Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Battery tests good, no clicks, nothing...What?

Ok, the subject says it all...Never any problems before on this unit...starting or otherwise...in-service date is 10/23/98, 68K miles. Backed her out of the garage to clean it out (the garage) and when I tried to start it 5 hours later, nothing except the expected indicator lights...when ignition is on and motor not running.

Can't imagine a starter or solenoid would go just like that...but I'm not an expert...just a driver.

Any clues

can still be a bad battery, especially with that much time on it. Enough juice to run lights, but not enought to turn starter or even click. I had a 4 hour argument with a friend who had the exact problem you describe. I told him battery, he said no way. Cost him $75.00 to have it towed in, & they replaced the battery. Pull the battery & take it in and have it bench/load tested, usually free at most parts stores.

clutch starter disable switch ?

Just took it in to Murreys & it tested good 570 CCA left on it...I know...I thought battery too, but ??? Guess I could replace it just for the heck of it...but I don't think that would help me right now...

Thanks for the thought though...

Now...where the heck is than manual to look up the Clutch starter switch...?...around here somewhere...

Ok, I found the clutch switch...it's a red tube like thing on the rear side of the clutch pedal mounting assembly, and it looks like it gets 'turned on' when the rod leaves its body as the clutch is depressed. Not sure how this might come off, or how to test it either, other than to leave it on, connect a meter to the terminals (where are they...just find the wires attached to it?) and see if there is continuity when the pedal is depressed (maybe the pedal should take some drugs for that depression...).

I'm trying easy stuff first, before deciding it's something like the starter soleniod...which looks like a real pain to get off the car...

I'll also see about the fuses that might possibly inhibit starting...like the ignition relay ... how do you tell if a relay is bad? I know this is going to end up at a dealer...I'm just trying to keep the money in my pocket instead of theirs...for a change...(cause after they are done...I don't have much change at all!)

Does you car use the trasponder key like the SVTs? If so, that's most likely your porblem. If it got wet at all, once it dries, try again. Then car goes vroom!

Whats a trasponder (transponder?) key? I think all of them for the last few years have keys with some kind of electronic coding in the key...head I think...so yeah, sort of...but what's to dry out...and no, it (the key) didn't get wet anyway. ???

Curiouser & curiouser...

To check starter & sol disconnect the single plug wire (grey/blak) nr the battery,run a '+' jumper to it and 'flash' the '+' termainal.....starter should operate,be sure you are in neutral and ign off.....TH ....'Gone In 60 Seconds'...!!!!!!!

With engine off, switch headlights on, switch igniton on and turn the key to start. Do the headlights dim? A lot? If they don't dim much, there is no current flowing to starter and the trouble is lack of connection to starter. If they dim a lot, the trouble is poor battery or poor connection somewhere else, and the starter is drawing current.

Ok, it's 2.5 years later, and I had the problem again...bye-the-way, I fixed it the first time...

There is a small black wire that loops up between the battery & the air filter box. This small wire attaches to a connector at one end, and seems to follow the "main" positive wire to where-ever it goes...haven't followed it.

The end that connects to the connector...is in with a group of wires that comes off the "secondary" positive terminal...this is sort of an extension to the main terminal. Both the pos & neg have these "secondary" connection posts...I guess because they needed more places to connect things close to the battery.

Anyway, the small black wire keeps coming out of the connector end. It's a PIA to get at...you have to remove the battery & battery box. Last time it just seemed to stick in there, so I left it. This time, I'm taking the battery stuff out and fixing it "for good".

I figure this must be something going to the solinoid, since there is no clicking or anything when this is out...and all light's, are great. New battery too...whenever it just doesn't start, I push it back into the connector & off I go for another 5-6 months. Guess it's nice weather again so time to fix it right.

Rich