okay, went to start my car today (4th time today), and it does not start. i can hear the starter turn once, and then cut out.
usually it is just that plug on the top of starter that is just loose, but i checked this and it is fine.
so i go try to start it again, and all hear is the same 'ticking' that you hear if the starter is disconnected.
after a few more times of doing this, i see all the idiot lights flicker, and then go out. now i am not getting anything when i try to turn the key.

I CHECK EVERYTHING ON MY CAR AND THERE IS NO POWER ANYWHERE.

i try honking the horn, but it just makes a really small noise for a bit, and then stops working.

i have tried all the usual things. i checked all the fuses in the main engine fuse box, and then all the important fuses in the interior fuse box. my battery is fine, and like i said the car was working fine the rest of the day, and then 10 minutes later, i go to start it and this happens.
i should also mention that just recently i have had my sunroof and wiper switch cut out for short periods of time. don't know if this is related or not, but could be.

this comes at probably the WORSE possible time, since i need this car ready for this weekend. anyways, any help would be appreciated!

thanks

 

sounds like a bad starter ie the clicking sound
if it is shorting internally that could drain the battery

how did you check the battery? are you sure it's good?
if so the starter could just be drawing all of the current if it's shorted (not entirely sure on that, brain is out to lunch)
have you tried to jump start the car?

I would probably take the starter out and run it up to your local autozone and have them test it

 

1) check your battery terminals
2) check your battery again (check the voltage)
3) alternator
4) starter

 

ok. thanks for the input.
yes, it could be the starter. but i got that replaced not to long ago. however it is not a new starter, it is used. don't have an autozone, but i will try to find a place to get it tested.

as for the battery, i got it checked about a month back. it is working fine, the guy said. but anything can happen in a month. i really don't think it is the battery though, just doesn't seem like it. more like a wiring problem to me.

okay, i was trying to diagnose the problem some more. strange thing happened:
i disconnected the battery, and then reconnected it. it seemed like i had power (the horn and interior lights worked again). but then i went to try starting it again, and the starter just clicked, and after that i had no power again. so maybe it is the starter...

 

Check all your grounds....I came to a stop the other day and mine just died and I had no power.....Loose ground at the frame was the culprit

 

sounds like the solinoid on the starter might be sticking once it energizes
when you disconnected the battery it may have let the solinoid reset itself

(just thinking out loud here so definitely don't quote me)

but reach under the car and see if the starter or solinoid are really how when you are getting no power

 

you mean check if it is really HOT, right? i'll try that.

oh, and how do you check your main grounds? because there are a hell of a lot of grounds in this car, can i get a basic description of the main ones?
is it in the FSM?

 

best way to check the grounds is with a multimeter
check it see if you have coninuity between the ground point and another point on the chassis
the main one is under the rats nest where it bolts to the engine and then connects to the firewall

 

It doesn't sound like your grounds, from your descriptions...It sounds more like your alternator took a crap, then you drained your battery...Get a meter out & do a little voltage check troubleshooting- battery should be 12.5v or so, alt should be 14.5 or so (running, of course, when you get it jumped or whatever)...Your main chassis ground is on the left strut tower, below all that tape, bolted to the metal, if you find you need to check that out too...

 

well, good news, my car starts again

bad news: i still don't know what the hell is going on

i went to try and start it again after i disconnected the battery, and was going to see if the starter was getting hot (i was assuming that it would just make a clicking noise again). but nope, started right up for some reason. i guess it might be the starter, but...

i tested my alternator for voltage. when i first started the car up, i was surprised to see only about 12.5 volts as a reading. but then i saw that the reading has to be at 2500 RPM, so i increased the engine speed to about that, and the voltage reading seemed to jump to 15 volts. after i let off the throttle again and let it idle, the reading dropped just slightly, to about 14.9 v, but it didn't return to the first reading i got. but it seems a little high to me. this is an S5 alternator by the way.

i checked the main grounds and they seem to be fine (by physical inspection).

i don't know, i guess it could be starter or alternator, but both seem to be working alright now, other than the readings i got for the alt, but even then maybe 15 v is normal?
i'd really like to know what is happening, since i don't want it dying again this weekend. i have a pretty long drive.

 

oh, and would the starter getting stuck actually prevent power from getting to anything else? i mean this is a complete loss of power, even the smallest of interior lights wouldn't work...

 

anybody have any ideas?

 

Maybe you just had a loose or corroded battery cable terminal, which prevented good charging & starting...15 volts is good, at the top-end of the regulated voltage range per the FSM...

