Basically my car will not start. It is a 96 GSR with 100k on the engine and manual tranny. I drove home like usual and parked for 2 hours. Then decided to go and get gas. I'm in Washington so it's like 50 degrees outside. I'll make a list of the symptoms so i don't miss anything.
1. Put the key in the ignition. The one position. Car beeps like normal.
2. Turn to the 2 position and everything is normal. Fuel pump primes, dash lights come on, etc...
3. Push clutch in and turn to 3 position. Loud click from engine bay and car acts like its blow a fuse...but it hasn't.
4. I say it hasn't blow a fuse because the dash lights are very very dim. So dim i thought they were off (blown fuse)
5. Pull the key out and try to start the car again but the dash lights stay dim. No click from the engine bay.
Here's where it gets funny. If i keep flipping the key between the 1 and 2 position the lights will stay dim and nothing will happen. But after a random number of tries the car will "prime" like normal in the 2 postion (fuel pump, dash lights....). When i try and start it (clutch in, postion 3) it "trips" and the dash lights dim again. While it's in it's "tripped" mode everything will act like the battery is dying, lights won't come on not even the hazards. The interior lights are dim. But the problem "resets" after toggling between 1 and 2 positions. Also if i reset the car and don't try to start it, but i arm the alarm it too makes the car trip and act like the battery is dying.
The battery is good 12.53 at the terminals. What the hell is going on?

 

how old is that battery?, i understand it has 12.5 volts, but it might still be bad.....so when you try and crank it, test it then, i bet that biatch drops under 9 volts
when the key is in position 2, can you turn on your radio? headlights?
and if the instrument pannel only dims when you try and start. the battery is bad most likey

no click at all from the engine bay? never ever? check your connections to the starter...sometimes the soleniod will kinda stick....try tapping it with somthing solid
if it does click but no cranking, you probably have a bad battery cuz you said it has 12.5v
*check the volts WHILE your are cranking, shouldnt drop past 10v




[Modified by iTAKEthe5th, 9:40 AM 11/21/2002]

 

Hmmm battery? Good thing i kept my OEM. I have a Red Top in there now. And it's in the trunk with a little water under where it's mounted. Maybe the water and cold weather jacked it up. Damn and i spent 120 bucks for that thing.
If the car isn't "tripped" in position 2 then yes I can turn on stuff. If i stick the key in (no position) the car will beep like normal to remind me the key is in. Then if i press the brake the beeping stops. Foot off the brake again and the beeping resumes. WTF?

 

Check all your ground connections. This can be caused by a bad ground.

 

will do

 

lol, if you turn on your hazards does your seat recline?????

jk man, the deal with your brakes stopping the key beep.....hmm does it really cut it out completely? or does the beeping just fade like the beeper is broken?

it could be some crazy *** short, or ground problem
actually a short would make sense, and it would also explain why your starter wont spin....
OR it could be a very old, dead battery
but its not right?
i dunno

 

Thanks guys. I'm gonna test the battery when i get home and recheck the grounds. Hopefully my starter is not dead.

 

testing the battery at home is iffy. try taking it to the pepboys out in college park or up in germantown, they have a testing machine which will test the battery under load. i just replaced the battery in my civic, and i had very similar symptoms to you. it read over 12v, but it failed once they put it on the machine. i replaced the battery and everything started working again.

oh yeah, dc traffic sucks.


[Modified by serious, 4:40 PM 11/21/2002]

 

Good point, just because the battery has 12 VOlts, doesn't mean it has enough AMPs or 12 V when under load.

 

---- Oh yeah.. First things first.. Check your wiring.. Give the wires at the Battery, Starter Solenoid, and Starter a little tug to see if they're loose.. Stupid little things like that can cause a huge headache if you don't know what you're doing..----

If you think your Battery is good, then I guess it's good..

CLick from the Starter Solenoid means a lot of things.. Your Pull In and Hold In Coils are good.. And for them to be good, that means that your Solenoid is Grounded properly and that the Carbon Brushes riding on the Commutator Bars are still "somewhat" in good condition which also leads to the fact that your Starter has a Ground...

So the advice I'm going to give you is the same that I give everyone else..

Check the Voltage at the B Terminal on the Solenoid.. It's the one with the big cable coming from the Battery.. You should have 10V or more while CRANKING.. If not, your Battery's Active Material is used up and can't give the Starter the Amperage it needs.. In other words, you've just done a Load Test on your Battery and proved that it can't handle the measely 100 to 125 Amps needed to turn the Armature in the Starter..

But if you do get 10V or more at the B Terminal, your next step is to see how much Voltage can go through the Plunger's Disc.. To do this, test for Voltage at the M Terminal while CRANKING.. It's the other terminal with the big cable going to the Starter, you can't miss it.. You should get a reading of no more than a " .2V " drop.. For example.. B Terminal is 10.9V and M Terminal is 10.7V.. If you've got more than a .2V drop across the Solenoid, you can replace the Solenoid.. If it were me, I'd try and clean the Disc..

That's what I think is causing your problem.. But if you get a reading close to what you got going to the Solenoid, your problem is most likely worn Brushes or dirty Commutator Bars...

But that's just what I think.. Good Luck with whatever you do.. And remember, Be Careful..


[Modified by PnX-R, 7:17 PM 11/21/2002]


[Modified by PnX-R, 7:19 PM 11/21/2002]

 

I'd say the ground connection on the battery terminal.....

 

I guess we have a winner. It was the ground connection. Damn I'm an idiot. Thanks guys. HT=


[Modified by speedymon, 7:19 AM 11/22/2002]