Car wont start, need advice.

verde2002 · Mar 9, 2015

Last week I sat in my car and cranked the key to start the car. It cranked over just fine about three to four times then just stopped. I tried cranking the key again and it would just make a single click sound and that is it. I guessed the battery went bad and slow charged it for two days and tried again. Now it wont even make the clicking sound or crank at all. Battery is good. Anyone have a similar experience, any advice and what to troubleshoot?

Arde · Mar 9, 2015

Start with the starter circuit.

Sincerely,

Department of redundant redundancies.

dascoupeguy · Mar 9, 2015

verde2002 said:
Last week I sat in my car and cranked the key to start the car. It cranked over just fine about three to four times then just stopped. I tried cranking the key again and it would just make a single click sound and that is it. I guessed the battery went bad and slow charged it for two days and tried again. Now it wont even make the clicking sound or crank at all. Battery is good. Anyone have a similar experience, any advice and what to troubleshoot?

Check basics first.... clean battery terminals of all corrosion, (baking soda in water) make sure all ground points are properly secured and 'hot wires' to starter are secure. Is this for your coupe or your 2002? DCG

dascoupeguy · Mar 9, 2015

Also check the wires from the alternator to the regulator. If they are hot (within the 3 wire 'bundle') after attempted cranking, it very likely is the ground... This happened to me a couple of years ago at Legends and totally melted the wires! DCG

bmwmadman · Mar 9, 2015

ignition switch could have gone bad.

Ohmess · Mar 9, 2015

I would also recommend looking at the date stamp on the battery. From what I've read, we shouldn't expect to get more than four years from a battery, even if the vehicle is not used very often.

If you have a battery that is five or more years old, plan to replace it.

verde2002 · Mar 9, 2015

dascoupeguy said:
Check basics first.... clean battery terminals of all corrosion, (baking soda in water) make sure all ground points are properly secured and 'hot wires' to starter are secure. Is this for your coupe or your 2002? DCG

Battery connections are clean. This is for my 71 2800cs.

verde2002 · Mar 9, 2015

Ohmess said:
I would also recommend looking at the date stamp on the battery. From what I've read, we shouldn't expect to get more than four years from a battery, even if the vehicle is not used very often.

If you have a battery that is five or more years old, plan to replace it.

The battery is only two years old. The fact that it cranked perfectly and suddenly stopped has me puzzled. A dying battery I imagine would struggle a bit not just give up. As odd as this may sound it felt like the engine seized. I don't know if that is possible while cranking an engine on.

Stevehose · Mar 9, 2015

Starter solenoid? Try tapping it with a hammer and extender bar, maybe something will free up.

I relayed my solenoid so it gets full juice when cranking.

Ohmess · Mar 9, 2015

Ok, clean terminals and probably a good battery. The fact that the starter was spinning and stopped probably means it is not a bad spot on the commutator inside the starter.

Obviously, check the main ground from the battery to the fender.

The fact that you no longer hear a click points to the starter solenoid. If your grounds are good, then either the solenoid has gone bad or it is not getting enough current.

In theory you should be able to jump the ignition terminal with a screwdriver and activate a working solenoid, but given the location of those terminals that is not a very practical suggestion on our cars. Given this, I would check the ignition switch next if your main battery ground is good.

If the ignition switch checks out, try measuring the voltage at the main terminal on the starter. If its not getting 12 volts there probably is a fault elsewhere in the circuit.

Honolulu · Mar 9, 2015

I had a solenoid that went non-op. I removed the starter, cleaned out that area and lubed the pivot point of the lever that engages the starter gear with the flywheel. Alles gut.

Starter removal is not for the faint of heart. I had to take out the rear manifold and carb, which was a real hassle. Of course, this requires some carb linkage balancing when it all goes back together.

You want to have something else go wrong. Verify that the ignition switch (the electrical portion, not the lock cylinder) does not rotate or has not come loose in the steering column housing. This will have you twisting the key with no response.

