Starter not turning over, lights dim when key turns

[AGlobalThreat]

Im trying to figure out what is causing this. It bump starts fine, but occasionally the starter hasnt been turning over.

I put the key to ON, fuel pump turns on
Turn the key to start, lights dim, voltage dips (3-4V dip), starter does not crank
Rarely I will be able to put it back to Off, then try again, the starter will turn over and the engine will start

The battery is obviously not dead, but does this mean it simply doesn't have enough power anymore to turn the starter? Before this happened last night I had just driven through the canyons, it was not a short trip, the battery should have been charged plenty. Sat off for just under 2 hours.
Is this a loose connection to the starter?
A bad starter/starter going bad?

 

[IwantMKIII]

bad battery. get a jump and replace.

/thread

 

[SupraMan1987]

Could be the wire between the starter and battery. But that wouldn't explain an intermittent issue like your describing.

 

[iwannadie]

Do you hear a single click from behind the dash on the passenger side when you turn the key? If you turn and hold the key for a minute will it suddenly crank strong? If you turn the key off and on over and over will it crank strong? Jump starting doesn't make a difference?

I had those problems, new starter was the fix for me.

 

[SupraOfDoom]

You can try the 30 AMP relay start mod that IdealSupra made a thread about if its not your battery. Sounds very similar to a problem I just had although I'm not sure how much my lights dimmed. My solenoid was bad on my starter.

 

[IwantMKIII]

you are looking way too far into this people. The odds of it being a bad battery vs those other things mentioned are quite large. Start simple.....

 

[iwannadie]

you are looking way too far into this people. The odds of it being a bad battery vs those other things mentioned are quite large. Start simple.....

Every time I've had a bad battery the starter cranks, just not strong enough to start the car. Never had a battery that doesn't have enough juice to turn the starter at all. Then, suddenly the next try it does start like he says.

I would certainly pull the battery and have it tested as its free and easy to get at also try jumping it first.

 

[SupraOfDoom]

Can also try a push start .

 

[IwantMKIII]

Can also try a push start .

good call if he can move the car....

 

[rayall01]

Internal short or sulfation. The battery's junk. Seen it too many times here, as both my stepsons have toasted about 8 batteries in the past five years.

 

[AGlobalThreat]

Do you hear a single click from behind the dash on the passenger side when you turn the key? If you turn and hold the key for a minute will it suddenly crank strong?

No there is no clicking, which is the usual sign of a dead battery that doesn't have enough power to turn over the starter.

Next time it does this I'll try holding it and seeing if anything happens.

The starter is supposed to be brand new.

The connection to the starter has always been a possibility in my mind since the battery was relocated after the new starter was installed.

The battery shows full voltage with a voltmeter when this occurs.

It COULD be the battery but could be other things as well, which is why I'm trying to get some help to narrow it down before I make a purchase.

This is with an Odyssey PC680 which is a Dry Cell battery. If it turns out to be the battery I will simply buy another, this thing lasted much longer than I expected (Almost 4 years).

 

[SupraOfDoom]

I have an extra battery if you want to teleport over. I can give you the coordinates if this helps.

 

[AGlobalThreat]

I have an extra battery if you want to teleport over. I can give you the coordinates if this helps.

Well that's the thing, mine shows full voltage when it does this. I think I may take it into Batteries+ (I think there's one out here now) and have them test it and check it out.

Batteries+ revived this battery after it died completely and then sat for ~4-5 months. I've been using it for nearly 3 years more since that happened.

 

[radiod]

A battery can show full voltage when there's no draw on it but still not be able to deliver the cranking amps to turn the starter. I've seen it plenty of times at the GM shop I worked in. Any shop that deals with battery replacement should have a small handheld unit that they can perform an in vehicle test on the battery condition and if you want to get a better answer, there is a larger piece of equipment that you can do a load test on by seeing how much the voltage of your battery drops while drawing a certain (typically half your battery's rated CCA's) amount of amps.

I worked on a civic that still started, but cranked real slow with an optima yellow top battery in it. After doing a load test we noticed that the battery voltage dipped to 7V under draw, where as a healthy battery will stay above 9.8V. I'd tend to agree with the battery being the culprit, and it's an easy thing to check.

If by chance it isn't the battery, check and see what kind of amperage the starter is pulling (inductive clamp over the battery line to the starter). I've seen a starter problem similar to this where it was actually the starter trying to pull 100+ amps. Obviously, battery couldn't handle it and went dead after a few cranks if the engine didn't start.

Other than that, check all your connections, grounds, contacts, etc.

 

[T701jz]

A battery can show full voltage when there's no draw on it but still not be able to deliver the cranking amps to turn the starter. I've seen it plenty of times at the GM shop I worked in. Any shop that deals with battery replacement should have a small handheld unit that they can perform an in vehicle test on the battery condition and if you want to get a better answer, there is a larger piece of equipment that you can do a load test on by seeing how much the voltage of your battery drops while drawing a certain (typically half your battery's rated CCA's) amount of amps.

I worked on a civic that still started, but cranked real slow with an optima yellow top battery in it. After doing a load test we noticed that the battery voltage dipped to 7V under draw, where as a healthy battery will stay above 9.8V. I'd tend to agree with the battery being the culprit, and it's an easy thing to check.

If by chance it isn't the battery, check and see what kind of amperage the starter is pulling (inductive clamp over the battery line to the starter). I've seen a starter problem similar to this where it was actually the starter trying to pull 100+ amps. Obviously, battery couldn't handle it and went dead after a few cranks if the engine didn't start.

Other than that, check all your connections, grounds, contacts, etc.

^^^

 

[AGlobalThreat]

The battery is showing 11 volts when the engine is not running. Climbs to 14 or so when the engine has started. I'll be taking the PC680 into batteries+ and see if there's anything they can do to keep it goin a little longer.

 

[rayall01]

The battery is showing 11 volts when the engine is not running. Climbs to 14 or so when the engine has started. I'll be taking the PC680 into batteries+ and see if there's anything they can do to keep it goin a little longer.

Just get a cheap battery for now. It'll do better than trying to bring the old one to life.

 

[hottscennessey]

I've seen this problem on a number of cars. Including my own.

if your battery checks out, I can almost guarantee this will fix it:
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76403

You're just wasting time if you don't do it

 

[rayall01]

I've seen this problem on a number of cars. Including my own.

if your battery checks out, I can almost guarantee this will fix it:
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76403

You're just wasting time if you don't do it

Look at his voltage. Battery 11 volts, charging at 14. It's a bad battery.

 

[hottscennessey]

I'm just saying, I wasted way too much time on this problem. If the problem re-occurs a couple weeks later after the new battery, look no further.