1992 Buick Park Avenue won't start - funny noise

Hello,
My high school aged son bought a 92 Park Avenue with over 200,000 miles on it about a month ago. It was running great until he went out to start it before school this morning, and it would not start. It makes a clicking noise and all the lights on the dash crazily flash with the clicking noise. It doesn't even try to turn over. I know we're going to need to take it to a mechanic, but my son only paid $700 for it, and I would like to know if anyone has any ideas about what this might be and if it will cost us more than the car is worth to repair it.
Thanks for any info!

I'd go for the easy stuff first. Load test the battery and the starter at Advance or Autozone. I read a post on here recently about how easy the starter is to remove. I haven't had to do it yet.

My Park Avenue is up up there with about 250k miles and I don't see any reason it won't go 300+ before the rebuild. Hopefully you've got one the previous owners took reasonable care. There's a lot of good advice available here on the forums, and this might be a good opportunity to forgo the repair shop, build up a set of good old Harbor Freight tools, get a few scraped knuckles and some grease under the fingernails.

Good Luck!

Yeah it sounds the issue I just had, a bad starter. It just made a clicking noise and wouldn't turn over. My starter went bad out of the blue. It never took long to start (well not as fast as the new starter)before it started to go bad and then boom! last week it started acting up. Here's my link
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=920737

Thank you to both of you for the information!
Do you know if there are directions anywhere on the internet for replacing the starter? I don't mind getting hands dirty and I'm kind of handy with fixing stuff around the house (and I work on computers), but I don't even know where the starter would be on a car. Also, when I was looking around the internet at starters, there was an option for one for a "supercharged" 92 PAvenue and for a "non-supercharged", and I don't know how to tell which one my son has. Can you tell me anything more about that?
Thanks again! I hate to pay a bundle to have it towed, and diagnosed, and all when maybe we can pay less than $100 for a starter and put it in ourselves.

Both Advance and Autozone carry a line of books from Haynes that cover repairs and maintenance on your car. They cost about 15-17 dollars. They are fine for basic repairs, though they get dissed a lot, you can use one to guide you through rebuilding the engine.

Anyway, for the job you are looking at, Haynes is a good start. But, I have stumbled across guides offered by Advance on the Internet but they seem to be buried deeply into their webpage. Don't overlook YouTube for stuff like this it will help you build your confidence in the job ahead of you.

You may not get the job done for under $100. Think of it as a labor of love. Who knows, your son make want to get his hands dirty, too. Get a good set of jack stands or ramps. Make sure the car is well supported and be careful getting under the car.

Oh, about the supercharger option. The easy way to tell if you have one is you'll have a "Supercharged" emblem on the right side of the trunk lid. Also, on the dash just under the instrument cluster it will say "supercharged." And they want you to use premium gas instead of regular.

But, the most important point: If you can/could do 0-60 in 7.5 seconds in your PA, it's probably supercharged. :wink: Your son will love it!

Superchargers or blowers force air into the engine to increase horsepower.

There are some online VIN decoders that will help you sort out some things about your car. Almost every time I go to buy parts at a GM dealer they ask for it. There is the L engine and the 1 engine. I'm pretty sure the 1 means it's supercharged. I can't remember which position in the VIN this is....I'm sure it's online or elsewhere on AutoForums.

Thank you!
That helps a lot. I think we have a project for this weekend. Since it won't start, I can't drive it up on ramps, but I think my dad has something in his garage that I can borrow that jacks it up if it a car won't run.
I don't think we have supercharge. Hope not anyways! 16 year old does not need that.... I will be looking this evening to be sure.
Thanks again!

Easiest way to tell if you have a supercharger and the VIN "1" 3.8L engine is by looking at the engine. An Eaton M62 blower sitting on top of the lower intake manifold will be quite obvious.

It will be the 8th digit of the VIN from left to right which is standard for all GM cars 1987 and up.

8th digit is an "L", and there are no "supercharged" stickers, so I think I am safe to say it is not supercharged. Thank you for the help!

You are lucky, I would not recommend that anyone allow a high school student to drive a 92-PA Ultra. In proper tune, they can be hard to handle even for an experienced driver! BTW, another way to distinguish between the 92 regular N/A PA and the S/C version is with the ULTRA option, clearly identified with body emblems & trim. All 92-ULTRA PA’s were supercharged!

They Haynes books are pretty good. I have one and it has helped me out a lot and there electrical diagrams are accurate. I installed my own Cd player with no electrical experience. But the tend to generalize procedures and leave out important details and extra steps u have to take to do a repair job. Such as in the starter job. They don't tell you u have to raise the engine to get to one of the bolts for the starter cover (or maybe it was just me).

