If it aint broken...

[pedefede]

Hi

 

After a winter with no charger on my battery I thought my motor sounded a bit weak when cranked the first weeks after the hibernation. Then I had one incident where the car would not start after a short ride. I left the car for 30 min and then it started. Ok so I thought I need a new battery. Yesterday I put the new battery in. Same battery type as before which has work excellent for years. There is power on all electrical systems but the car will not crank. I can hear the click from the starter. Checked the wire connection from the battery to the frame, which I have replaced 3-4 years ago. Looks fine. Any suggestions?

 

regards

John

[wizard]

A click is normally indicative of a weak battery.  As it's new and presumably has the correct Cold Cranking Amperage, I would check for parasitic drain, after ensuring that the cable to the starter motor is securely attached .... and corrosion-free.

 

I'd also check the output from your alternator.

Edited April 19, 2017 by wizard

[pedefede]

Thanks, but what I do not get is that the car was running fine 2 days ago except for the small incident where it would not start. After that the car started every time. The only thing I did was to change the battery. I connected the battery to the battery of my other car to make sure it was not a faulty battery. So I was wondering if a immobilizer has been activated or the car has to reboot in some way.

 

John

[dporto]

Sounds like a bad ground to me. I would be wary of the dreaded Y-Cable...It's a well documented weak link. If it was the immobilizer you'd be "dead in the water". Check/clean all your ground connections then put your battery on a "tender"... Good luck

[DBJoe996]

1) Check that the battery terminals are clean and tight, and the grounding point is clean and dry

2) Check voltage at the battery terminals..should be >12.5 volts

3) Check voltage at the engine bay terminal (where you can jump the car), should be same as at the battery terminals

4) Check and clean the engine ground wire (behind the passenger side wheel...goes from the engine to frame)

5) If voltage is good at the engine bay terminal, take a flashlight and check the wiring to the starter for corrosion or animal chew marks

6) With the clicking noise, it sounds like the starter is not getting enough voltage to kick the starter solenoid

7) You can bypass the clutch switch with a paper clip in order to take that issue temporarily out of the equation

8) Could be that your starter is giving out if all the voltage is correct and the cables are good

9) Could be your Y-cable in the engine bay, known to go bad from corrosion

10) A faulty ignition switch, the electrical part, causes all manner of problems when they decide to let go

11) Try to jump the car at the terminals in the engine bay.  If that works, the problem is more upfront, like the battery or terminals

 

The car does not need a "reboot" with a battery change.  In fact, exchanging the battery basically does that anyway.  It is not an Immobilizer/Security system issue because you get to the point where the car is sending voltage to the starter to get it to kick over.  It does sound like a low voltage problem.

 

When you put the key in and turn it to on (not start), what does the voltage read on the dash voltmeter?  It should read just shy of 14V.

 

Edited April 19, 2017 by DBJoe996

[pedefede]

Thanks, only my wife makes me lists that long :-)

 

Checked voltage at engine bay. Aprox 12,5, guess it is ok after having used the battery for several starting attempts. Trying to jump start through the engine bay connection. No result. Cleaned battery terminals and grounding points. Can still not get into my head that it should be the starter or its connection hence the car was starting fine (excluding one incedent) before I swapped the battery. BTW tried with  the old battery. Still same result.

 

regards

John

[DBJoe996]

When my first starter went bad (yes there have been several), go to fire it up and click.  Then second try...click.  Usually it got heat soaked and after waiting 20 minutes or so, it would fire up.  So my best guess is with trying to jump it you have eliminated most everything except the Y-cable and starter.  Are you certain nothing chewed up the wires while it was stored?  The starter solenoid can go bad in a heartbeat.  A brand new Bosch starter has solved my problems for years now.

[pedefede]

You could be right about the starter. I had it out 3 years ago and checked, when I had another starting problem which was a combination of a faulty battery and ground cable. At that time it was fine, but that is of little help now :-)

 

John

 

 

[pedefede]

I have just ordered a new starter. Crossed fingers.

 

John

[pedefede]

It was the Y-cable.