ericdwong

... ok guys, I need some help. This morning I go to the garage, put down the windows via Window Valet, get in, and go to start the car. I turn the key and the radio turns on, fuel pump runs, go to crank and NOTHING. The starter motor didn't even click. The battery indicated 11.9 volts. No other signs of a low battery. I drove it all day yesterday and last night without a hitch. It was raining last night and I had the car at the bar for a bit. It felt like almost what happens when you try to start the car without the clutch depressed (yes, I pushed in the clutch). First time this has ever happened to me with this car (daily driver, almost 3 years in my posession).

So I get out and had to drive another car into work, so I'm not at my car right now, but I figure i'll take this time to brainstorm. I'm thinking possibly the clutch switch? The only other variable is I just put in the Window Valet yesterday. I pulled it off to see if that made any diffy but it did not.

Wicked Weasel

Do you still have the stock battery?

I would try either swapping the battery or jumping the battery first and see if that works.

I know that your battery still looks fine, but I have heard many times on the forum that people have the same problem and it is the battery.

Architect

Sounds like the battery. Regardless of the readings, find another battery relatively new. The VATS (vehicle anti-theft system) often disables the starter if the amps aren't exactly what they need to be. VATS is known to be very inconsistent with amp requirements, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

VetteDrmr

If your car is an M6, try wiggling the clutch pedal; the clutch safety switch may be getting fussy.

Good luck, and have a good one,
Mike

Bill Curlee

"" If your car is an M6, try wiggling the clutch pedal; the clutch safety switch may be getting fussy.""
Excellent advice!!! If that fails,,Disconnect both battery terminals, clean the terminals on the battery and the cables then reinstall the cables on the battery and torque then to 11 ft/lbs. There is also a theft deterrent relay that could be the cause of the problem. If the car has a wet of damp BCM (Passengers Foot Well)
it could effect a whole host of functions. Starting could be effected too.

There are a couple of things for you to check. Make sure that the battery is FULLY charged!!!

BC

mph1972

This happened to me in my '99 Z28 (MN6) and I went looking for a new battery and alternator (just in case) and when I returned to the car, I checked the terminals and turned out one was a bit loose, removed them, tightened them back on and it fired right up. I felt silly.

Micah

Old Rotor Head

Good advide. It's happened to me twice and a flick of the switch fixed it both times.

rgtkst

mine did the good old click, click ,click this afternoon when i went to leave for work. i have,nt driven it since the 4th. the battery is less than a year old. but it was very much drained down. never done this before. had to jump start it. drove it to work and plugged it into the charger. its still charging now!!! the only thing i could see that was on was the phone charger was left pluged in the lighter. cant believe that little red light could drain the battery. a guy at work thinks the phone charger must have confused the run down protection system and kept things charged with juice. the terminals are good and clean and tight, the battery checks out good. other than drained of charge. the voltage when it is running says between 13.7-14.2. so i dont know why i lost my charge in less than three days. i can only assume my clutch safety is doing ok if it made the click, click noise.

ericdwong

Dunno why but the car started right up the next day. Car is starting to show its age... 110K miles....

cadallante87

does it happen on hot humid days? I just got my car around 2 months ago and about 2-3 it has done this. I open the windows and let the cockpit cool down 10 minutes later it always starts. Knock on wood. I would definitely like to fix this. Battery is new. Cables have been cleaned. Thinking of tightning the starter cables next. Any other ideas.

Lovin It!!! - C5

Some have had issues with something getting on the chip in the key which prevented it from making good contact. This activates the security feature in the vehicle. Cleaning the chip contacts off typically resolves that particular issue.

FLACHUSNRET

To all you out there having cranking problems, let me tell you a little story about stopping the problem. I had the same problem on my wife's '97 Buick Lesabre this time last year when I was in the middle of radiation and Chemo treatment for throat cancer. Like many of your cars it would fail to start on an intermittent basis. Sometimes I would get the click and other times no sound. However, the lights and other accessories seemed to work fine. Twice I had it towed to the stealership because I was too sick to deal with it myself. The first trip to the stealership the lady service writer told me it was the common problem they have with the bad intake manifolds on the 3.8 engines that leak and hydrolock the engine making you think your battery is dead. I tried to give her my thoughts that it was something electrical like the gear shift interlock switch or something related. She assured me she knew what that problem was as they see it almost everyday. Being too weak to fool with the thing myself, I told her to go ahead and fix the car. Well, $956.00 later they had the car running so I picked it up and drove it home. A few days later I drove it to Walmart and when we went to leave it wouldn't start. It was just like the week before so I had it towed to the stealership again. They put a tech right on it as they knew how sick and upset I was by this point. Within a couple of minutes the tech said the positive battery cable was loose and when he tightened it the car cranked right up. So I left with the car and within a couple of days had the same problem again. Luckily it happened at the house and I took a 8mm wrench and tightened the positive cable a little and the car cranked up fine. I then put the wrench in the car in case I was away from home when it happened again. Sure enough it happened a couple of more times within the next few days. The battery cable on the Buick is identical to the cable on my '02 Vette. If you will look closely at the positive cable it is actually two cables that have spade tips sealed in the red plastic that the fastening bolt goes through. One of these cables provides the power for your accessories and the other operates the starter. The problem is that corrosion builds up on the faces of the enclosed spade tips and cause the starter not to get enough power to start the car while the other accessories seem to be OK. I then removed the positive cable from the battery and carefully slit with a razor knife one side of the red plastic coating and pulled the spade ends out so I could clean and lightly sand them. I then pushed them back into the rep plastic coating and reattached the cable. That solved the problem and the problem never reoccurred.

Sorry for the long post but it seems that many here on the forum are having the same problem. Before spending any money on repairs like I did, I would suggest that you perform the above procedure. It is simple and only requires an 8mm wrench, a razor knife, a wire brush and some fine sandpaper. At tops it shouldn't take more than 30 or 40 minutes and your problem may be fixed. Pulling the cable and looking at the end won't tell you much. The corrosion I am talking about is concealed inside the plastic between the spade ends' faces.

Good luck to everyone trying to solve this aggravating problem!

Sanford

Varmit

It may be the neutral switch that operates off the clutch pedal. If you have plenty of current. Try pushing it to see it will start. Assuming that it is a 6sp of course.
It happened to me a while back.