Help with start issue
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 678
Likes: 33
From: Los Angeles California
Help with start issue
So I recently found a bad battery corrosion on the positive terminal
Cleaned everything with a brush and baking soda but found out battery was leaking so a new battery
Then car would say no fob detected so I replaced the battery in the fob and for past few days things were perfect
Then starting two days ago car would start reluctantly sometimes
Yesterday in a parking lot car wouldn't start for about a minute. The dash stays lit the whole time so there's juice in there. There's no rapid tapping like before when my battery died years ago and the starter was trying to start - this time it was just one kind of hollow sounding tap.
Any idea? Is my positive battery cable fried? Starter solenoid connection loose? Bad starter?
Cleaned everything with a brush and baking soda but found out battery was leaking so a new battery
Then car would say no fob detected so I replaced the battery in the fob and for past few days things were perfect
Then starting two days ago car would start reluctantly sometimes
Yesterday in a parking lot car wouldn't start for about a minute. The dash stays lit the whole time so there's juice in there. There's no rapid tapping like before when my battery died years ago and the starter was trying to start - this time it was just one kind of hollow sounding tap.
Any idea? Is my positive battery cable fried? Starter solenoid connection loose? Bad starter?
Racer
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 274
Likes: 9
Do the basic checks to start crossing things off the list.
Start off with battery voltage drop test. If you don't have a voltage drop tester, they are cheap and great to have. Just make sure your battery is fully charged and then hook it up to the battery and make sure the battery isn't looking more than a few volts. If things check out move to the starter. If they don't, you either have a problem with the battery, the connections or the alternator.
Next check the connections running from the battery to the starter. If you have a multimeter, check and see if the starter is getting voltage. Usually if you hear a starter trying to crank, the starter itself is good and it's probably something electrical. Just ground one of your test leads and poke the power lead to the starter harness until you get a voltage reading. You should have the same voltage as your battery at your starter.
If you have a good battery, the connections are good, the starter is getting enough power and is trying to crank, and it still isn't starting, you might have a problem with the anti theft system, which I believe only the dealer can fix.
Start off with battery voltage drop test. If you don't have a voltage drop tester, they are cheap and great to have. Just make sure your battery is fully charged and then hook it up to the battery and make sure the battery isn't looking more than a few volts. If things check out move to the starter. If they don't, you either have a problem with the battery, the connections or the alternator.
Next check the connections running from the battery to the starter. If you have a multimeter, check and see if the starter is getting voltage. Usually if you hear a starter trying to crank, the starter itself is good and it's probably something electrical. Just ground one of your test leads and poke the power lead to the starter harness until you get a voltage reading. You should have the same voltage as your battery at your starter.
If you have a good battery, the connections are good, the starter is getting enough power and is trying to crank, and it still isn't starting, you might have a problem with the anti theft system, which I believe only the dealer can fix.
Last edited by Tennis_pr0; Oct 20, 2015 at 10:41 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,502
Likes: 461
From: Southern Utah
The fact that the dash stays lit the whole time does not mean that the system has enough voltage under load to start the car. There is a big difference between having a couple of amps to run the dash and having a couple of hundred amps to turn the starter over. For my money, the first place to check is the connection at the starter solenoid.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 678
Likes: 33
From: Los Angeles California
Thanks guys, the car started super fast this morning so haven't given it much thought yet, will need to do these tests when I have a moment, busy week this week hopefully the car will last me till the weekend haha
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 678
Likes: 33
From: Los Angeles California
Just as an update
I eventually got the "service charging system" error message so took it to the dealer
Turned out it was a bad battery cable and a bad starter solenoid. $820 later car is good as new.
I eventually got the "service charging system" error message so took it to the dealer
Turned out it was a bad battery cable and a bad starter solenoid. $820 later car is good as new.
