2000 Century Won't Crank over
 

My gal friend’s 2000 Century will not crank over. The starter does not turn at all. Yesterday I checked the 30, 60 and 90 amp fuses with a continuity meter and one 10 and 15 amp fuses that had to do with ignition or ECM or starting. I brought the battery home and put it on a charger overnight then reinstalled it today and wire brushed the terminals and cables best I could. No luck. Before I got involved, a passer bye tried to jump start it and left it connected for a bit on his car. Another man put a power pack on it yesterday too. No luck. The headlights are working and the idiot lights come on while turning the key to “start”. I tried starting it in neutral also. She is having it towed to my house this afternoon from where it is in a parking garage. She has not had problems with the car until this.

I guess the next plan is to try and bypass or replace the battery cables, beginning with the ground. I spoke to the Service Dept. at a local Buick dealer and I think he mentioned the possibility of the alternator going out due a diode failure. Seems to me it should still crank over with a charged battery, even if the alternator is toast. My charger was in maintenance mode this morning, but I didn’t measure the voltage. Yesterday it was around 13 volts.

It was difficult to see the PRNDL yesterday but I noticed it behaved the same in any position. Idiot lights and no starter. That seemed odd that it could attempt a start in reverse or drive. After battery cables, I am thinking starter solenoid or ignition switch issues. Any thoughts & ideas to fix this or similar experiences & solutions will be most welcome and helpful. Thanks all.