If the starter dies, everything else should work fine, unless you've got a catastophic short instigated by the starter solenoid. See any melted wiring insulation near the starter?

 

hey man its the starter get a new one or you could be pushing your car the next time you shut it off.

 

Um...you know what it sounds like to me bro...Not to sound like an ***...but...um...tighten your freakin battery cables...If it does it again with the way your car has been...when you try to start it and it doesn't go...listen to the battery you will hear a hissing noise...that is **** building up between the terminal and the cable...so, make sure that they are tightened...When you put that kind of a load on a battery connected all half assed it will turn everything off...This is through experience...maybe the cables were tightened...if so, starter...

 

battery cables are definetly okay.
i took a look around the starter, didn't notice any melted wiring or anything. then again it is pretty dirty down there though.
i am leaning more and more towards starter, i just did not think so at first because i just replaced it. making something is causing starters to fail?

i don't know...but thanks for the input guys

 

My comment is the Ground wires.....

My car was like that one day, when i was on the Highway going 80 miles per hour.... all of a sudden NOTHING! no idiot cluster, nothing.......
When i got my car to stop.... i looked at my main fuse and it was blown... and i checked, there was a short...

It was actually my engine ground wire shorting with a positive.....
so my starting was slow.... and all my lights went dead..... everything!
so definitely CHECK u know what? just replace those suckers......
this isn't the first time i heard bad ground wires causing a BIG problem.....

i replaced my main ground wire, and starting to ground other parts...... its running very smoothly and nothing has been wrong lately ^_^

so my advice is the ground wires....

 

okay, so the problem has reared its ugly head in full force:

anytime i try to start it now, all power goes out.
i then proceed to disconnect and reconnect the battery, and i get my power back. then i go to turn the key, i hear something click and then no power again.
i've checked a few more connections and can't find anything out of the ordinary.
someone i was talking to noticed that my main battery connections cables weren't that great looking, and that my wires weren't that great. don't see how that would cut all power like that though...

 

I had same problem...cleaned the negative battery terminal and it's gone.

 

bump, cuz now i have the EXACT same problem. car sat overnight and i was leaving this morning to get spacers for my wheels and oh ****, she dont start. so i called my friend and he braught a new battery over from costco! and still same thing. im gonna try cleaning my battery terminals, but that is so wierd that its the EXACT same problem. anymore help or updates are appreciated.

 

okay, here is what happened:

i took off the starter and proceeded to do the tests that were stated in the FSM. it passed these tests, and i proceeded to put it back on the car. to my surprise it started up fine.
i really don't know what to say about that. but in the past i had this problem and it had randomly started working again, and then after a few months it stopped (and i posted this thread i believe). but it seems to be working fine again. the car is in storage right now.
i don't really trust it to keep working, but until i pinpoint what is wrong, how am i supposed to buy replacement parts??

anyways, my suggestion is to take it off the car and run the tests that are give in the FSM for the starter...
see if it passes those first

 

geez, its like driving at night with no headlights... any of the electrical gurus out there? well i have a couple of hours so ill try taking the starter apart, but this is my daily whip and its really a pain in the *** juggling cars around. if i can get it working for a couple of months and then hopefully another couple after that i guess its worth the effort... now im thinking i should have baught a NORMAL car... nothing but problems with this thing, but i love it. nothing like an 8k redline and a foot and a half of flame to go with it!

 

Coldfire mentioned that it was really dirty in the engine compartment. I suggest getting a couple cans of Engine Brite and clean that puppy up. Check all of your major connections for corosion, and use an anti-corosive spray, such as bullfrog on em. Clean and reconnect your grounds, and use new star washers on them so that they dig in and make a good connection. Coldfire's problem sounds like an intermittantly sticking starter solonoid, everyone elses sound like shitty electrical connections.

 

Dude its your freak'n terminals clean or replace them. There is no question about it. If the car gets power when you connected and disconnect the battery the terminals are way to loose curroded. Battery post could need to be cleaned also.

 

whoa whoa whoa, when did i say my engine bay was really dirty? all i mentioned is that my battery cables looked 14+ years old (which they are). my terminals are fine and i don't think they had anything to do with it...cleaning them is a good thing to do though, and i am going to be getting new battery cables just because that's a good idea also, and they'll look better.

an intermitently sticking solenoid may very well be the problem, however like i said i had a similar problem when i got the car, and then i replaced it with another starter (used), and this happened.

rmills1276 did you take off the starter and try the tests given in the FSM yet?