Went out today and got nothing but rapid fire clicking noise. Lights still came on inside as well as warning lights. Could it be the starter, or a low on juice battery?

I would try the search, but I am at work and internet use is frowned upon.



Thanks
Patrick

 

Charge the battery and try again. Don't leave the battery dead for any length of time or you will kill it.

 

it did sit for approx 10-12 days due to weather and work. Ill try charging tonight.

 

disconnect the battery before charging !!! The 928 LH Brains do not tolerate power surges well at all !! If the battery is more than 2 1/2 years old it probably needs to be replaced.....

 

I had this exact same problem after I first got my car. Someone on this list posted and said. "It is your ground strap. Clean the ground strap in the hatch of the car by the wingnut until it shines. Your car will start, I guarantee it." (That is not an exact quote, but was the jist of the post.) You know what. I cleaned the ground and the car started right up.

So, start with cleaning your grounds, especially the strap in the year.

 

Always great advice to clean as you say above (and to quick charge only with the battery disconnected). With the ground strap and positive cable off of the battery, that's also a good time to use a quality contact enhancer like Stabilant 22a or "Corrosion Block," too.

Once the straps are back together on the battery terminals, you can use an insulting gel like sparkplug dielectric or vaseline *on the outside* of the metal bits to protect against corrosion. Just don't put such insulating gels in between the ground strap and battery terminal. Outside coating, yes. Sandwiched in between metal strap and terminal, no.



I've got a NiCad powered trickle charger in my glove box, too. If you need to jump start your own semi-dead battery when you are dead on the road, you can just plug one of those (Coleman makes a cheap one, and Schumacher makes a better one) into the cig lighter socket and wait for ten minutes to try starting up again.

When you get home you plug the trickle charger into an AC outlet to charge up the on-board NiCad battery so that it will be juiced up for a future jump start again.

 

What would one clean the ground strap with? Are we talking baking soda and water, or sandpaper?

 

Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009OMY92


...and this: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...4&ci_sku=81119

 

I think the lighter socket isn't "hot" until the ignition is switched on. Then you'd be using more juice than the trickle charger supplies.

 

LOL! It's always good to see rain on a parade.

 

to clean elex contact I found the best way is with a pink eraser, buy one in the writing section, get 2. The ink eraser also is a good cleaner on the more corroded parts, disconnect the battery first and also clean the hot post connections , take the 11mm stud out and clean the pins on the 14 pin connector thats above the hot post wires.
Also you should have a cover on your hot post ,a cover from a 1988 S4 fit perfect

 

Got home tonight and checked out by the battery box. The ground strap is mint and I recleaned it anyway, and the battery looks brand new. Think about this though;
The lights come on strong, and everything works inside. The power seats work fine as well. Think of a toy machine gun, thats the noise it makes. Rapid fire clicking noise. Would it do this with a weak batery that is still strong enough to power everything inside?

 

My truck had the same symptoms...thought it was the starter. Replaced the starter...turned out to be the ground cable. It looked perfect from the outside but was corroded inside. My neighbour came over with a booster and put the negative on the block...she fired right up.

Just a thought.

 

Clicking noise could be a relay not locking in when the key is engaged.

You say that it has good electrical power but the starter doesn't engage, spin, or make any noise so best guess is that the signal from the key switch to the starter that says "turn on" is not getting there.

Any way you can isolate where the rapid fire clicking noise is coming from, CE panel area or under the hood?

 

Its definitely coming from under the hood. Its just me out there though, so I could not look under the hood at the same time. Louder with the hood open too.