Hey guys. You guys have helped in the past and I'm here today with another question. My 348 didn't start up today. The lights on the dash come on but the car won't even "crank" over and I don't hear any "click click" or anything. I"m pretty sure it isn't the battery. Pretty much I turn the key and nothing. I read a few of the old posts on the bullet connector but honestly, my knowledge of cars is pretty much "turn key, step on gas". Help I just got it back from the shop. They had it for a few weeks because the check engine light came on and it was determined that it was due to old oxygen sensors (I had to replace two). They also said I had a cam seal leak which was repaired. The other thing was when I picked it up, the car started, but the center console got no power. . .they checked it and found a loose connection that they said the guy had to "solder" back together. The frustrating thing is that I just got it back like last week. . .have driven it less than 10 miles and the three days ago, all I did was take it from garage to driveway and back into garage because I was cleaning out my garage. Granted, it is 100F here in Vegas. thanks again
Whoa. 1. There are bullet connectors near the battery (right on top of it), and underneath the airbox filter. You'd need to remove the airfilter housing (maybe just loosen it out of the way) to confirm those bullet connects are nice and tight. People will laugh at me for saying this, but with the car in gear - gently rock it back and forth, just once or twice. Then, take the car out of gear, foot on the clutch and try to fire it up. 2. The battery has be be VERY VERY charged up to crank her. Just because the instruments come on doesn't mean much. Is it a new battery? 3. They fixed the cam seal leak? Without removing the engine? I'm all ears on how they got in there successfully/efficiently. Did you receipt show cam seals, valve cover gaskets, etc? 4. I suspect the guy with the soldering iron was close to the ignition cylinder or something. I'd get some clarification regarding exactly what they did. Center console got no power? The HVAC unit? The instruments? I'm a wee bit drunk on Diet Coke, so I'll await the real brotherhood to chime in now...
I would check those 1st also. If they are ok, get someone to turn key to start position and gently give the starter motor a few taps with a small hammer. You may have a sticking starter motor solenoid. Tapping the starter motor body will loosen this sticky solenoid and car will start, if thats what the problem is. You may even have a sticking starter motor relay?? Who knows?? It is VERY VERY hard trying to help diagnose this from the other side of the world. Would be good if one of the Brotherhood lives in your area. They could swing past and check it out for you.
The starter solenoid is either not working, or it isn't getting power from the ignition switch. (does your 348 have an aftermarket alarm, by any chance?)
I'll check when I get home. I spoke with the guy at the shop and he thinks it is the battery and I am planning on having the car towed there tomorrow. In response to No Doubt, not sure if the car has an aftermarket alarm, if it does, I've never used it, but it does have a K1 radar detector that I seldom use. anyone have a link for where the bullet connector is? eddy
Thank you to everyone that helped. Turns out it was a dead battery. So I guess I get to hold off on trying to "fix it" myself until the next crisis. Eddy
And as an added bonus, I had been having trouble with the car radio and had taken it to a few audio specialists who couldn't figure it out. My mechanic checked all the lines after installing the new batter and simply had to put in a bigger fuse for the one that connects to the radio.
I am no electrical engineer but I tried that in a Camaro, swapped 10A for 15A fuse. Had big troubles after that- gremlins in other areas popped up (headlights, dash lights, etc). You might want to find a different solution for that problemother than swapping fuses.
Putting in a bigger fuse is fine if the radio circuit had the wrong fuse in it, but if it was supposed to have a fuse of a specific amperage, and he put in a fuse of higher amperage, then he didn't fix anything. He just risked giving you a burnt out fuse panel, or a melted wiring harness, or a ruined radio. What kind of trouble were you having with the radio? Do you also have an amp? An improperly installed radio/amp could have drained your battery in the first place.
