So i let my car sit for one day while i carpooled with my buddy to work..i come back the next morning to start me car and it seems like the battery died...i checked it with a voltmeter and it showed 12.32v, later on i got a jump and it started up fine. with the engine running i checked the battery again with the voltmeter and it was at 14.45v indicating that the alternator is working.. so i took it out for about 20 mins to charge up the battery and came back, battery tested at 13.32v so everythings should be workin in the charging system right? Well i shut it off and go to start it again and bam, same thing as in the morning, just clicking and it seems like the battery is dead again.. testing it out it showed 12.25v which should be fine to kick it over..but it couldnt... got it jumped again and it started up no problem, and shut it off after 10mins, and once again same clicking noise and dim gauges... wtf??? could the vats be shorted out? or maybe the ignition switch shorted? i am stumped... please help!!!!!!!!!!!
btw its an 89 iroc-z 5.7 TPI.

 

Dude I've experienced the same thing.....at least I think I have. It was on my 90 model. I'd go out to start it, and it would just click. But all the lights were good. I could at any time jump it off. And sometimes I could even wait a couple of hours, and it would start. Confused me like crazy. I had mine towed to the service dept. two times when this happened, and go figure......it started once it got there...#@$% I hate when that crap happens. They told me they checked everything that could possibly be checked, and found nothing wrong. I delt with it for years. I never knew when it would start or when it wouldn't...I just carried around a set of jumper cables. I'd still love to know if this happened to anyone, and they found out what it was. MGD Iroc 89 I wish I could help ya, but like you,...I wish I knew myself.

 

I'm assuming you've done the obvious and checked all the connections and made sure they're clean and real tight.I've had a lose ground cable cause a similar problem before and just tightened the s^%t out of it and every thing worked great again.Only other things I may suggest that I've seen cause similar problems is 1) the wiring connection going to your neutral safety switch.I had a crappy connector pack hooking to the NS switch in my '89 RS and I hadda keep reaching under my shift plate to hold it on an angle to make the connection so my car would start...............and 2) from experience working on plenty of cars/trucks in general....(and this is gonna be the most fun solution too)........is that your starter may be on it's way out.........having a nice dying starter would cause clicking alot and only periodic starts.This is because as it's on it's way out it only engages when it feels strong enough.Thus your starting when it has the guts,and clicking when it doesn't.......this happened on my dad's truck two weeks ago,and sure enough I pulled the starter,brought it to the local parts store for free testing and tada....................put new starter in and problem was solved...................pulling it isn't bad,but you'll hafta drop the exhaust if I'm not mistaken.......... .........Good luck solving your dilema...........

 

I think I know what is wrong.
The same thing has happened to me. I had 2 problems
1) My timeing was way off
2) The starter is worn out.
When you take the starter apart and look inside you will probably sea that the wrapper (I guess this is the right word ) has experienced some wear this is do to the bunts that have worn out, simply let someone make you new ones.

Well my English sucks. Hope you understood what I was tryeing to say

 

well those ideas sound very plausable, and yes i double checked all the grounds and battery connections.. i looked at it closer today, and it seems like the battery is charged till i turn the key, and then it like powers down and the lights go dim, the dash dims, and it just clicks and doesnt do anything... very wierd..well im gonna see if i can poke around on it more and find anything out... thanks for the help so far fellas...

 

..............Another thing that's possible is maybe you have a bad cell or cells in your battery.......your voltage would read o.k........like you said it was,but perhaps your cranking amps aren't enough.I've seen more than a few batteries brought in to be checked,and this is the case..............................just throwing more ideas your way.........

 

your 12 V reading is unloaded. Battery Voltage will drop significantly when you start it. Sounds like you have a bad battery. When dead batteries sit around for a while, they build up a surface charge which is why they seem to "recharge" after a while. (and also look like they are putting out 12V) 12V at .5 amp won't start anything

 

awsome..well im gonna go ahead and yank the battery then looks like the consensus is the battery is a pos..lol well im gonna go get it load tested..and let yall know what comes up...but thanks for the ideas fellas...great help!