But I should emphasize Safety. Its very important. When I was your son age,16 (I'm now 20), I failed to heed safety and it almost cost me. I did everything wrong involving raising a vehicle. I lifted a car on a incline, I only used a jack and no jack stands, I didn't set the emergency brake, or block the tires. Guess what? The car slipped off the jack stands. I realized a slight movement in the car just before it slipped of the jack. I quickly slid from under the car but not without consequences. Some part of the car fell on my face and it split my nose in half were it meets your face(it healed back later) and put some deep gashes in my faces that i still have scars from but its not bad now, barely noticeable. The doctors said i was very fortunate and I know I was too. So I cannot stress safety enough I learned my lesson. I never thought that a car could actually slip of the jack until then and I a true believer in safety.
:rolleyes:
Sorry for the long speech

Starter Job
Tools
7mm socket (splash shield cover screws bumper area)
8mm socket (battery)
10mm socket (splash shield, starter cover)
10mm wrench (starter cover bolt)
15mm socket, long and short (Starter bolts, engine mount bolt)
18mm socket (engine mount nut, optional)
Universal socket (makes job easer)
Extension
Block of wood (lifting motor)
Jack and jack stands
Directions
1. Disconnect battery cables from battery.
2. Raise vehicle and place on jack stands
3. Have patience, the job is only as complicated as you make it
4. Remove splash shield ( if applicable)
5. Remove "BAT" terminal wire (big wire) using 15mm socket, and "S" using 7 or 8mm socket (can’t remember).
6. Remove starter cover (one side) using 10mm socket
7. Loosen engine mount bolt (front of engine) using 15mm socket on bolt and 18mm (optional) socket on nut.
8. Using The block of wood place the block of wood under the oil pan and raise with jack slightly to remove tension from engine mount bolt and pull bolt out.
9. Lift the engine up some more in order to get to the starter cover bolt behind the transmission strut.
10. Use 10mm wrench to remove, and take front starter cover off.
11. Using 15mm socket extension, and universal socket, remove starter bolts. You will have to support the starter with one hand to remove the last bolt.
12. Installation is reverse of removal
Estimated time 2.5-3.5hrs
Dealership charge: $420 :icon16:

Hope this helps

Thank you for the great information on both safety and the installation. Now, it figures - looking like lots of rain all weekend, and I have no garage. Guess it will wait a few days.
Thanks again. You are all wonderful! What a great resource.

WE DID IT!!!
CMan, your instructions with socket and wrench sizes were EXTREMELY helpful. We got a rebuilt starter at Autozone (lifetime warranty) for around $100, and we get $20 of that back when we take the old one in. We had to buy 15mm and 18mm sockets and a universal socket - about 16 bucks total for those). So we are getting off on this job for under 100 bucks thankfully. Other than that, my dad had what we needed for the job (including a 1960s model Western Auto battery charger to recharge the battery I'd killed trying to start it). So thank you to all of you that helped us out and saved us a lot of money. It was a dirty, knuckle busting job. WD 40 helped a lot. But after about 5 hours, held breath.... turned key... instant VROOOM!!
Thank you to everyone that helped us. Every penny counts in my house, and you sure are appreciated.

it wont crank over at all? there is a fusable link down at your starter i learned that the hard way. i would take starter out and have it tested and it shows good i'd replace the fusable link. also there a bunch of fuses on the fire wall you have to take that cover by fire wall and check those fuses they are big fuses.

it wont crank over at all? there is a fusable link down at your starter i learned that the hard way. i would take starter out and have it tested and it shows good i'd replace the fusable link. also there a bunch of fuses on the fire wall you have to take that cover by fire wall and check those fuses they are big fuses.Evidently you skipped over post 14!

I'm glad I could help. You made my day :tongue: :biggrin: . It's nice to actually be able to help someone fix a problem and it works. Maybe your son will want to become a mechanic now :tongue:

it was the starter anyway wasn't mod? i don't like to step on mods toes

it was the starter anyway wasn't mod? i don't like to step on mods toes You are not stepping “on Mod toes” you simply need to read the last post in the thread before posting! Your post was redundant info and did not contribute to the solution of the OP's problem. Thank you for the contributing, but when a problem has been resolved, no further advice is necessary! :shakehead

If you think you'll keep the car for a while, consider getting a factory shop manual for your '92. They pop up on eBay from time to time. The shop manual is really two manuals, one covering mechanical and the other electrical. As you probably know, electronics plays a big part in this car so you really should get both manuals. One of the troubles with Chilton and Haynes are they try to cover a broad range in years and model type. But they can also point out ways around using specific and specialized tools and jigs.

Sometimes you'll find a great deal, but the manual set should be no more than $40. Of course, the support on this group is good and you can get some scans of what you might need. Also, keep your eye out for a decent torque wrench as you start to add to your collection as well as a digital volt-ohm-meter.

CMan, thanks again! Son could be a mechanic, but he's leaning toward med school. He is a smart one and can hopefully get scholarships. Maybe someday he will buy his old mama something nice so that she can get rid of her POS Kia!
Doorunrun, the manual might be a good idea. It's really in pretty good shape. I still won't let him run it too far from home until it proves itself to us. Luckily it was in our driveway when it would not start this time.
Our neighbor looked at the serpentine belt when I had the hood up and said that he thinks it is cracking and needs replaced. Is that a do-it-yourself job, or is that something best left to a mechanic??
Thanks again to all for everything.

yes thats prety easy job on belt you should have a diagram under hood. but i leave it to him to answer your question...

Very easy job. Easier and faster than the starter job. If you did the starter the serpentine is a breeze. Well the routing might make you a little cross-eyed. But if the belt isn't squealing you shouldn't worry about it.

I left a plastic flashlight in the engine compartment one time and forgot about it cranked the car up and the belt belt cut/melted right through the flashlight before I realized the grinding noise and hard start.:screwy: Frayed the outside of the belt.

I drove it another 6 months before it started to squeal and then I changed it:biggrin:

Nope. No squeal. The car actually runs very quietly and very smoothly. Guess we will hold off for now. Nice to know that it is not hard to do if we need to some time, though!
Thanks again!