2002 Chevy S-10 truck won't start

SCONRY

MEMBER
2002 CHEVROLET S-10
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
78,000 MILES

2002 chevy s10 4 cylinder engine, serpentine belt broke during ride home in severe thunderstorm, drove 6-7 miles with no belt. Relplaced belt, oil, filter, checked coolent level, drove truck. Compressor for air conditioning very noisy. Truck ran 8 days, 20-30 starts. Wouldn't start, slow turnover like weak battery, tested and replaced battery, 4 starts, again slow weak turnover, tested new battery was good, charged battery, tried again, smoke from starter, tested starter, tested bad, replaced starter, lights, gauges, ect. Seem fine, no ignition, when I turn the key over in ignition to start truck, I get absolutely nothing, tested new starter, good, remounted and double checked cables and my work, looks right, absolutely nothing. Could it be the safety switch, or the ignition, also, suddenly gone bad? I am a computer tech not a mechanic, any help or thoughts or advice on how to approach the problem would be greatly apprectiated. Steven Conry

2 Replies

JDL

MECHANIC
16,098 POSTS

Hello, with the key in the crank position, can you tell if there is a load on the starter circuit? Sometimes you can watch the dome lite or headlites when you crank it, if the lites go out or almost, usually the battery or cables.

You can also do some testing at the starter relay in the power distribution center, under the hood. Unplug the relay, have a helper turn the key to crank, use a testlite, check for two hot terminals where the relay plugs in. The voltage for the switch side of relay is usually hot all the time. The voltage for the coil side of relay should go hot with the key in the crank position.