I have a 1986 4-cyl Fiero with a broken rear decklid. It was a stupid thing to do but I let the darn thing sit outside for the past 2 weeks thru snow and rain. It started and drove fine until last night when the engine wouldn't turn over. I can turn the radio on but when I turn the ignition the engine won't turn over. The check battery and service engine soon lights come on.

My question is - What should I check to remedy this problem and is there a possibility that my engine is ruined? Also, based on the previous answer, how much should I expect to spend for parts?

The easiest thing to do is have your battery checked. Is the deck lid totally off of the car? Your battery may have a dead cell if it got iced up real bad. If thats the case it, won't even take a charge. Check the grounds. Try cleaning the contacts on the battery, and on the car frame.

No, the decklid isn't completely off the car. If you're looking from the rear of the car to the front, the left decklid hinge was rusted out and broke in half. I have it closed save about a 1-2 inch gap on the left side. I was going to buy a new battery anyway so maybe this is the perfect time.

Mainly I'm concerned about engine damage. My first thought was that I'm having battery problems but I'm nowhere near a mechanic. I'm still learning about the Fiero.

TIA!

There's probably nothing wrong with your engine...the space where the battery sits tends to fill with snow and if it covers the connections, it will cause a slow draw that will kill your battery.

Charge the battery up (take it inside if it's really cold) and see if the car starts. Once it does, be sure the battery area is clean and cover up the top of the battery with something like a plastic sheet.

Is there anything else I should be looking for? I'm hoping when the weather dries everything out the engine will start. Hopefully the battery isn't dead by then.

That clicking is probably the solenoid engaging, sounds to me like your battery is low but not completely discharged...enough to light the dome lights or engage solenoid, but not enough to get the engine to turn over.

Do you have another car and a set of jumper cables (or a cooperative friend with them nearby), or can you borrow a charger and charge the battery overnight with a slower charger? You need to get the battery charged one way or the other, it may just need the recharge and not need to be replaced.

A discharged or nearly-discharged battery is much more likely to get frozen in cold weather, so you should recharge it one way or the other as soon as you can.

[This message has been edited by LarryB (edited 12-21-2000).]

Definately the battery. While you have it out and charged, just take it to your local parts place and have them test it. Little preventative maintenance..

This has been a recurring problem for me...it snows (and it has really snowed here) and my car won't start.

The problem is probably my fault...I took the sheet metal leaf catchers (or whatever they're called) off my decklid vents to aid cooling...now the snow really packs in around my battery. And if it packs in, it will create a slow drain situation.

So I took a piece of carpet and cut it to fit over the top of the battery and the connections and have not had the starting problems since.

I thought about putting a plastic bag over the top of the battery, but I didn't want to create a condition where hydrogen gas might collect. The final solution is probably to move the battery up front (which I'll probably eventually do).

Makes me wonder why I live up here. (Oh, I remember...the summers here are great)...