My 01' daily driver's battery died a couple of months ago. Since I work 3rd & it was only driven at night, I figured it had just not been charging well from using the lights, seat valet etc. every time it was driven. I tried to jump it a couple of times & all it would do was give me the "click click click" & I couldn't get it to turn over. I bought a new Duralast & put it in today...here's where it gets kinda crazy:

Put the new battery in

Turned it to the on position & everything seemed to been as normal.

It would turn over with good revolution but wouldn't start up.

Went & got 5 gallons of gas to make sure that there was enough thinking it might be low enough that it wasn't pumping any to the engine.

Tried to start it again & instead of turning over this time, it only did the "click click click" thing again.

I then thought, maybe the battery wasn't charged well to begin with & that I would try to jump it with the new battery in place.

Jumping it resulted in nothing but more clicking so I disconnected jumper cables at this point.

Let it sit for a few, put the key in & when I turned it to on, the dash, the door panels & running lights all flicker quickly. Odd thing is the light under the hood stays solid throughout this.

I also have an 02' in which I swapped out the batteries after all this was happening. The 02' started just fine with the new Duralast & the 01' still is giving me the same results even with the Delco from the 02'...
Obviously eliminating the battery itself as the problem...

Thanks guys, I hope someone can help me with this, I really need the help!

 

sounds to me that you have a bad connection somewhere. double check your battery connections, grounds, and the connections on the starter itself. clean them all up really well make sure your battery is fully charged and try starting it again.

 

If this is a side mount battery, pull the pos and neg cables off and look at the connectors very carefully. Make sure there is no corrosion up inside the connectors. Also examine the center bolts on the connectors. If you see any white or black stuff on the bolts, pull them apart and wire brush them thoroughly and then reinstall. Good luck with it.

 

First try tightening your battery posts...i had same symptom....if that doesn`t work check alternator....then others

 

Same here... Although it took quite some time to fully manifest itself. Bill Curlee solved it for me - torque your battery terminal connections to 11ft/lbs... Mine SEEMED tight, but tightening them to spec solved the same problems you're having.

 

Cool guys, thanks for the response. I will be diving into the issue first thing in the morning & am hoping to get the issue figured out. I will try everything that's been suggested & post back with what I figure out...

 

I did some reading on here and found out the best battery to use is the red top optima. I would take the other batter back and get the red top.

my2c

 

Battery was not the issue...

Fixed it guys!! Weird thing, I went through everything & cleaned all connections, hooked it all back up & it was still doing the weird flickering dashboard & lights thing.
Well, I was reading through another thread & found someone talking about resetting the security...
I started the process by turning the ignition to on (allowing it to do it's flickering etc.) & let it sit for 10 minutes. When I came back to do step two, there was no flickering & the dash/display had posted properly. It fired right up! Took it for a spin & came back. Turned it off & then turned it back to on. It started flickering again but only for about 10 sec. then it posted & I fired it up again. After some testing of this it finally got it out of it's system & now posts no prob & fires right up...

Very odd to say the least but, it does seem that it was definitely a security issue or computer post issue...Not sure but at least it works now!!

Thanks guys for all the input!!!

 

lordbones,

Don't want to rain on your parade, but unless you got really lucky, the problem isn't fixed. The SECURITY system has no mode where lights and stuff "flicker". The system is binary, the car either works, or does not.

You've got some lose/shorting wire someplace. Could be a ground strap, or a connection to the BCM ... whatever. I'd start in the area of the BCM (passenger footwell), check around and see if the carpeting, or under the carpeting is wet. I'm basing this on the fact that you said the lights were flickering, but the underhood lamp was not. The BCM controls the interior/exterior lighting and I'd suspect you have water in that area that is causing an intermittent problem. Again, check around the BCM for wet/dampness.

Good luck,

 

Cool, I'll check that tomorrow morning first thing! Thanks for reading my full post above & realizing my issue could be deeper...

 

Ok, so this is just getting more odd by the day...

I checked the BCM, no moisture was found.

I have tried different batteries & have tested the alternator side by side with my other C5. The Alternator is showing 14+volts at idle & the battery is showing 12+ when the car is turned off.

