Car won't start...
 

My friend just bought a 98 Z28 with 59000 miles on it. It was at my house for a whole week and it started up just fine. She finally got the title for it and picked it up yesterday. She drove it last night and all was well, but this morning, she got in the car, turned the key, and all it does is "click"...that's it. I went there and measured the battery voltage with a volt meter, it showed 12.2 volts. We tried to jump it, but nothing.

It just clicks once, and that's it. Any ideas what it could be? The lights, the AC all that stuff comes on, so I don't think it's the battery.

Any help is appreciated!

dude my car has been doing the same thing, i have a 2000 SS camaro, i bought it about 3 weeks ago, at first it was fine, no problems wat so ever, then all the sudden i had battery problems, not enough to turn over the engine, itd crank but nothing would happen, i jumped it and it worked, then later same thing happend, i jumped it, and NOTHING, it refused to turn over, i checked every single relay and theyre all mint, every cable, is good, every wire is in place, every ground is perfect, as far as i know, my problem was i wasnt getting fuel to my engine, that could be the reason for you as well, even if the fuel pump turns on. BUT, now my car does the same as ur friends, it doesnt even turn over, now i turn the key and put the clutch in, and nothing, all that happens is the relays click, and nothing. if i find out anything, ill let u know, maybe we have the same problem.

It's very possible that the VATS system in your car is beginning to screw up. It's the part of the ignition that checks the chip in your key that allows you to start the car. Try using a spare key if you have one, or cleaning the contacts with rubbing alcohol. There's a couple threads on fixing the problem, I'll try and find them for ya.

My buddy is a mechanic, so we'll go there tomorrow and check it out. I hope it's something simple, coz she's pretty damn upset right now. This is the same girl/car that everyone talked about in the Hot pink car post I started over in the Appearance Forum.

I too will let you know when we get it figured out. Although her car didn't have the previous problems that you described.

Funny you mention that...I just gave the guy with the other thread on starting issues the same advice. I had that happen on my car as well and we fixed it with the resistor thingy...but I know how my car acted when the VATS took a shit....it woulnd't click like her car does, it just did nothing.

Thanks though bro.

No prob dude, was just the first thing that came to my mind lol. I still have to do the fix to my car, as it's caused me to be late to work a few times already. Hopefully this weekend I'll get around to it. Good luck with the resolution :)

Sounds like you need a new battery to me.
How old is the battery? About 5-6 years is the life expectancy. Some good ones last longer. The voltage might read good but it is the current capacity that starts the car.
Even if you jump it, if the battery is no good (rather than run down) it probably won't start.

Are the battery to cable connections completely clean too? I'd check that first.

Yep, same problem here, battery cables were corroded and wasn't making good contact with battery.

The battery voltage was at 13v but that voltage wasn't getting to the alternator.

I had to repalced the battery anyway because the terminals on the battery AND cables were corroded.

Yeah they looked pretty clean. The car is a 98 and the battery is not original anymore...and lets just it's no Optima in there...lol. I am thinking of taking the battery out and having it tested. I just don't get how a solenoid or relay would just go bad over night.

Yesterday before she picked the car up, I pumped up the front tire which was pretty damn low, with one of those cigarette lighter pumps. After a while it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to start the car while it's doing that. Maybe that gave the battery more than it could handle? Dunno....guess I'll find out here shortly.

Perhaps they didn't put the correct cranking AMP battery in it. When it was "new" it could handle it, but over time it wouldn't be able to handle enough juice to start the car.

Just shooting at possibililties.

Yes, components can "go bad overnight". I work in the electrical world, everything has a shelf life.

I tried exchanging her battery for my Optima...same results.... "click" that's it!

Check the resistance values from the Battery cables to the alternator, you should read extremely low Ohms, if you don't you might have bad battery cables. Also check the resistance to ground.

If all else fails, take your alternator out and take ti to Autozone for them to test.

Landed up being the starter. Put a new one in, and all is well. Wasn't much fun in an apartment parking lot using the jack that came with the car, but my buddy Jon got it done.

Cool, good troubleshooting!

Could have been fuel pump as well right?

Please tell me you used stands..

Uuhhhm...I would love to tell you that...but...yeah...uhm....no we didn't :eek: It started to look like rain, and we really had to hurry up to get it finished. I thought of everyything BUT jackstands....they were at home sitting in the garage collecting dust.

if i hear the starter click, even when using jumper cables, i do one thing. I grab a hammer, beat on the starter a few times. If it starts after a couple of attempts at this procedure then i know its the starter. The bendix is stuck.

Yeah we beat the snot out of it with a hammer....the starter was a total goner.