Electrical no start

[benpineapple]

Howdy, I got a weird no-start issue with my 98 V79 AWD, can't find the exact combination of symptoms in the forum.

When turning the key, no crank, fuel pump primes and re-primes every 2 seconds, with clicking sounds coming from the dash. Or it will do nothing at all, and dash display goes wonky:

This happened the other day, I pulled the battery, put it on a slow charge overnight, and the car fired right up in the morning. Did it again later on in the same day, I loosened, wiggled, and re-tightened the + terminal, and the car fired right up. Was able to get home from work. When attempting to use electronics (heat/fan, radio, etc.) the interior lights would dim a lot, and the TRACS/ABS lights would blink, so I drove home (35miles) with the lights off, no heat, no radio, nothing. As soon as the car was parked, I decided to test it out and turned on the headlights and front/rear foglights, and the car died instantly. I just went out to the car, and when I opened the door, the interior lights come on, then blink every 2 seconds, with a clicking sound coming from the dash. When under the hood (driver's door closed) the clicking was still happening, was synced with the security red light on the dash, clicking appears to be coming from the relay panel by the fuse panel under the hood.

It is worthwhile to mention that last week I connected the battery to my motorcycle, and attempted to use it to start the motorcycle, which I'm guessing roasted the already 6 year old battery.

So, I'm thinking it's a combination of bad battery cables, bad battery cable grounding, and/or bad battery.

Sorry for the long winded story, what are your thoughts?

[benpineapple]

Sorry for the pic orientation. It was correct on my computer but got flipped the uploaded.

[scot850]

Have you replaced the ignition switch electrical portion yet? Try wiggling the key in the barrel and see if it makes a difference. I had a no start, actually a no turn-over and that was the issue. It did all sorts of weird things with the dash console lights.

Have you checked for any drain downs on the battery when the car is not running?

Neil

[BEJinFbk]

It's not the ignition switch.
You have a charging system issue;
Bad cables, battery, alternator, regulator, etc.
and/or parasitic drain as mentioned above.

A good start is at your local parts store.
Most of those places can test in the parking
lot with minimal fuss and at least get you
pointed in the right direction.

[rspi]

Likely a battery cable issue.

[benpineapple]

Neil, there is a parasitic drain, with the security relay that is constantly clicking. I'm going to go at the car with my multimeter after work. I initially though ignition switch, but holding the key in the III position, and/or wiggling it doesn't change anything.

BEJ, thanks for the heads up. I'll get it tested. Robert, I think I'll go ahead and replace the cable. These symptoms are seemingly as random as when I had grounding issues on my 1990 240.

Thanks for Thanks for confirming my suspicions.

[BEJinFbk]

To track bad cables and connections,
search Voltage Drop. Pretty easy DMM task.

[benpineapple]

Well, car seems good to go now.

There was a drain when I checked it. Recharged battery, cleaner terminal connectors (one of em was a generic terminal I had put on), cleaned all body and block grounds. Multimeter isn't showing a drain anymore, contact with the key in the II position is good. Car fired right up, all electrical systems seem normal, still no engine codes.

I think the main issue was the generic terminal I had put on the +, I really should have just replaced the whole battery cable. We'll see how she holds up, going to take the car to the shop tomorrow and have them test the alternator and battery, see if either are bad. I'll probably replace the battery soon anyways.

Thanks for the feedback!

[polskamafia mjl]

Its always a pleasant surprise when a little cleaning fixes the problem. Hopefully it'll be a permanent fix.