My car wont stay on. the starter works and it makes a noise like its turning on but doesnt stay. could it be an electric problem? the car is a cadillac seville 1990. i had a mechanic take a look and try to fix it but he thinks its an electric problem

Battery or starter gone

Hello and welcome to FixYa!

I strongly suggest that you check or replace the positive cable going to the starter. It can be broken inside that's why there's no current going to the starter. I believe you'll be good after.
Hope this helps and thank you for using FixYa! Have a good one!

Sounds like the starter is staying engaged. Its may be a bad starter or a bed starter relay

You have a bad starter if all your connections are good and your battery is measuring 12.7 volts and above with engine off.

Make sure that starter wears a condom.

If you meant that the starter makes a high-pitched whine but does not turn the engine, that starter is bad. More specifically, its drive (the "Bendix") is bad.

If the starter makes a screeching noise as it turns the engine, like it is working too hard and is irritated about the situation, you need to shim the starter. There are shims available at the parts store that fit around the mounting bolts, between the starter and the block. They are used to ensure that the starter drive gear teeth are not too close to the ring gear. If they are too close, the starter has to work much harder as it forces the teeth to mesh.

If you meant that the starter makes a whining noise for a short while after you start the engine, don't worry. Many starters do that.

If you meant that the starter makes a loud whine constantly after you have started the engine, it is staying engaged. It is either bad and that is the source of the problem, or there is another problem (like incorrect shimming) that caused it to stay engaged, and it is now bad. The same gear reduction that allows a small electric motor to spin a big heavy engine can work in reverse if the one-way clutch in the starter drive goes bad, and the high speeds that the starter guts would be subjected to if this happened would lead to self-destruction.

check your battery,and your starter
make sure the battery is up 12.4 volts if it is good then make sure you have power going to the starter,when you turn the key you should have power to the selnoid,if you have power there and the starter does not turn ,then the starter is bad.

Listen for a click from under the steering column when you turn the key on. If you hear no electrical click then your ignition switch could be bad. If you hear an electrical click the you starter soleniod is bad.

it sounds like your lock rod cylinder in your sterring colum is broken. That can be expensive to fix! $500 or so. There is an alternitive though. Go to a alarm and window tint shop. Have the install remoteless key start up on you car. Car will start up fine. All your doing is bypassing the ignition swith and sending a signal to your starter directly. It will work beleive me. To check if this is your problem run a cable or wire from the starter to your batter from under the hood, if the car starts(make sure the keys are in the on postion) its your lock rod cylinder! If it doesnt its a bad starter or ignition switch...most likely ignition switch.

Possibly could be the starter. About the only this I can tell you to try would be to tap on the starter wile someone else is trying to start it. If if cranks, you will need a starter. This is the easyist way to check it without a machine.

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jonathan_3a3c556b4b17d1d2

try putting a new starter.donny