Also verify that all wires connected to the starter, are in fact securely connected. There's a little one that if loose will immobilize the starter.

w. chen · Mar 9, 2015

ignition switch

hi verde, my cs occasionally does not make a sound when i turn the key to start. i have this recurring problem for some time and i take it to be the switch. when i push the key inward and turn, contact is made and car starts. so my switch is going bad slowly. so give it a try. push key inward in key slot and turn it to start position in one motion. it might help get it started.

w. chen
74 cs

Peter Coomaraswamy · Mar 9, 2015

What someone said

Start with the easy stuff; starter (since you have determined the battery is good). You can and should IMHO purchase a push-button test lead, they come in really handy for all sorts of stuff and can save your fingers from burns or worse. Use that switch to test the starter. I would bet a couple of dollars that's where your problem is. I would also bet that you get at least a click from there. If that's all you get then a new starter is in order. Although it may be a pain to get at, for me I would rather go that route since I am electrically challenged in the troubleshooting area.

Good luck and please post the solution- Thanks

verde2002 · Mar 10, 2015

Thank you all for all the great advice, hopefully this weekend I will have a couple of hours of spare time and check the items you all have suggested. I will definitely post the results. Thank you all again.

thehackmechanic · Mar 10, 2015

Try These Three Things

1) Fully charge your battery.

2) Bypass your ignition switch as follows. Take a test wire with a female quick-disconnect terminal on one end and the other end bare. Remove the terminal 30 wire and connector from the starter solenoid that comes from the ignition switch and replace it with the connector from the test wire. Make sure the car is in neutral and the wheels chocked, then touch the bare end of the test wire to the positive battery terminal. This bypasses the ignition switch completely. You should hear the solenoid click shut and the starter try and start the engine. If you do hear this, you can then turn the key to the "ignition" setting, do it again, and the engine should actually start.

3) If, using the solenoid bypass wire, you hear only a "click" but not the starter turning, you'll need to do a voltage drop test to see where in the starter circuit you're losing voltage. Google it. It's easy.

MMercury · Mar 10, 2015

In addition to the good suggestions, and at the risk of repeating some of them, starter connections are every bit as susceptible to looseness and corrosion as those at the battery. The fact that the connections are slightly less convenient to inspect may make them even more likely suspects.

Your battery's seemingly "quick" discharge after a few turns of the crank suggests it may be the problem. A clean battery holding a 12v charge is only a fair indicator of condition. Different 12v batteries are capable of providing different cranking amperages and, perhaps not surprisingly, age (undetected sulfation) has a tendency to diminish a battery's usefulness. In other words, it may be a good idea to properly test that battery with a load or try a different battery.

Of course, perfect connections at the battery and starter will not overcome worn/loose/corroded/malfunctioning ignition switch connections. :wink: http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5242

.

verde2002 · Mar 11, 2015

MMercury said:
In addition to the good suggestions, and at the risk of repeating some of them, starter connections are every bit as susceptible to looseness and corrosion as those at the battery. The fact that the connections are slightly less convenient to inspect may make them even more likely suspects.

Your battery's seemingly "quick" discharge after a few turns of the crank suggests it may be the problem. A clean battery holding a 12v charge is only a fair indicator of condition. Different 12v batteries are capable of providing different cranking amperages and, perhaps not surprisingly, age (undetected sulfation) has a tendency to diminish a battery's usefulness. In other words, it may be a good idea to properly test that battery with a load or try a different battery.

Of course, perfect connections at the battery and starter will not overcome worn/loose/corroded/malfunctioning ignition switch connections. :wink: http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5242

.

I love the link to my past thread. I had completely forgotten about the fix 6 years ago. I did end up buying a new assembly, too many tiny parts to put back together.

sfdon · Mar 19, 2015

California vacation reading material

Day at the beach

Honolulu · Mar 19, 2015

your coupe's gonna rust for that!

oh wait, they do that anyway. as you were...

sent from my tiny island, 20 miles by 30, on which live 930,000 of my closest friends.

Arde · Mar 19, 2015

Honolulu said:
...

sent from my tiny island, 20 miles by 30, on which live 930,000 of my closest friends.

Beats Cupertino where most of my 4 friends and 60.000 closest enemies live.

Car wont start, need advice.

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