CaseyH

So, a few days ago I hopped in my car and went to start it up. I turned the key and all I heard was a clicking noise. The interior lights flickered on and off as it did this. I keep it in the garage and I suppose it must've been around 50 degrees in there. I've yet to get it to start up. Some people were telling me the problem was the battery, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't the problem. I checked the battery and as I had suspected it is almost brand new and has almost a full charge--purchased in March of '06. I browsed through some other posts and saw some other people had similar problems. The problem was diagnosed as the ignition relay in previous threads, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Thanks,

Casey

1981 928 Auto

Airflite40

could be a couple of things, like the starter could have gone out. another thing to check is the starter relay. take out the relay XIV and bridge terminals 30-87. Make sure you are in park, and try it. If not that, check the jump post connector in the engine compartment, make sure no wires are chewed through etc. Then if you still can't get it to go, try jumping the car just for grins.

edit: almost forgot to mention, your ignition switch could have gone bad.

SharkSkin

How long has the car been sitting? A brand new battery can be dead the next morning or in a couple weeks, depending on how much power your shark is consuming with everything shut off.

neilh

Don't assume anything right now, a battery voltage below 10.5 volts ( approx) when it tries to start will cause this.
Hang a voltmeter on the jump start terminal and see what the readings are
1) ignition off
2) ignition on
3) trying to start


and report back..
neil

WallyP

Almost certainly a lack of amps to turn the starter.

Possible causes include:
- Discharged battery.
- Bad connection or cable on the main cables at the battery, the chassis connection, or the starter, or on the ground (earth) cable from the engine to the chassis.
- Faulty battery.

Rarely would be the starter, almost never would be a relay.

WICruiser

There have been a number of cases where the battery ground strap looks fine but has very poor conductivity, resulting in reduced current flow under high load such as the starter. As stated above check voltage at the jump start terminal and if it is good there, go to the starter terminal. If not try a jumper cable to bypass the battery ground cable.

CaseyH

The car hadn't been sitting very long. I came home from work on Monday, and the next morning it wouldn't start up. Earlier today, not long after I posted, I hooked up the charger to my battery and let it sit for a while. I then finally found some time to try and start it up, and it did. It started up great. Just a few minutes ago I went back out there to try it again and it did start up again. So, I've come to the logical conclusion that it is the battery.

SharkSkin

Get the battery load tested before you change it. There could be something drawing current, your charging system may not be up to snuff, etc. A load test with the proper equipment could save you the aggrivation of changing a perfectly good battery, if the problem lies elsewhere. Most shops(and places that sell batteries) have a load tester.

SteveG

Not trying to be a buster. But your terminology is vague. "I was sure it was new" (turns out you were right, but onward to more or less guessing) "I let it sit awhile." "Put the charger on for awhile." Neil said 10.5 volts. I'm thinking 11.4 is weak for starting a shark. In any case there are many variables on these cars. Many ground points. Are they all clean? or are "some" of them? We still want to help, my point is the car is demanding and it just sounds like you could be going in circles by not realizing for instance that a March battery coupled with other defects in the car isn't all that new and with all due respect to Neil, I think if my battery were less than 12.0 I'd put the trickle on it over night, (8 hrs.) not for a little while.

If you have read about relays, you probably have run across "parasitic drain."

HTH.

SharkSkin

Good points, Steve. Also, a load test should be done after an overnight trickle charge. A new battery will make the car run fine for a while, even if there are other drains on the system or your alternator is toast. You really need to check each suspect part properly.

CaseyH

When I said a little while I guess I should've been more specific. When I typed that response I was just excited the car had even started. I had it on there for about 6 hours. I mainly wanted to see if I was getting anywhere, and apparently I was. I'll follow your advice and I'll keep this thread updated.

CaseyH

Well, I had it tested and it turns out it is a perfectly good battery. As you stated, something is drawing current at all times. Right now, as long as I unhook the battery after I get done driving the car, and then hook it back up when I'm ready to drive again, the car starts right up. Any ideas?

Thanks

WICruiser

THere are write ups on this but basically you get put an amp meter between the battery negative and the ground cable to see how much juice is being drawn. Then start pulling fuses one at a time until you identify the circuit that is causing the current draw. If you get thoug all the fuses and nothing is causing the problem then you need to look at the electrical areas that are not fused. You don't seem to be having any other problems so it might be hard to determine. I think there have been a number of cases where the relay panel wiring is going bad so you may want to take a peak at the back side of the board to look for damaged wires.

Charley B

In the meantime or if all else fails, install a shut off on the negative cable at the rear hatch mount. Several owners have rolled with that for years. Search here for a thread with "battery shutoff switch".
Good luck.

JG928S4

I had similiar problem, ended up being my hatch light switch was stuck on, but since I had all my interior lights on the off position I did not notice that the red lights on the doors, that are seen when opened, where always on!