I have a bit of an odd issue going on. We haven't driven the car for about 10 days (it snowed and has been raining). I went to start it the other day and got the click sound you normally associate with the battery or alternator being dead. I took my multi-meter to it and it had .9 volts at the battery with key off.

I hooked my jumper to it and got measured it at 14v both at the battery and the alternator, and it would not start. Continued to click.

Tried to jump it with my truck. This time NOTHING. No clicks or anything, so I decided to try something. I hooked my jumper (which is a continuous 12v source and we push started it (its a 4 speed). It started right up and ran. I pulled the jumper off to verify that the alt was charging the battery and it was at 12.8v - 13.2v for the 5 seconds I had it on there.. jumped around just a bit but stayed in that range.

So.. I think I have eliminated the alt. The solenoid is good since it did start without arcing that. Nothing wrong with the distributor. Starter could be the problem.

I did check the battery today (we tested all this yesterday) and it was sitting at .8v again.

So.. what do you guys recommend? Looks like the battery isn't staying up or I could have a power draw on it somewhere AND it is acting like the starter is out. I hate to replace either part without determining for sure one way or the other. Just seems odd both would go out at the same time like that.

 

your battery is dead...how old is it?

if you think you have a draw on the battery, disconnect the battery, check the battery leads with an ohm meter, should be 0 with key off.

 

Sounds like a battery short (internal).

 

Okay, I took off the leads and checked them... looks like I have a short (3ohms). I also hooked my portable jumper directly to the leads to see if I could even get it to crank.. turn the key and nothing.

Now the fun part.. tracking down the short.

I have a charger on the battery right now.. Im going to see if it holds a charge. The battery isn't to terrible old, just a couple of years.

I doubt the short is keeping it from starting, unless the short is somewhere before the starter motor.. I know it will run because I can push start it.

 

Well, I pulled the charger off, gave it a few min and checked it.. 12.1v.. gave it a few more min.. still at 12.1v. Looks like its holding a charge at least for a little while..

Hooked up the leads to the battery and it drained in a HURRY... so that gets rid of the battery question... looks like I have a short to figure out and a starter to replace...

 

easiest way to find the short, pull all the fuses, put them in one at a time, and you should be able to isolate the system....

 

I'm confused about this. Do you mean to put one lead of the meter on the positive battery cable and the other on the negative cable?

If so I don't think you would necessarily have 0 ohms because of things like a clock or a modern radio that has a constant power feed to keep the preset stations. You would still have a complete circuit with a small amount of resistance.

If I'm wrong, please educate me.

 

thats not a valid test. Here is what you need to do;
Disconnect the positive lead from the battery
Connect a test light between the + battery post and the positive battery lead. If you have a short anywhere or a drain, the light will light up. Start pulling fuses, one of them will kill the light. The most likely candidate is the CTSY fuse. The interior light timer is on there as is the clock and radio.

 

One other thing to check is your connections from the battery. I would look at the ground from the battery to the frame and the positive connection on the starter where the battery is connected. It sounds like you have a short somewhere, but I would be surprised if it would keep the car from starting with jumper cables. It sounds like you have something screwy in your starter circuit.

 

I don't think you have a short. I think your starter is shot. Get someone to turn the key while someone else taps the starter with a hammer. If you get a crank at any point even if its for a second its the starter. If you get nothing it could be the starter of a fusible link near the starter.

Jim

 

Your battery is holding voltage when it gets a charge [probably gets to 12v pretty quickly], but that doesn't mean that it has any capacity to supply current. A bad battery doesn't [necessarily] show low voltage until it is 'asked' to supply significant current. Forget about starting the car, just try to turn on the headlights. I'd bet the lights won't even come on...or are very, very weak. Bad battery...simple as that.

 

It wouldnt surprise me if the battery is bad.. but that doesnt explain why it won't crank/start even with a jumper directly to the leads, with the battery completely removed from the circuit.

Gotta love it when multiple things act up at the same time.

 

This is the exact same thing mine did. I disconnected the battery and jumped it nothing happened. I replaced the battery same thing nothing happened.

I replaced the starter all was well again.

Jim

 

You are on he right track….solve this problem and then check to see if you have a drain somewhere. Here is something to try: Hook the ground from your jumper cables to an accessory bracket on your motor. Then hook the positive directly to your starter lug where the battery is connected to it. Then try to start the car. If you still don’t get anything you have a problem from your starter forward. If it starts you have a problem with your battery cables from the battery to your starter or the ground. This will help you narrow down the problem

 

yeah I forgot about the clock...unless of course its broke.

 

Actually.. it does kind of work. Doesnt hold the time at all.. but it does work.

I am going to get a reman starter tomorrow and swap that. I've narrowed it down to a bad starter and possibly a bad battery. Thanks guys!

 

Thanks guys! We got it fixed.

I swapped the starter, hooked up my jumper and it was back to clicking.. I could see it trying to move the flywheel at least this time. I measured the voltage on the soelenoid and it was 12.4 with the key in, but when trying to crank it, dropped to .3v.. Looks like my little portable jumper is wearing out and cant push enough voltage to kick it over. We grabbed the battery out of the girlfriends car and on that it kicked over just fine.

So.. We had a bad starter and battery.