Yesterday I did the "security" proceedure that I had read in another post...Turn the car to on, leave for 10 min., turn car to off without pulling the key out for 10 sec. repeat 3 times..
Well, after doing this the car started just fine. Took it down the road & it died on me.
Needless to say it was doing the "flickering" thing for about 25 min. before it finally posted & started right up. During the 25 min. it did flash a message about the tire monitoring system was faulting...(sigh)

I figure it has to be something between the switch & the BCM or one of the two...

 

Dimes to donuts it's a connection somewhere as stated above.It may not seem like it,but you must check carefully.When lights flicker they do so because they are getting intermittent power.

My lil' story,I will try to be brief.

First time I had this issue,I had changed my battery.It all seemed very tight,but lights would flicker.I went back and checked for corrosion and retightend the battery terminals.Still flickered.I then was messing around under hood and noticed that my battery cable could "spin" or rotate with relative ease when you grab a hold of it and gave it a tug.How could that be?It was TIGHT!!! So tight I was worried about stripping it out!

Turned out that the holes in the battery were not tapped deep enough.My bolt would bottom out and be really tight,but cable was still not making positive contact.
My solution was to add a copper washer to the mix at the terminal,and all is well now!!!

Second time I had headers installed.My car actually died on me while running.Same problem you are experiencing,turned out to be a loose starter cable of all things.

Tightened her up and all is good

Moral: check and recheck........something is loose or poor contact somewhere

So much for being brief

 

"QUOTE"
lordbones,

Don't want to rain on your parade,

I got a chuckle out of that! He's 100% correct! Your the FORTH person this month with the same issue. Give this a shot:

I bet ya its the electrical portion of your ignition switch. The contacts in there get weak and dirty and can cause this issue along with other issues. Try wiggling the key in the switch and see if it changes the symptoms.

BC

 

Ok, thanks guys..I'll recheck & check some more tomorrow afternoon when I get up...(working 3rd sucks!)

I really appreciate the ideas & help though! I will post as soon as I figure something out.

 

Hi

I to have this problem, drove car started fine, back in garage ,battery tender on 3 week later nice day, all gauges on, message center display fine, radio on ok. Went to start dash goes dark, no crank at all, decided to put a battey charger on in start mode hit key click,click dash lights flashing, now what, battery is original 2002 car 9800 miles. battery voltage 12.8 v.I then removed battery and used a hand held load tester with load only 2 volts. Think I need a new battery. I will be watching to see what you find. Ron Herndon

 

Hi

Just wondering if you figured out what the problem was? Would Just like to know. Ron Herndon

 

Well, I still haven't had any luck... I tried going through everything that I can see, short of pulling the console etc. The ignition switch wiggle wasn't the answer either...Like I said before I work third so it's difficult for me to get more than a little while at a time to work on it. I am however going to pull the battery tomorrow & trade it out with the one in my 02' again to make sure it's not the issue. Remember, it's not doing anything except for the door "ding" sound. It posts nothing on the dash now...*frustrated*

 

I had those same symptoms. I torqued the battery terminals (more than 11 ft/lbs). No luck. Battery is a Exide Orbital. Car is dead. I wiggled the negitive battery lead and Lights are on. The rubber cover can get in the way and if you are not watching closely you will not make a good connection and will only get sparatic continuity. Fixed my flickering lights..

 

The battery is the original ????

I'm AMAZED it has lasted as long as it has. Replace it, clean your battery cables when you put the new one in .... all will be well.

 

OK .... just so we're clear on a few things ....

======================================== ===========

* Once you start the car, does the problem "go away" .... that is, you can drive it no problem .... it is a "starting" issue

OR

* Even if you get the car running, it will randomly shut off the engine and do the "flickering" lights symptom .... it is a problem in the main electrical system

======================================== =============

You have checked the following:

* Battery is good and battery cables are clean and tight

* You have checked the electrical connections at the starter motor - the connections are clean and tight - the terminals on the starter don't wiggle or seem loose.

* You have checked the GROUND (Black) cable from the battery at its other end, where it is grounded to the chassis - that ground is clean and tight at the chassis

* Do you keep the car in a garage, or have access to a garage ?? Put the car in a dark garage (at night if need be) - open the hood - turn key to ON and then look/listen in the engine compartment ... any sign of sparking ... sound of sparking ..... wiggle wires under dash and in engine compartment to see if you can see/hear anything

======================================== =========

OK, let us know about the above ......