Last fall my daughter went out to start her 2006 HHR and it wouldn't start. I tried to jump it and only got the dreaded "click" from a bad starter. I bought a new one (well, rebuilt or whatever crap they sell us today) put it in and it's been fine. Until yesterday. Now it's doing the same thing. I figure I got a bad rebuilt starter and plan to pull it today and exchange it. But I thought I should ask if there might be some other issue to look for since both times it's happened with the car at home. It makes it very convenient to fix but I'm normally not that lucky. All lights function, everything works but you turn the key and just one click, like the starter is dead, not multiple clicking sounds from a dead battery. Any thoughts?

 

Be wise, check the battery first. And inspect all of the wires, the large red wire from the post on the fuse box should be tight to the starter then to the alternator.

 

I'll check all the wires. Another strange twist; I just went out to start working on hit and decided to turn the key just for giggles and it fired right up. This concerns me as I can't have my daughter stranded somewhere. It was raining very hard yesterday, if that might offer a clue.

 

Just check the wiring and the battery as donbrew says. If the battery is less than 12.4 volts it needs replacing, and or the alternator. Both can be tested for free at pretty much any auto parts store.

 

While you have the battery disconnected, check the fuse box halves. Under the hood.

 

Has the ignition switch recall been done? Starter relay plugged in good?

 

Not sure of the ignition recall but I did see that in another thread and planned to contact the dealer tomorrow. Both posts next to the fuse box were ok with a slight bit of corrosion so I unhooked the battery (which is new last year) and cleaned the posts and all related wire terminals. For the life of me I can't be certain of the weather last time but it seems like it was rainy then too. Hopefully it was just the slightly dirty terminals and the humidity affecting them but I'm guessing it's a deeper issue.

 

No need to sit on hold.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gm-r...-status-50716/

 

Thank you. 0 unrepaired recalls.

 

So this thing won't start again. It rained the night before but there is no water getting inside of the car or onto the electronics under the hood. Coincidence? I don't know. Everything works; lights, radio, wipers, chimes, everything. I can even hear a slight click when trying to engage the starter. I ran the shifter through all of the gears, jiggled the key, tried a different key, tried starting in neutral.....nothing. Any way to check or bypass the neutral safety switch? Any other safety devices that could be causing this? I need this fixed asap as I can't have my 16 year old daughter driving around in a car that randomly throws a fit and won't start.