Hey guys,

I know there are a dozen threads on this but my symptoms are slightly different (or I couldn't fine the right thread).

Went to start my 06 6mt today and it briefly cranked then clicked once. Repeated attempts to start were met with a single click. Battery tested 12.7v and the 'ignition switch' next to the battery is fine as are the fusable links on the positive terminal. Both terminals and all grounds are tight.

I got under the car and tapped on the starter motor and solenoid, and now when I turn the key it clicks rapidly and the lights flash. Battery still reads 12.7v. Repeated attempts to bash the starter made no difference.

Anything else I can test in my cramped garage, or any other way to start the car? Push starting might work but I have a pretty steep climb to get out of my driveway. Is there a starter relay or something I'm missing?

Thanks for your time!


EDIT: no codes, and 12.65v at the starter.

EDIT 2: tried starting again after checking starter voltage and unpluging replugging ignition connector, and now it cranks fine but doesn't start.

 

^^
If its cranking and not starting check for spark.
Then check for fuel pressure
Can we assume you are not out of gas?
You are on a steep slope and if you have less than 1/4 tank that may very well be your problem?

Telcoman

 

I think I just lost fuel pressure from all the no-start cranks, because it fired up fine after a few attempts. Shut it off when I got to work, and it fired back up twice in a row.

I'm thinking the starter might be on the way out, and when banging on it I messed up the ignition switch somehow, but fixed it when I dis/reconnected it. I will probably replace the starter just in case.

 

I think it's your battery, what was the voltage WHILE CRANKING, if you didn't measure it under actual load then you can't tell.

While cranking it should still hold 12.5 volts, my guess is you accidently had a light on overnight and slightly discharged the battery, first couple attempts it was dipping to 11v or so which is enough to chatter the solenoid (clicking you heard) but not enough to turn the starter motor. When you were banging on the starter you probably jostled the electrical connection ever so slightly (probably suffering from minor corrosion) which caused it to make better contact than before and on the next attempt you got lucky and it fired up.

After it ran for a few minutes and recharged the battery then repeated start attempts worked perfectly.

#THEORY

 

I was on my own so I couldn't test the cranking load. Your #theory does make sense considering the initial conditions (weak crank followed by clicking/nada) though. I doubt I left anything on overnight, I definitely didn't use the interior lights yesterday, and the trunk light auto-shuts off if you leave it open too long (which I did not, but it's a lovely feature). We had a break-in recently (#f*ckthieves) so I would have noticed if the door was left ajar. Hopefully it isn't some kind of parasitic draw that cropped up overnight. After sitting for 5 hours I just went to crank it again and it fired up as strong as ever.

I definitely think it was the ignition signal to the starter that was the culprit, as it kept cranking hard once I finally got it cranking again (held for a good 5-7 seconds the first time it started cranking again, didn't start so I let it sit for a few minutes while I panicked, then it fired up immediately on the next attempt). The ignition plug was secure in the clip when I unplugged it, but the only thing that appears to be protecting the starter is the plastic tranny under-shroud and the steering rack boot, so it's definitely possible some dust made its way up in there. I rarely use the AC, but it's been scorching hot in the PNW (almost 90°F on my commute home yesterday) so there is the faintest chance my AC condenser somehow sent water all the way back to the starter?

I'm going out of town this weekend, so I think I'll ignore the problem for now and pray it never rears its ugly head again.

#HEADINTHESAND

 

Also check if you have anything plugged into the power outlet or cigarette lighter, I just troubleshooted a parasitic draw on an Audi that turned out to be the physical cigarette lighter itself. It had lost it's "springiness" and was locked into a position that allowed it to draw a small current. Replacing the cigarette lighter (the part you pull out to light the cigarette) fixed the issue.

That one was a MF to figure out btw...

 

I lol'ed when I read that. 90* here is just a warm spring day. It was 99 here yesterday, humidity 90% and a heat index of 118. Fortunately because we're close to the beach on both sides of our house we have an almost constant 15+ mile an hour breeze every day.

 

Was the point of that comment to brag about living on the beach? Because it worked, I'm pretty jealous :P

 

Hey I'm in the PNW also however... I live in the "desert" part and in the last week it's been 105-107 and all this week it's basically 103+

 

That wasn't my intent but hey, it's nice to have it so close except when a major hurricane hits here lol. We missed massive disaster from Harvey by a last minute shift in direction slightly to the NE. Still had 95+ MPH winds when the storm blew through Corpus and needed a new roof and parts of the fence replaced. Could have been catastrophic like Rockport and Port Aransas....

 

F****CK!

It happened again.

Car started fine yesterday morning, got to work, car sat for ~5 hours in the apparently not-so-blistering sunlight, then I ran to the bank, and the car started fine leaving and coming back. Went to go home at the end of the day - rapid clicks. Unplugged and tried to clean out the ignition connection on the starter, still nothing.

Coworker jump started me and it cranked extremely slow, much like a car with a dead battery, but after a few cranks it started up. Drove ~35 minutes home (to a power outage, why not) and park the car for ~15 minutes while I get ready to run to Costco and take my girl to get food somewhere with AC. Get in the car, and it cranks strong but won't start. Probably cranked it 3 times for ~5 seconds each before it finally started. It never sounded weak when cranking. Drove ~15 minutes to Costco (cart guy said nice car after I parked haha), bought the battery, car started fine, went to dinner, car started fine again, power was back on when I got home so I parked it in the garage last night, and it started fine against this morning.

So the mystery to me is why am I getting such a variety of symptoms? Sometimes it won't engage the solenoid, sometimes it engages the solenoid but doesn't crank, sometimes it will crank strong but not start, and other times it's fine. The only time it ever sounded weak was when I was getting a jump. None of these times have I been parked on any significant slope (coworker suggested the battery water level could causing varying voltage output), and all of the symptoms have occurred after long and short periods of rest time, and hot or 'cold' (70ish degree garage) environments.

I'm flying out of town this weekend so I can't/won't worry about it until next week, but just in-case I also have a spare battery now as that seemed to solve the problem yesterday.

EDIT: I have not had a chance to check voltage when cranking when it's having trouble, since I had to steal a D cell from a smoke detector to get my multimeter running and my corworker left his at home.

 

^^
Test your battery with a battery hydrometer



All cells should hold a full charge. If any do not replace the battery.

Measure the alternator output voltage with your digital multimeter



Check battery cables for any corrosion and make sure the connections are tight.

Measure voltage across the battery while the engine is cranking.
There should not be any significant voltage drop.

Good luck

Telcoman