michelexhavok
New member
Hey everyone,
Just looking for some advice! My 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue is currently sitting at my friend's house waiting for a diagnostic report, so me being without a car until further notice, I'm being very impatient and want to know what is wrong with my car this instant! So maybe someone on this site can help me.
So, I went to a mall plaza about 3 towns away from me, parked my car (and turned it off), went to a grocery store, came back out, and tried starting my car to continue on my way to work. When I turned the key, my car wouldn't turn over. It sounded like it was about to start, but then it made this fast-paced clunking noise, much like cars do when they are out of fuel.
So, I went to work, and returned a few hours later to see if maybe the car would start. It didn't. Keeping in mind that my gas light had just turned on while turning into the parking lot, I figured maybe it was a fuel problem, even though I can get a good 20 miles out of my car once my gas light turns on. So, I thought maybe the fuel sensor was being weird.
Anyway, I called AAA, and it ended with a man coming to test my battery, which for some reason the test wasn't reading my battery, but this didn't seem to be the problem since all of my lights, both outside and inside, were working. Then a man with a tow truck came to give my car some fuel to see if that was the problem. Putting more fuel in didn't work either. In fact, the tow truck driver tried turning the car on himself, and while doing so, he stepped on the gas pedal a few times, resulting in a random grinding sound, the smell of burning gas, and that odd fast-paced clunking.
He told me it sounded like something was clogged or that I needed a new starter.
So, I got it towed to my friend's house, where his dad worked on cars and said he'd have a look at it for me. When we got to the house, the tow truck driver decided to try starting the car again, just for the heck of it, and when he did, it started up! He backed it against the side of the road, and proceeded to tell me it was running terribly, and the smell was still there. He couldn't tell me why all of a sudden it started.
The next day, my friend's dad said it wasn't the starter, since he got it to start and pulled it into the garage. He did, however, say it might be a bad battery, since even on jumper cables and charging it, the car still ran terribly. So, I went out and bought a battery. When I told him that I got it, he said it was running so horribly that he doesn't believe it's the battery anymore, and that it could be something much more dire, and it may be an expensive fix, aaaand that it might not be worth it to fix.
He told me he wasn't 100% positive of that, and that he would be running a diagnostics report as soon as he had time.
My boyfriend mentioned that the same thing happened with his Acura, and it turned out to be the battery cables. My boyfriend's dad also said that we should put the new battery in and test it because we won't be getting many results if the current battery is dead.
So, I'm not sure at all what is going on. I have had this car for 3 years, and it has never given me this kind of trouble before. If anyone has any kind of information on what might be wrong, please reply! I greatly appreciate it!
~Michele
Just looking for some advice! My 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue is currently sitting at my friend's house waiting for a diagnostic report, so me being without a car until further notice, I'm being very impatient and want to know what is wrong with my car this instant! So maybe someone on this site can help me.
So, I went to a mall plaza about 3 towns away from me, parked my car (and turned it off), went to a grocery store, came back out, and tried starting my car to continue on my way to work. When I turned the key, my car wouldn't turn over. It sounded like it was about to start, but then it made this fast-paced clunking noise, much like cars do when they are out of fuel.
So, I went to work, and returned a few hours later to see if maybe the car would start. It didn't. Keeping in mind that my gas light had just turned on while turning into the parking lot, I figured maybe it was a fuel problem, even though I can get a good 20 miles out of my car once my gas light turns on. So, I thought maybe the fuel sensor was being weird.
Anyway, I called AAA, and it ended with a man coming to test my battery, which for some reason the test wasn't reading my battery, but this didn't seem to be the problem since all of my lights, both outside and inside, were working. Then a man with a tow truck came to give my car some fuel to see if that was the problem. Putting more fuel in didn't work either. In fact, the tow truck driver tried turning the car on himself, and while doing so, he stepped on the gas pedal a few times, resulting in a random grinding sound, the smell of burning gas, and that odd fast-paced clunking.
He told me it sounded like something was clogged or that I needed a new starter.
So, I got it towed to my friend's house, where his dad worked on cars and said he'd have a look at it for me. When we got to the house, the tow truck driver decided to try starting the car again, just for the heck of it, and when he did, it started up! He backed it against the side of the road, and proceeded to tell me it was running terribly, and the smell was still there. He couldn't tell me why all of a sudden it started.
The next day, my friend's dad said it wasn't the starter, since he got it to start and pulled it into the garage. He did, however, say it might be a bad battery, since even on jumper cables and charging it, the car still ran terribly. So, I went out and bought a battery. When I told him that I got it, he said it was running so horribly that he doesn't believe it's the battery anymore, and that it could be something much more dire, and it may be an expensive fix, aaaand that it might not be worth it to fix.
He told me he wasn't 100% positive of that, and that he would be running a diagnostics report as soon as he had time.
My boyfriend mentioned that the same thing happened with his Acura, and it turned out to be the battery cables. My boyfriend's dad also said that we should put the new battery in and test it because we won't be getting many results if the current battery is dead.
So, I'm not sure at all what is going on. I have had this car for 3 years, and it has never given me this kind of trouble before. If anyone has any kind of information on what might be wrong, please reply! I greatly appreciate it!
~Michele