Why does my 88 Cadillac not start after it has ran for a while.?

I have a 1988 Cadillac sedan deville. It runs fine but if I drive around for a while and and then stop somewhere and leave it off and comeback to start it again it wont start. It only does it after it has ran for awhile. It will hesitate to turn over or not even try to turnover until it cools down. But if I haven't driven it for awhile it starts up just fine. Please help.|||starter selenoid due to heat soak|||Uh maybe because the car is 19 years old. It's tired. Put it to rest already.|||Try changing the fuel filter add some octane boost to the tank for a few fill ups , and see if that helps, also check all fluids and top them off, hope this helps.|||Sounds like the starter is on its way out. If the starter is cranking slowly, I would replace the starter.|||Check all the wire connections first. If the batterey wire is poor or corroded (Or the solenoid on the starter is bad) when they heat up the resistance goes up and they will not operate.


When it gets hot (if you can) put a jumper cable on the negative terminal to ground and try it again. if that doesn't work try it on the positive terminal to the connection on the starter.(be careful not to touch the jumper cable end to any metal piece on the car except the terminal on the starter). (you can even put electrical tape around most of the metal end of the jumper cable) that would eliminate both cables if it starts when you bypass them with a known good cable. Then if neither of those ideas work - go buy a rebuilt starter and put it on.|||From your post, I'm assuming that it doesn't even want to roll over, especially when warmed up.


Two common causes, one easy, the other a little more of an issue.


First off, when it doesn't want to roll over, do the dash lights stay on? And even more important, does the electric clock reset ? If so, its probably a battery connection issue. Most times, on a GM, its the cable ends themselves. Disconnect the battery,(negative cable first-ALWAYS!) and check the ends for corrosion. Remove the battery cable end bolt and really look in the cable end, clean it with a baking soda and water solution, peeling back the plastic covering. Also, some GM's have a stacked positive cable, and if yours has it, pull the lead plug between the cables and clean them real good, usually its easiest to replace that lead plug than try to clean it-most auto parts stores stock them.


The 2nd most common thing would be the starter itself,and only a shop with the proper diagnostic equipment can tell you if that's the case. If all else fails, remove the starter, and have an auto parts store test it-multiple times! Sometimes you have to get them hot for them to fail. we try to get 10 good tests out of one before we make a call as to whether to replace it or not.


If its not one of those two most common things, then the starting system will need voltage-drop testing to determine the cause of your problem.


#1 cause is cable ends.|||Change the IGNITION COIL. This maybe called a %26gt;%26gt; Module or amplifier%26gt;%26gt; this is where the (spark plug wires connect to from the top of the motor before going down to the side of the engine to the spark plugs.%26lt;%26lt;)





When the car engine is %26gt;%26gt;cold the Coil is cold%26lt;%26lt; but after the engine reaches %26gt;%26gt;operating temp%26lt;%26lt; then the coil gets hot and will not%26gt;%26gt; produce the spark needed%26lt;%26lt; under the heated conditions.


as long as you%26gt;%26gt; don't turn it off when its hot%26lt;%26lt; the system will operate, but if you turn it off then the%26gt;%26gt; coil has to cool down %26lt;%26lt;a bit before it will perform well enough to generate%26gt;%26gt; spark energy to the spark plugs and start the car engine%26lt;%26lt;.





ALSO I bet you noticed that its been using gas more too?...|||well I would suggest a tune up. another thing is the starter not turning the engine over? if so it may be a problem with your starter you may need a new one. also try checking the battery cables are they loose or anything really they should be taken off and probably cleaned with a wire brush and the batter posts should probably be cleaned with it as well. now if the engine is turning over and its just not starting you should probably check the distributor cap its where all the spark plug wires meet up. now you might also want to check and make sure that everything is on their right but if you get a tune up they should do this when they replace your spark plugs and spark plug wires. now the center plug on the distributor cap it runs to the thing that causes the spark plugs to fire I forget what its called but this may be bad. its also possible that when you shut the engine off the spark plugs are becoming flooded if so then your carburetor might be causing a problem by giving it more gas than it should be or it might keep giving it gas when its not suppose to be. so you might want to have that checked but I would suggest having a mechanic look at it or something because you probably won't have much of an idea of what to do with it. also if you would really like to fix it yourself AutoZone or an automotive shop carries books search for one that tells about your particular car and you might be able to figure it all out. anyway what I was talking about with the carburetor is the line still has gas with pressure in it and when you shut it off it might be flooding the engine with gas and then stopping when the pressure in the line is gone. anyway this is a problem with your carburetor and you may need a new one fixing the old one you probably cannot manage because you will probably screw it up worse than it already is no offence but I would suggest taking it to a mechanic.