92 after dead battery
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 349
Likes: 1
From: Clayton CA
92 after dead battery
I have a 92 6m that was parked for 2 mo. Battery was dead so charged and load tested good. All electical now works but won't crank. It ran ok before I parked it. There is a dinging and a flashing "infl rest" that I didn't notice before. Could it forget key code? Any ideas where I should start looking?
Any help appreciated, Thanks
Any help appreciated, Thanks
Pro
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 502
Likes: 0
Did you charge with the cables connected?
The ding is probably the door chimes and when you turn the key to ON, all the lights on the Drivers Information Center should light up and the INFL REST should light up Red, but most of the others will be yellow.
The ding is probably the door chimes and when you turn the key to ON, all the lights on the Drivers Information Center should light up and the INFL REST should light up Red, but most of the others will be yellow.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 349
Likes: 1
From: Clayton CA
Yes, cables connected. I just tried it again, all the lights are doing their normal thing. I thought it might be not pressing clutch far enough. There is a sound coming from the starter area when trying to crank, very low buzz, hard to hear. If I don't press the clutch no noise, but when pressed then the low buzz. I would expect the loud clicking from a starter relay, not so.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
A battery that sat discharged for 2 months is toast. It has sulfated plates and is effectively a motorcycle battery and cannot supply the 100+ amps your starter motor requires. You can prove this by measuring the battery voltage during cranking attempt. The battery voltage should not fall below 9.0 volts or you have a discharged battery, poor battery cable connections, or the battery is at the end of its life. NEVER leave a lead acid battery sit discharged. ALWAYS keep a car battery charged up if it is going to sit for long periods. Batteries kept charged up will experience a normal life, abused batteries will experience a short life. Measure the battery terminal voltage during a crank attempt, then go buy a new battery and sin no more.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 349
Likes: 1
From: Clayton CA
I agree completely. I did load test the battery after charging and it tested good. The lights didn't dim when I tried cranking so I thought I had received absolution
Guess not, the battery looks pretty ugly anyway. A battery beats a starter anyday.Thanks will try in the morning.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 308
Likes: 2
From: Kansas City MO
Since the battery load tested good (but at what amps??)
Before buying a new battery and you said it looked ugly (which to me means corrosion/grime) - pull the battery cables off the battery and clean them up real good and clean up the terminal sockets on the battery too - make sure both are shiny clean and free of corrosion, then re-attach cables and try again. Also wouldn't hurt to check the ground to engine connection too.
Before buying a new battery and you said it looked ugly (which to me means corrosion/grime) - pull the battery cables off the battery and clean them up real good and clean up the terminal sockets on the battery too - make sure both are shiny clean and free of corrosion, then re-attach cables and try again. Also wouldn't hurt to check the ground to engine connection too.
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wasn't the battery. Back to the starter, I guess.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
With a new battery and no starter solenoid click heard, I would suspect VATS. Unplug the clutch safety switch and jump the wiring harness connector and measure the voltage on the jumper when you hit crank. You should see 12v and the starter solenoid should pull in and the starter motor crank. You can also jump 12v to the jumper and see if the starter motor cranks. If no 12v, then pull the kick panel above the drivers feet and find the two wires from above the steering column that goes to a 2 pin connector and unplug. With key in ign, measure the resistance across the two wires, it should be the same as the key pellet. If more than 4% error, you need a new ign lock which has new contacts that connect to the pellet. You can bypass VATS with a fixed resistor the same value as the pellet and connected across the 2 pin wiring harness socket until you get the new ign lock. I believe on 92's you can't leave the resistor connected, you would have to connect it each time you want to start the engine. I don't recommend permanently bypassing VATS because 99% of thefts are done by bashing the column and jumping the igntion. You could also have a defective start enable relay.
