Battery terminals do deform over time. So if you have a new battery and the terminal doesn’t hold it tight, you’ll need a shim or a new terminal. So even if the screw is tight on the terminal, make sure that the terminal is actually tight to the stud. Had that issue on one of my vehicles that caused intermittent starting issues.
Car Issue
- Thread starter CycloneDaddy
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90% of the time this is a bad connection from the battery cable to the battery. They may look fine, they may feel tight. Loosen the connector and remove it one at a time. Get some sand paper or steel wool and work it around the terminal and inside the cable end where they make contact. Make them shiny.
Then reconnect and do the same thing to the other one.
Then reconnect and do the same thing to the other one.
Those readings make me think a ground connection is bad. Take them off, clean them, put on and tighten. Also check the ground to the frame.
Agree with the loose connection theory. Esp this time of year with changing temps. Intermittent faults are the worst.
But it could be anywhere not just the battery terminals.
Ignition switch, park switch, starter are all good suggestions above.
PITA to check them tho. Reminds me of Xmas Vacation when Clark's dad says "you should check every single bulb son. If you need any help, i will be upstairs asleep"
Good luck!
But it could be anywhere not just the battery terminals.
Ignition switch, park switch, starter are all good suggestions above.
PITA to check them tho. Reminds me of Xmas Vacation when Clark's dad says "you should check every single bulb son. If you need any help, i will be upstairs asleep"
Good luck!
OEMs don't make any money off service/maintenance. That all goes to the dealership. And dealerships are still independent.
BUT, they recognize that people who do their own maintenance are a dying breed - those who have the time, tools and knowledge/patience to deal with it. So they assume that repairs will be done by someone who is trained and has access to things most shade-tree mechanics don't.
Yeah, I'm going to disagree with this. A bad alternator drains the battery. It does not drain the battery, then fill it back up again or not start the car, then a couple of minutes later start it. It sounds more like an ignition problem.
I had to basically remove my front left wheel well to get access to the ABS controller on my son's car. That's just dumb. Some of it is getting out of hand, IMO.
This. And likely, and more importantly, it probably saved them a few dollars to put it in an inconvenient place.
A lot of cars that have stop/start for fuel economy use a small auxiliary battery to power the car when the engine shuts off and there is no power from the alternator. Reduces wear-and-tear on the main battery.
Battery in the passenger compartment is a piece of cake.
My wife drives a 2017 Buick Lacrosse, the battery is in the trunk. The battery went completely dead earlier in the week.
The trunk release is entirely electrical, there is no mechanical trunk release available. You can fold down the rear seats, but the seat release is located in the trunk.
In the engine compartment there are battery charging/jumping terminals. after about 12 hours of charging I was finally able to get into the trunk to replace the battery. To replace the battery, you literally have to take remove half of the trunk liner.
It is the most f*cked up system I have ever seen.
If it's reading 14.8 when the car is running it's not the alternator.
If battery is showing 12.52 before you start it and is drops a bit after you start and then works it's way back to 12.52 after it sits for a bit, it's not the battery most likely.
When you get a time when it doesn't start, use your tester and see where the battery is then......better yet have you tester hooked up to battery while someone else tries to start the car and see what happens. That will tell you more. If it drops to 8-9 while you're trying to start, then it could be a bad battery, but bad battery don't fix themselves so you can start them later.
Sometimes starters will get a dead spot in them, basically when the start disengages and stops it the right spot then it might click as you said it was doing. Sometimes continuing to try to turn the key clicking it will advance it just enough to get it out of the dead spot and it will crank the engine. Obviously it means you need to replace the starter.
It could also be a bad ground but they typically don't resolve themselves either and let you start it later.
If battery is showing 12.52 before you start it and is drops a bit after you start and then works it's way back to 12.52 after it sits for a bit, it's not the battery most likely.
When you get a time when it doesn't start, use your tester and see where the battery is then......better yet have you tester hooked up to battery while someone else tries to start the car and see what happens. That will tell you more. If it drops to 8-9 while you're trying to start, then it could be a bad battery, but bad battery don't fix themselves so you can start them later.
Sometimes starters will get a dead spot in them, basically when the start disengages and stops it the right spot then it might click as you said it was doing. Sometimes continuing to try to turn the key clicking it will advance it just enough to get it out of the dead spot and it will crank the engine. Obviously it means you need to replace the starter.
It could also be a bad ground but they typically don't resolve themselves either and let you start it later.
Your voltages you list show the battery and alternator were working fine when you tested them. I had a problem like this once-ended up being a loose wire on the starter. Actually it was the ground wire bolt was loose where it attached to the frame. It was intermittently working, i think vibrations, bumps or even outside temperature differences would make the difference between making enough connecton to work or not. Crawl under the car and check the wires where they attach to the starter and where the ground wire attached to the frame. If the interior lights are always working and not dim, could also be the starter solenoid is going bad.
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I did help a guy in a Casey's parking lot with this problem last summer by hitting his starter with a rubber mallet while he turned the key.
Always, always, always test or replace the starter solenoid before going after your starter though. It's the difference between a $40 part and 20 minutes time and $300 and a half day.
This is the best answer. Most likely the starter. When it makes one single click that is almost always the starter. Reason being is the "dead" spot mentioned here. The click you hear is the solenoid engaging the starter. When it doesn't crank over that is because of the "dead" spot so the starter motor doesn't rotate.
If you heard a rapid clicking noise that would indicate a weak battery or poor connection. The rapid clicking is from the starter solenoid rapidly engaging and disengaging due to lack of voltage to keep it engaged (usually lower than 10 volts will cause this).
Could also be a loose or damaged power cable at the starter. The large diameter cable goes from the battery to the starter. This is what gives the starter power to rotate when the solenoid is engaged. The small diameter wire goes to the solenoid from the ignition switch. The fact that you hear a click when trying to start indicates you are getting a signal from the ignition switch to start the car.
You can hit the starter while trying to start and see if it starts cranking. If so you will know it is a bad starter. I'm not sure there is room to do this, I usually use a long prybar and a hammer. If I remember correctly the starter on the 3.6L is on the side of the engine by the radiator. To change the starter you will need to remove the catalytic converter.
Could be a few things. First thing I'd do is go to a parts store and and them load test the battery and alternator. That's the easy thing to check and they'll do it no charge. If those are good, it could be a starter or starter solenoid/relay.
