engine - which few people seem to do. The biggest single problem that many issues stem from is lack of use at full throttle by the owners. It just doesn't like to be babied around. The rings are low-tension by design for good high RPM operating characteristics and low friction/good power. They work best if "used" and kept free.

In every conversation with owners I have had, once the owner started doing the WOTs and using the power of the engine they report no more carbon rap, better oil economy, no "smoke" when they do light it up (keep the exhaust cleaned out. If you notice a "cloud" at WOT then you are not doing enough WOTs...) etc... A bit of judicious use of the other end of the throttle travel is a GOOD thing...""




as reposted by kc













 

Yeah I been doing wide open throttles.... the car moves... I just dont get a chance to drive it like that too often...

I have one damn good question?
You guys say it could be the battery... but in the Caddy message center it says that the battery volts are fine? Do you still think it could be the battery if so wouldnt the volts let me know?

And a damn good question at that. The problem with weak batteries is that the charging system can bring them back up while driving, its when they sit that the go flat. When you jump into the car to start you are calling on Cold Cranking Amps and this is were you might be weak. The starter draws hard and the CCA fall off and the engine drags and is slow to catch. Have the battery checked to be sure.

Yeah I kind of figured that... the car came from Florida, so it probably doesnt have high cold cranking amps...
In the summer it should be ok, and then I replace it in winter.

In the summer the A/C can draw on the CCA as well, even though the name doesn't really fit when it is 80 degrees. Always a good idea to turn off the A/C when you park so there is no large draw when you start. 

Yeah the battery is under the rear seat right? ON the drivers side? How do I get to it?

I have a Deville, My wife's aunt has an STS but other than sitting back there I am not familar with your seating . You need to get the cushion off. Usually seats are attcahed with spring type clips and sometimes a few bolts. Check for bolts under the carpet just below the seating cushions. To release the clips you usually need to push down and back on the seat cushion . I also understand that if a battery isn’t properly vented it can let sulfuric acid fumes into the area under the rear seat cushion. These fumes can damage your rear seat safety belt systems and the safety belts might not provide the protection needed in a crash. When you replace the battery make sure it is vented in the same manner as the original battery. Make sure that the vent hose is properly reattached before reinstalling the seat cushion and make sure you get a properly vented battery.