a problem just came up recently thats preventing me from even starting me car, i haven't tried pop starting it yet..

but the car acts normally even when the key is in the On position, but once i turn the key to try and start it, it'll cut off all power to the car and it just dies...

even if I leave it for a while nothing will happen, if i jiggle the positive terminal around a little, i'll hear a click and everything will go back to normal. but if I try to start the car, the same thing happens again

any ideas? anything would help at this point..

thanks

 

dead battery, or bad battery connection at the battery, or bad battery cable

 

Multimeter reads the battery as 12.5v
and how does the connection go bad? or, how do I remedy it?

the stereo/headlights/stuff seems to work fine, can it still be a bad battery cable?

thanks

 

what does it read when cranking?


clean the posts between the battery clamp and the posts.

headlights and horn work normal??? what is the voltage when the headlights are on?

 

thats the problem, it doesn't crank at all
when I try to move the key into the start position, all power in the car just shuts off

do i just spray water on it? I pulled them off and wiped them off

both the horn and headlights seem normal to me, and the voltage drops to 11.68V with the headlights on

could an aftermarket alarm play into this any?

 

my friend has/had the same problem on his '88 TII. We would try and start the car and hear a click and all the power would be dead to the car. We'd have to pop the hood, jiggle the positive battery cable and then try and start the car again. What we found was if we looked at the battery cables when we tried to start teh car, was the positive battery cable was sparking between the gaps of the battery clamps. We just stuck a piece of electrical tape between the gap and now the car works fine. We're working on replacing the cables but I would get someone to try and start your car while you look under the hood and see if something is sparking or visably shorting out.

Your problem is pointing to a bad battery post or a bad battery cable/battery cable clamp. Any aftermarket alarm or headlights being on/off doesn't sound like it's the cause of this problem. I agree with Icemark, clean your battery terminals and cable clamps and see how it performs from there, after that I would say replacement of the cables or battery would be the next route to go.

 

pop start it, and check the battery with a multimeter. if its still 12.5 volts then ur alt is dead and ur battery has no power because its not charged.

peace
jimmy

 

i had that problem once an it turned out it was the connection at the battery all i had to do was tighten it

 

so your multi-meter says no voltage at all when you crank???

, no, you take them off and clean them with a battery post cleaner (found at any auto parts store for less than $5

Sure sounds like a bad battery

 

while taking icemarks advice, i unplugged the positive side and took it off to clean it, and to my suprise it slipped off with just a little tug! the freaking thing wasnt connected

thanks for all the help, icemark and rsvampire!