Ok long story short, last time I did work I had to rewire the starter because the wires were only wrapped around each other and taped. So I used connectors and crimped them together and added new wire. It has worked fine for a few weeks since then but of course today when I need to start work it decides to be a ***** and not work.

Symptoms, the lights and everything come on when door opens and the battery is putting out 12.6 volts when checked with meter. I go to start and I hear a loud click and everything dies! No lights, no turn over, NOTHING! When rewiring before if the wires didn't have a solid connection with the starter it would kick on the security light and wouldn't start. But, the security light doesn't come on this time everything is dead! Possible solution or reasoning? I was going to try and check the wiring again but I would need to get it jacked back up and not doing it alone by myself in freezing temps. Any info as to what this may be besides the security system/vats thing?

 

had happened to me once. battery was good but my terminals were shot.

 

How would I know if the terminals crapped out or not? They allow power to everything until I attempt to start then it craps out...if it ain't one thing it's another on this car lol my luck

 

The big click you heard is the starter solenoid closing the contacts powering the starter motor. Possibilities: the starter is bad, the solenoid contacts are bad, battery or ground cables and/or connections are bad, thereby not allowing enough power to the starter. A quick check to see if the starter is getting power is to notice if the lights dim while the solenoid contacts are closed..

 

Found another possible cause...ignition switch? According to shoebox and his site the ignition switch being bad causes the dash lights to stay out, interior lights, and motor functions as well as fuel pump and a no start scenario etc. This is exactly what is occurring to me at this time so it may be something to look into further.

 

Cleaned the terminals again, and checked/cleaned all the ground wires and areas where they attached. Starts up fine now, another random pop up problem solved. Thanks for the input guys.

 

dang i have a hard time reading your posts with all the bouncing. lol. yep them dang battery terminals get a coating on them and it doesnt look like there dirty. gota scrape with something sharp sometimes. good ol wire brush usually works.

 

Yea I took a wire brush. My car sits in the garage, yet the garage is unattached and not climate controlled. It builds up a lot of moisture on everything for some reason and that moisture tends to give me problems apparently. On another note, unrelated, I believe that one piece blue felpro oil pan gasket is now leaking and I recently placed it. It's not leaking from the front cover or the rear of the pan however leaking on the sides...my luck. Not too bad though so it can probably wait for warmer weather.

 

check the tightness of the bolts. only takes one lose one.

 

Yea I plan on it when it gets a bit nicer out, can't take much more laying on cold concrete. It appears as it's just one side too, the driver side.