Yes, if it sounds bad it probably is. Also if there was a sudden price increase yesterday in some obscure part necessary to rebuild it, then yes, it probably is. What does it sound like? (If I were you I would just push the car to Campbell and abandon it)
Silence is golden. It is way more likely something electrical. Any clicking or anything when you go to the start position? Any dimming lights when you go to start position?
Aaron, I'm really sorry to hear that. Well... I guess there's not much to hear. But anyway, after careful consideration and analysis of what you've described, I think it's safe to conclude that your car is unfortunately worthless and beyond repair. I think the only solution is to let me take it off your hands. I don't have much, but I'm sure I can scrape together a couple of thousand. Whadd'ya say?
When I put the key in position 1, fuel pump runs, dash/gauge lights illuminate, radio works (if I turn it on), etc. When I turn key to position 2 (i.e., start), all lights go out, no clicking, no cranking, no nada...just silence. Battery is at 11.6V with the car off, and is brand new (purchased last month). I drove the car to Santana Row last weekend (7/1) and home, and shut 'er off. Went out to start 'er up on Sunday, and I got the above-described results... No activity between last weekend and yesterday.
Have you tried checking the voltage while trying to start the car? Check that out. If the voltage drops below 8volts, it wont even attempt to budge, let alone being able to hear the 'click click'. The battery may have dropped a cell. Or, could be starter relay, starter solenoid. Broken wire to starter solenoid ect...ect... Bust that multimeter out and start checking!
Battery is not charged for some reason, it should be 13-14V with no load. It could be the alternator is bad, but most likely is that it got installed w/o a full charge and a couple of short drives didn't charge it. If you have a separate auto charger, take the battery out and charge it, then re-install it. Check that it charges to 13-14V on the charger, if not the new battery is bad.
The battery is currently hooked up to a tender/trickle charger. We'll see how she is tomorrow afternoon...
I don't think a tender/trickle charger will bring the battery back to full strength. If all lights go out when u turn the key its either the battery or its connections. Get a full charge & then check alternater output. Bill
Sometimes a battery terminal that has a cruddy connection will cause this, too. When the demand goes up, the supply voltage to the consumer goes down. To check for a high-resistance connection, look for heat around either of the battery terminals or the quick-disconnect on the subframe on the left side inder the engine near the firewall, usually covered by a plastic shield, red in color.
I had suspected that I had charging system "issues" a month or so back, but when I took readings with the multi-meter on the battery before starting after starting, RPMs @ 1000 and 2000, and after a drive, the general consensus I got back was, "Everything looks fine." I was never quite comfortable with that, though, as when I used to start my car, the Generator light would come on and then would quickly go out after revving the engine north of 1,000. More recently, I have to rev it above 2,000 to get the light to go out. Also....not sure if this has anything to do with my current "issue", but on the way home from my last drive, the turn signals started acting up. They would blink *really* sloooow while sitting at a light, and then would speed up to a pace almost like a drum roll once I got rolling around the corner. Their rate used to vary depending on engine RPM, but not THAT much...something clearly changed. Also, last night when I went out to give it one last shot after being hooked up to the charger/tender I bought, when turning the key to Position 2 and holding it, the lights didn't go completely out (but did get very dim), and when I held the key in the "start" position (as if cranking), the speedometer needle jumped up to 100mph and held...
The blinker thing sounds like the voltage reulator in the alternator is bad. Also needing 2k RPMs to make the light go out when it used to be 1k. Your speedo may be related since it's electronic (isn't it?) but you may have a seperate issue there. You can get some guy to rebuild it for $80-120 or do it yourself if can get the right VR. But before you do that, find a known good battery and jump it directly to the starter solenoid. Bet it starts right up. Ken
I appreciate the response.... Unfortunately, I have no idea how to attempt doing what you mentioned re: jumping a battery directly to the starter solenoid.
That's what I was thinking mine was from the get-go (when I said, "Starter motor", I shouldn't have been so specific...I basically just meant something having to do with my starter), but it doesn't explain my other symptoms that seem alternator related -- 11.6V on the battery when off, Generator light on, erratic turn signal behavior, etc. Perhaps I just have two problems at once?
Well...I got it to start! That's the good news, I think. I threw in another (the old one, actually) Interstate MT-34 to make it happen. I never got around to taking it to the disposal place, so it's just been gathering dust on my garage shelf. The (new) battery in the car, after being hooked up to a tender/charger for 3 days, was still 11.6. I tested the "old" battery with the voltmeter, and it read 12.01. Swapped the two, and voila, started right up. Now...the questions are: 1) Why does a brand new MT-34 have a charge of 11.6V at rest, unable to start the car? Is it an alternator or voltage regulator going bad? 2) If the answer to the above quesiton is "yes", I wonder how long I can go before I have the same situation with the new "old" MT-34, i.e., its voltage drops to 11.6 when off? 3) Why does the charger/tender I bought not bring the NEW "new" MT-34 up above 12V? Isn't that the point of having one of those damn things? I hook it up, and the little green light on the box comes on, indicating "fully charged." At any rate, now that I have the undercharged battery out of the car, I'm going to take it to get load tested. Hopefully that will tell me something so that I can make a reasonable attempt at getting this thing back up to snuff again! And to think...I *almost* had the car towed to the mechanic's shop to have a new starter solenoid installed...lotta good that would've done me!
Aaron, Slow down, and check one thing at a time. First, your new battery is not getting fully charged because its a bad battery. Take it back to the store and get a new one, it should be under warranty. Before you go out and have a new starter and a new alternator installed, do this simple test: Place you voltmeter at the battery terminals, read the voltage before cranking. Have a friend crack the car for you and read the the voltage during cranking. Now wihle the engine is running read the voltage again, rev it past 1500 rpms and read one more time. Let us know the results. Regards, Milton
Yep. Thats right mate. A battery that wont take charge, has dropped a cell for sure. There is nothing he can do about it, except to take it back for a replacement battery alright. Make sure you do the checks that msouza mentioned for peace of mind that your alternator is charging.
Took the battery to a local shop to have it load tested, and it tested fine. They hooked it up to their in-store charger, and it charged up. Looks like the tender just isn't up to the task. Now....for the alternator test - I'll do that as soon as I have an assistant (read: wifey).
Initially my money was on the starter solenoid. Then, after the other posts, I moved my money to the battery. An in store charger? I'm not taking my money off the battery yet. Interesting thing will be to see what the voltage is on the battery *tomorrow* after this "charging" or whenever you try again, AND, what happens to the voltage when you start cranking it up. This is a good thread... Seamus
