car won't start - no crank when turn key

[andylawcc]

cliff notes style

this morning: ready to go to work, insert key, dash light/radio/AC on, turn key to start, no crank, all electric shuts down.
remove key, re-insert key, clock and radio re-sets but still on, try to start again, no crank, all electric shuts down.
repeated a 3-4 times, car finally started. I did hear one popping sound.

this afternoon: ready to go out for lunch, car started in first try; after lunch, try to start the car again, all electric completely dead, even before I turn key to start position.

I pop the hood and check for loose wires and connections, no visible corrosion on the battery terminals. so what gives?

Necro-bump. Locked. Created new thread for the necro-post.

Zenmervolt - AnandTech Moderator

 

[tortoise]

Vehicle year, make, model? Battery type, age, and multi-meter voltage readings?

 

[andylawcc]

1999 Nissan Sentra. just bought the battery a few months ago. I don't have a multimeter with me right now at work.

 

[tortoise]

Troubleshooting videos.

 

[phucheneh]

Either bad battery or bad connection. Battery is more likely, going by your initial description- attempting to crank the engine with inadequate battery power caused a large voltage drop at the terminals, which in turn caused the available voltage at the fusebox to drop (making the lights go out).

However, bad batteries are rarely intermittent. If it's a connection issue, it would have to be right at the battery, as a bad connection between the starter and battery should only cause voltage drop to the starter- it should not tax the battery so much that the voltage available to the fusebox (on a seperate cable) is too little to operate a load as relatively minuscule as the dash lights, radio, ect.

Try giving the cables a wiggle. I know you said they're tight, but sometimes it can be deceptive; they seem pretty stuck in place, but then they get a stiff push and they fall right off. Don't go by whether the nut is tight...the terminals can stretch, crack, or otherwise lose their ability to make a good connection, even with the fastener bottomed out. If the positive terminal in particular is not steel with crimped wires (i.e. it got replaced as some point with a generic lead terminal), check to make sure the cables are actually tight inside it. Should be a little plate with two bolts holding them there.

 

[andylawcc]

thanks man,

i tried to jump it but the car still won't start. But at LEAST the accessories powered up -radio, dash, power window, power door locks - all worked when my battery is connected to my friend's car's battery via jump cable.

 

[tortillasoup]

If your battery is very weak, then you can't jump start it, you'd actually have to "charge" it... To "charge it" either get a decent battery charger or do exactly like you would when jump starting but instead of trying to start it up right away, wait at least an hour or so. However be aware that if your battery has a cracked/partially shorted cell, this could be dangerous. If you have a multimeter, check your battery voltage before doing anything, if the battery resting voltage is less than 11V and this is a car you drive regularly but all of a sudden started having this issue, then the battery is toast. However if this is a car that is driven maybe once a week at the most and it's a newer vehicle with lots of parasitic electronics such as keyless entry, alarm, "smart key" (major power sucker!), etc. etc. then it's possible the battery is just discharged, though also sulfated as well.

 

[andylawcc]

hum, okay. let me bring a multimeter to check also, thanks for the reminder.

 

[phucheneh]

You're drawing directly off the other car to spin your starter motor when you jumpstart. Yes, it's best to at least give the dead battery a few minutes to get bit of charge in it. But you could jump start a loose pair of cable ends- your own car's battery is not the critical factor during the initial start.

I would still say you have a cabling issue. If you clamp to terminals that aren't making good contact with the posts, the intended jump will be about as effective as your [assumably, possibly] dead battery.

If you're certain your connections at the batt are fine, the next thing to do is get a multimeter.

 

[tortillasoup]

You're drawing directly off the other car to spin your starter motor when you jumpstart. Yes, it's best to at least give the dead battery a few minutes to get bit of charge in it. But you could jump start a loose pair of cable ends- your own car's battery is not the critical factor during the initial start..

