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Can a nearby lightning strike disable car starter?

Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
My 2004 Buick Century was parked very close to the point where lightning struck the house last night. Two plastic boxes on the side of the house (telephone and cable) were blown to bits along with some pieces of vinyl siding. Some equipment damaged inside the house too.

This morning, I find that the car won't start. Doesn't even try to turn over. Otherwise all the lights and sounds in the car are perfectly normal and the clock radio has not reset.

Probably just coincidence that I'm having this problem with the car immediately after lightning hit the house a few yards away. Right?
 
Yes it can... Lighting can do strange things so it is possible... Had a tractor in a barn that would not start after the barn was hit by lighting and even had to replace the battery, alternator and starter and all of the lights on it... So to me it is possible... 😉
 
Good old fashioned troubleshooting, follow the voltage, make sure you have grounds.
Honestly it could be simple or very expensive, 50/50.
 
If there is a fusible link in the harness anywhere check that. Also Verify that when it is cranking that 12v is reaching the starter solenoid, if its something melted in the fuseblock or harness then the starter could be fine just not getting triggered when key is turned. Then i would look at the starter solenoid next, then starter last, Lighting can do wierd things though, it really could have fried almost anything.
 
Rifter said:
If there is a fusible link in the harness anywhere check that. Also Verify that when it is cranking that 12v is reaching the starter solenoid, if its something melted in the fuseblock or harness then the starter could be fine just not getting triggered when key is turned. Then i would look at the starter solenoid next, then starter last, Lighting can do wierd things though, it really could have fried almost anything.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Will I need the service manual to know if there is a fusible link in the wiring harness? Not even sure what that looks like so I’m off to Google. 🙂 I imagine it’s a connector between wiring with a fuse at the connector.

Edit: OK, got it. It’s a well insulated wire between significantly larger gauge wires so that’s it will burn up first if the wires are overloaded. I’ll see what I can see, but very little of the wiring is visible and I may need professional help to go much deeper.
 
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Do not peel the harness apart until you are sure there is an open circuit ! Use your DVM to troubleshoot,. DO NOT guess. Also remember if you have voltage does not mean the wire is good enough to conduct the current necessary to complete the task. If you have time and patience you can get through this. I have seen many times a competent mechanic stumble over electrical issues.
 
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