Problem: When turning the key to "Start", all I get is the clicking from the starter solenoid.

Preface: I have had another thread about an electrical issue on my 02. I thought i had something drawing the battery down and that was the reason it would not start after sitting for a few days.

The problem has gotten worse. It used to be after it would sit for a few days. Then it got to after sitting for a few hours. This last weekend at the track, I jumped it to get it off the trailer, idled in the staging lanes for ~30 minutes and killed it and it wouldnt start. Had to jump start again in the staging lanes. Now it wont start at all.

In the past, jumping the car off or "jump start" from my batter charger would start it. As of yesterday, that no longer has any effect. The battery charger wont even try to charge because the battery is "fully charged".

Things that I have checked: I have had the battery checked at AutoZone. Its good. Its a Duralast Platinum (AGM) that's 1.5 years old. It shows 12.5 volts.

I have had my alternator checked at Oreillys. Its charging. I also show 12.5+ volts at the alternator.

I checked the hot wire at the solenoid - 12.5+ volts.

I could not check the purple wire on the solenoid while turning the key to start - I was by myself yesterday.

The DIC only shows ~10.8 volts.

Further battery draw tests show that it is eventually getting down to 17-20 mA when going to sleep.

So those things considered and the fact that I cant even jump it off now leads me to believe its either my starter solenoid or a bad ground.

The bad news is I have long tube headers, so getting to the starter/solenoid/ground is gonna require some work.

Anyone want to hedge some bets on it being one or the other?

 

Yes, Autozone load tested the battery and said it was good. It was showing 12.5+ volts and 50% charged. I have since kept it on a charger/maintainer to bring amps back up.

The 10.8 volts is with the key on, not running.

I have had the battery in and out of the car several times during this process. The cables are in great condition, clean and no corrosion and are torqued down (12 ft lbs)

12.5 volts is when the vehicle is NOT running.

See comments above about load test. Also, why can i no longer jump start vehicle? This makes me suspect i was incorrectly looking at the battery all this time.

I appreciate the comments. Any other ideas?

 

Turning the key on and only seeing 10.5V at the dash gauge when you have 12.5V at the battery says that there is either a connection issue in the main cables or the ignition switch is bad. It might not be bad enough to stop the car from running, but there is an issue.

Regardless of the above, if the solenoid gives one solid click each time you turn the key but the lights or batter gauge don't drop and the starter motor doesn't engage then you likely have a bad solenoid too. Mine did that after it sat for the winter so I put a new starter in it before it stranded me somewhere.

 

Get some jumper wires...about 2 ft in length...connect to the purple wire in the solenoid and ground and the other end to a VOM facing the driver and try to start the car. I had a similar incident to yours and started at the ignition and tested it down to the solenoid. If I had started at the solenoid first I would have saved a lot of time.

Also, after you have driven the vette for a while...and it starts w/o problems...let it set overnight and then test the voltage with everything off. You should be in the 12.7-13.2 range with a newer AGM battery.

 

Solenoid or you have bad battery connections on the solenoid, and yes it is a pain in the a** to remove starter especially with headers, you should also buy a insulating cover to protect your starter/solenoid from the heat produced by the headers.

 

Ok, this just gets weirder. I found out my battery charger just wasnt working. So forget everything i said about the smart charger not topping off the battery and not jump starting.

I hooked jumper cables up today from another vehicle and it started right up.

I checked voltage at the battery and alternator - 14.7 V initially and fell to about 14.4. DIC showed the same thing.

I let it idle for 10 mins or so and then killed it.

I tried to start it again and it fired right back up. So I killed it again.

I checked voltage at the battery, solenoid and the alternator. All showed 12.7 V.

So i let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Tried to start it again and "click click click" from the solenoid just like all the times before. I checked voltage at the battery - ~9V. Turned off A/C fan inside and some other stuff and the voltage came up slightly.

I tried to check the purple wire while someone was "starting" and it was getting the same ~9V.

I hooked up jumper cables again and battery was showing 12.7V again. Had someone turn the key to "Start" and try to get a good reading on the purple wire again (had to remove a plug wire to get to it and also unhooked the fuel pump so it wouldnt actually start). I shocked the **** out of myself...not sure if i got too close to the coil or what. Anyway, didnt get a voltage reading, but it turned over.

So I unhooked the jumper cables and then unhooked the battery from the car (pos and neg cables). Now it reads ~10V.

WTF is going on? Bad cell in the battery? I dont know that I trust AutoZone's load test of the battery anymore.

 

If the battery is dead, a jump start and 10 minutes of running certainly won't charge it back up.

 

It wasnt dead before, hence my questioning the solenoid. It was reading 12.5V a few days ago.

I didnt check it before hooking up jumper cables this time, however, It was reading 12.7V after I shut it down (jumper cables unhooked).

Then 20 minutes later when I tried to start it again and it failed, it was reading 9V.

How can it go to 9V in 20 mins? Its gotta be the battery, right?

 

I had several similar problems.
1. I stripped the copper threads and cross threaded the positive wire to the solenoid. I attached it blindly and it seemed like it was tight but wasn't.

2. The battery terminals have a rubber lip that sticks out a little and if they aren't torqued down enough there wont be good contact.

3. My grounding strap, the thick copper one by the steering column was corroded all to crap.

 

Use your charger to fully charge the battery..should take several hours. Then let it stand over night and check the voltage in the morning, without starting it. If it is less than 12.5V your battery has a bad cell or too far discharged to run correctly. Since the car would start with a freshly charged battery it more than likely is not the solenoid.

 

OK, I will put it this way. After sitting 20 minutes the battery was totally dead. Well, a battery can't go from charged to dead in 20 minutes unless you put a hell of a load on it. So, it was likely dead when you initially jump started the car.

 

Did your headers burn the big red wire insulation. Measure resistance from + to GND with the + terminal disconnected.

That is one heck of a parasitic draw (like a short to ground).

 

Autozone warrantied the battery this time. And since they didn't have the exact replacement, they bought back the old one for full price and I put it towards another AGM with side mount and more cold cranking amps. Now my warranty starts over as of today. And I only $3 spent.

So so far so good. It starts right up. No issues. I suppose it was the battery this whole time.

 

That is not making me feel good about my red top.