Lift hood, look down between engine and radiator on right side of engine bay. The unit that looks like a coffee can with and Orange Juice can hung off of it with a large wire from the battery going to it is the starter and solenoid.
its in the front under the valve cover. its kind of cylinder shaped and has a couple wires coming out of it.
It sounds like you have dirty/loose battery connections, a bad ground, loose ground wire on the engine block, loose hot wire at the starter, bad starter, or bad ignition switch. I have a 95 Chevy lumina and i have rebuilt the starter, replaced the solenoid, put shims between the starter and transmission, changed the battery cable. Jesse
If its like the 1993 Lumina it's in the fuel tank.
Consider this - I have a 91' Chevy lumina with 256k miles on it, and aside from an oil leak, it still runs like a top
See them below-
It sounds like you need to get your starter motor, repaired, reconditioned or replaced. I had this problem a few months ago, but since getting it reconditioned, it's working perfectly again !
The starter is in the frount up under the car towards the middle of the car it almost looks like an oil fillter but a bit smaller.
Sounds like head gasket is leaking
On top of the starter - looks like a juice can
I own a '96 Chevy Lumina that has the same problem and it sounds like it is a fairly common problem. I don't actually have the solution, however I know that if I turn the car to the on position and sit for a couple of minutes, then try and crank it over, it will magically start. I was thinking maybe there is just a bad connection or wire somewhere in the ignition system.
Need to know if it is, or not,the coupe. Also, what engine.
It could be something simple and inexpensive like a valve cover gasket or something more expensive like a rear main seal leak. You could try some stop leak but it is better to have it looked at by a mechanic.