This morning I put a new battery in my car. I left the car door open and went to start the engine. Dash lit up, but the starter didn't do anything. Seemed odd so I closed the car door and tried to think. Waited a few seconds and tried again and it started right up. I've gone through the owners manual and searched the forum but haven't found anything. Was this normal for some reason or do I need to worry something is going bad?

 

Aftermarket alarm?

 

Not that I know of.

 

bad ground wire connection or bad ground wire thats where i would start

 

If it happened once it will likely happen again if you do nothing. I would clean the primary ground for sure and it might be a good idea to clean all the grounds if its never been done.

 

Could just be an anomaly!

 

Another possibility is a worn connector link between the key and the ignition switch, or a worn ignition switch.

Another possibility is a poor connection at the 14-terminal connector next to the jump start post.

 

So I messed with the ground wire on the battery a little and it started right up. Went to gas station and now nothing. Starter doing nothing only light in dash is the explanation one. Any ideas? Sadly stuck now.

 

Are the little caps off the battery posts ? :-) sounding like the ground batt wire is garbage. Check the connection to the body behind the tool tray

 

Yep, always go back to the last thing you messed with. Likely the main ground is bad or loose. "How we do it in Russia is fix with big hammer". Seriously though just keep messing with the cables and likely it will go again to get you home. Then do the grounds cleaning throughout the car if its never been done.

 

^^^ +1. 99% of the time if you have a problem after making a change it is associated with the change you just did. Disconnect battery and reconnect. Check the ground strap connection. Sounds like it's getting some but not enough charge.

 

take a battery jumper cable and connect one end to the neg terminal,
connect other end to one of the nuts for the rear shock mounts,
try to start if it starts replace the ground strap.

 

Well the wife came and picked me up. Went back and tried to start the car with a jump. Still wouldn't go. This tell me anything new? Car is stuck at the gas station now. Any help on how I might get it started and back home would be great. If the ground was bad it would still work with a jump?

Just some background. Battery was dead this year after winter. Didn't seem to be taking a charge too well so I just went and bought a new battery. Last year had no issues with starting at all. Everything worked very reliably. So after installing new battery as stated I tried to start the car and it did the same thing as it's doing now. Radio works and dash lights go on, but nothing at the starter. Waited a few minutes and tried again and it started. Drove around the block and parked it. Later wife said I should go for a ride so it started right up and off I went. Very low on gas so stopped for gas and now nothing. Messed around a lot with the wires, but nothing. Ground looks ok to me, but is there something I can test with the meter maybe? Any other grounds than at the battery I might try?

 

Thanks. That's a good suggestion. But since jumping didn't work can this still be the problem?

 

Yes. The ground strap may be degraded under the wrap and you couldn't tell by simple inspection. Do this maneuver.