this car LOVES pissing me off!

last night i wanna take the car around the block cause i haven't driven it in a while since the bumper is off because i'm painting it and i missed driving lol. go to start it and it cranks then bang! all the power is dead. everything. nothing works. wtf. wait about 5 minutes then the dome light finally comes on, but when i turn the key to "on" then i lose all power again.

today i check it and all power is working again. but go to start it and the starter clicks like the battery is low. so i jump start it, and i'm doing this for at least 10 min. this time the starter is clicking super fast, but everything else still works. WHAT. THE. EFF. i'm thinkin it's most likely the starter, just want some other opinions first, that don't involve burning, destroying, or blowing up the car lol

here's my vid to show what's going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh1D_rbHE4E

 

Sound like you need a battery. I would look at your connections at the battery too. Any corrosion?

 

no corrosion at all.

but i would think it would be more than a battery if the starter won't even turn over while the car is being jump started, right?

 

do the lights dim at all when crankin?

 

quite a bit. if you watched the video i tried to get a view of the dome light as i cranked it. kinda hard to tell in the vid though.

 

i saw a slight flicker. if the lights dim that bad, its an indicator that the battery doesnt have enough juice. try hooking up the jumper cables directly to the terminals (not the battery posts) and leave your battery out of the equation. ive seen cars with bad bateries that would actualy draw down the load from the jump source. if it starts with your battery disconnected, you know the cause...

 

huh, seems like a pretty legit test. good idea.

the battery is only 2 years old at the most i believe..but it's possible.

 

being fairly new doesnt matter if its sat for a long period of time without a trickle charge to maintain it.

 

idk about the owner before me, but i had it on a charge all winter when i stored the car.

 

don't waste your time


the battery is toast.

Before you head to WalMart thinking they are the cheapest check out Sears as well. I saved $20 vs WalMart and got a 100 CCA larger battery at that price.

 

think i will waste my time cause i'm not exactly thinking it's just a battery issue..

 

it takes like 2 minutes to do this test, how is that a waste of time? id rather spend 2 minutes testing my battery then dropping $75 on a new one that might not even need replacing.

 

I agree with the battery suggestion. And I definitely would test it before buying a new one...

 

no, i was just saying i think it's more than just an issue with a battery and i'll check it anyway and not just go buy a new one from sears.

and i did test the battery and it isn't the issue. i removed it from the car and hooked jumper wires to the battery cables and jumped it, and does the exact same thing..

so will i be checking grounds next? how do i go about doing that properly?

 

id check the starter solenoid wire and make sure its not grounded out anywhere. i had one do that once and it acted like a bad battery since that wire only gets power when turning the key. easy way to check that would be to turn the key to the on position, then just jump the starter by touching a screw driver between the pos and the solenoid posts on the starter. it will spark so dont get scared when it happens... id also check the other connections on the starter for corrosion and such.

 

alright upon further inspection, i have a pretty bad oil leak now. not sure if it has anything to do with this whole issue or not, but it's very recent.

i checked the main big ground, removed the bolts and sanded the contact areas and everything, made sure **** was tight and not broken. checked the wires on the starter and those are tight and don't look damaged.

so i guess what is next will be removing the starter, which looks like a pain in the *** with the damn exhaust in the way. flywheel teeth look ok from what i can see. the starter teeth look kinda scraped up.

kinda gettin sick of this. i wish i could swap an engine into it instead but i don't have the time or place right now to do it...i might be getting rid of the car here sometime if anyone is interested...

 

A 100% dead battery will need way more then a jumpstart to get it going. Not even a booster pack will help.

 

if you unhook the abttery and run the jumper cables to the terminals like he did, then itll start just fine. it doesnt have the battery pulling down the juicce from the jump at that point.

im guessing it wouldnt start with that method? did you try to jump the starter with the key on?

 

random train of thought, are you able to turn motor over by hand?

 

yup tried that too. i'm currently working on getting the starter out

and not exactly sure how to try turning it over by hand. don't have a flywheel tool. try a screwdriver maybe?

 

you can do it from the front. take the accesory belt(s) off. and use a 5/8th socket on a big ratchet on the crank pulley bolt.

 

You shouldn't even have to take the belts off, really.

 

i'll have to wait til monday to do that..

but how do i get my starter to come out? everything is unbolted and it's loose and ready to come out, but the exhaust and control arm are in the way. i bet if it had factory size exhaust it would be easier, but it's got 3in all the way back.. so i have a feeling that's a problem

 

yea, ive got a 2.5in y pipe and i was just barely able to squeeze the starter out with it there. may just have to keep trying different angles.

if you do get the starter out id suggest bench testing it or having it tested to make sure its not the culprit.

 

i always do just to cut down on resistance and make it a lil easier to turn

 

The only true way to be sure is to take the bat. and have it tested, most places will do it for free.Advance,autozone all test for free. I think it's your bat. If you have it tested and it's good then you know the problem is bad cable or starter. My car did the same thing it was the bat.The bat. was so bad I couldn't jump it with cables or a jump box. Replaced bat. and that fixed the problem. Hope this helps.

 

in a post above i think i already stated that i disconnected and removed my batt and jumped the batt cables with my other car which was running. and all it did was the same exact thing. plus i had the batt tested yesterday and it is still good

yea idk how i'm going to get that starter out...i guess i'll have to try and see if i can unbolt the exhaust, which i doubt will be easy because the bolts are rusty as hell.