You would think that's how it works but if the primary battery in the "dead" vehicle is discharged enough, what will end up happening is that most of the power draw will be drawn into the dead battery and not enough to the starter. I've had enough experience with heavily discharged batteries and jump starting cars (100+) to know that the very best thing you can do is charge the discharged battery with a proper battery charger, with the next best thing is to charge the discharged battery with a good battery.

Charging a discharged battery with an alternator is very hard on the alternator and doesn't let the battery get as fully charged as you do with a low amperage battery charger over a long period of time. Older batteries will tend to be heavily sulphated and assuming they're not physically damaged, they can be recovered if given enough time with a desulfating battery charger. Batteries that had a life exposed to lots of heat and chronically overcharged likely have cracked/warped battery plates and cannot be saved. So if the battery is mounted in the trunk and the car has been parked for extended periods of time, then that's a prime candidate for battery desulfation.

 

[sm625]

Dead batteries dont just decide to work intermittently. If its dead its dead. It might take a charge and restart your car after its been running. But when you let it sit it is gone. Sometimes if it is cold in the morning and warm at noon it might start at noon if it didnt in the morning. But OP said the car wouldnt start again at noon after it started once. So I dont see how it could be a dead/dying battery. If it was a dead battery then it would have restarted at lunch time after it had just been running.

A starter motor can short out internally and intermittently. When this happens you get all the symptoms described by the OP. As soon as you activate the solenoid the starter motor will pull a lot of current but will not crank or even click. It can actually melt the wires and literally catch fire (I had it happen to me in a store parking lot, had to replace the starter in that same lot too). To test this you need to reach down and touch the starter wires the next time it doesnt start. Turn the key over and hold it in the start position for about 4-5 seconds. If there is a short in the starter then the wires will get very hot. The wires will not get that hot if the starter motor is actually cranking the engine.

 

[tortillasoup]

Dead batteries dont just decide to work intermittently. If its dead its dead. It might take a charge and restart your car after its been running. But when you let it sit it is gone. Sometimes if it is cold in the morning and warm at noon it might start at noon if it didnt in the morning. But OP said the car wouldnt start again at noon after it started once. So I dont see how it could be a dead/dying battery. If it was a dead battery then it would have restarted at lunch time after it had just been running.

A cracked battery plate can easily cause a "good - Nogood" condition. I've experienced first hand what OP has experienced and in the end, the battery was toast.

 

[LTC8K6]

1999 Nissan Sentra. just bought the battery a few months ago. I don't have a multimeter with me right now at work.

Remember that the battery is still under warranty, so you can probably just exchange it if you want to eliminate it as the cause.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I had a Rodeo that had a "flat spot" develop on the starter (as I was told by the mechanic)
After 2-3 times; the "flat spot" would be moved and the vehicle would start.

Had to replace the starter.

Unsure if this could be your problem.

 

[7window]

bad battery, loose cable. From the sound of it the battery because when you jump it it powers up your electronics.

have to wait for your battery to get some charge when you jump it.

Please share the battery you bought so we can avoid it. battery shouldn't fail in a few months.

Multimeter is good to use for testing battery or you could go to oreilly and have them diagnose it;

 

[MixMasterTang]

As mentioned above the other persons car is only putting out very little juice to your car (not enough to start it). Leave the jumper cables hooked up for a few minutes and possibly rev the engine of the running car (but not too high) so get the alternator to pump out a little more power.

 

[slag]

A cracked battery plate can easily cause a "good - Nogood" condition. I've experienced first hand what OP has experienced and in the end, the battery was toast.

Me too, last year on my 2000 jetta.

 

[tortillasoup]

Me too, last year on my 2000 jetta.

open up that fuse box that sits on top of your battery. You might be surprised by what you find!

 

[LTC8K6]

Sounds like you have something that is loose or failing in the starting circuit. Solenoid maybe?

BTW, the A/C compressor is not running when you start the car, even if you have the A/C turned on, so don't worry about that.

 

[disappoint]

n/m