bchappelow

In the past week, my 06 HHR (153,000 miles) has been slow to crank and start. I live in Los Angeles, so the weather is likely not an issue. I took my HHR to Autozone and they tested the battery and alternator, both of which came back as good. However, last night my car failed to start while out running errands. When I opened up the hood, the starter assembly had quite a bit of oil on it, and when I tried tapping the starter while another person cranked the engine, it started to smoke. I wound up calling for roadside service and towing the vehicle home to my garage.

When I try to start the engine now, I hear a single click and what sounds like the electrical system being strained. [edited to add: headlights and interior electronic function, so battery is not completely dead]

I assumed this meant that the starter had gotten mucked up and needing replacing, so I picked up a new starter today and replaced the extremely dirty old one. Upon replacing that, the car still does not crank. I'm waiting on a friend to come by to give me a jump start in case I drained the battery too much last night while trying to get home. However, I'm worried that this may not be the fix.

So while I'm waiting, I'd appreciate any suggestions on where to look next if the jump doesn't fix my problem.

tl;dr: no crank, no start; dirty starter replaced, still no crank

donbrew

Did you fix the oil leak? Likely the oil pressure sensor or the filter cap is cracked/loose/missing O-ring. Might have blown a fuse when the magic smoke escaped.

Remember to look in your Owner Manual for the correct jump start points.

bchappelow

I'll try to fix the oil leak this weekend; I have to take my car to a friend's for most work because my apartment complex bans maintenance/repairs in the garage.

Thanks for the advice on checking fuses. I checked the relevant fuses visually and with a multimeter, and they were all fine. Could it be the starter relay?

Cat Man HHR

Take the small wire off of the starter and use a test light or a voltmeter. Have someone turn the key to start. If you have voltage (12v) the relay is working properly.

RJ_RS_SS_350

Or you could swap with an identical relay from a system that you know is functioning properly.

Cat Man HHR

What if it's the wire from the relay to the starter ?

Doc brown

Slow to crank and start. Classic starter solenoid failure. I replaced my starter at about 140k for the same issue. Since you have to take the starter off to look at the oil pressure sensor, might as well replace the starter. I have a leak coming from the same place, but it's not my oil pressure sensor. it's the gasket that is on the bottom part of the block. Too expensive to fix. It was just a drop a day so no big deal. It stopped leaking on it's own last fall. Probably build up sealed it back up.

Cat Man HHR

He did replace the started. Going to say it was new, but don't know for sure, from an auto parts store.

Doc brown

Oops! Missed that.

RJ_RS_SS_350

Testing at the starter itself is more work, and doesn't narrow it down. Swapping the relay is very easy, if it fixes the problem, great, if it doesn't, then it's something else. Maybe your wire, or anything between the starter and the ignition switch.

OP, have the ignition switch related recalls been performed?