Disconnected Battery - Now Doesn't Start?
 

So I disconnected my battery the other night and reconnected it a little while later.

I didn't start the car but the alarm armed and all that jazz as I left to go to bed.

So today, I go to start my car, turn the key to accessories, dash lights turn on, fuel pump primes, everything, then as soon as I turn the key to ignition, I hear a click and all power dies.

When I try again, by turning the key to accessory power, nothing happens. The only thing that happens is that my alarm "LED" turns on for a split second whenever I try to turn on headlights, stereo, etc. And then something behind the stereo beeps.

If I disconnect and reconnect the negative terminal again, all the electronics will work for that first turn of the key again, but no start. And then every subsequent try yields the same no power symptom but the alarm light comes on and off with that beep.

Does anyone know what's going on here?

The car was running fine last night until I disconnected the battery. It seems to me that the alarm is not letting the car start. It most definitely is not the battery.

I have a Compustar 2WAMR if that helps.

hmm, something may have drained the battery, try charging the battery.

because it cant be the main fuse, otherwise ur lights wont even turn on

possibly u tripped ur immobilizer?

I'm not sure if I have an immobilizer. It's a 1989 Skyline GTS-T.

I tried jumpstarting the car...

But once again, as soon as the key was turned to start, all power died. And when the key was turned just to accessories, with the cables still connected, the accessory lighting was significantly dimmer than before.

What's even stranger is now, even after dis/reconnecting the negative terminal, all the dashlights and accessories are very dim to not even turning on anymore.

sounds like a short somewhere.

ive shorted out my instrument cluster once before by simply disconnecting and reconnecting the neg terminal on my GS. but it came back to life after fidgetting the cluster lights a bit.

i would take the battery out, charge it with a home charger overnight at 10amps, then plug it in tommorow and see.

also go thru every single fuse that u have in the car, it never hurts.

i thought maybe u had an immobilizer or an aftermarket alarm.

I do have an aftermarket alarm, Compustar 2WAMR

Sounds like your starter kill in your immobilizer isn't disengaged.

Try using the alarm remote to "disarm" the alarm and try starting again.

If your alarm doesn't work, it might have lost memory. Cycle the ignition on and off 5 times (leave it in "on" position on the 5th turn) then you should hear a relay click and hit button 1 on the remote, then try and disarming again.

You can try going into valet mode to disengage your starter kill.

Alright so the alarm no longer really works.

And even when you dis/reconnect the battery terminal, it seems that none of the accessories have power. (dashlights, climate control and lights no longer work when key is in ACC)

The alarm LED turns on for the duration of the key being past off and then once the key is out, something behind the stereo lets out a "beep".

The remote is showing that the car is "armed" and in valet mode but the car doesn't unlock when I is pressed. The alarm LED comes on for a second then turns off as the power door lock (I'm assuming) makes a sound you get when someone is opening a door from the outside as you press the unlock.

When I and III are pressed to get the car out of valet mode, the car chirps once but does nothing.

I'm completely confused.

Either your connection at the battery is loose, or it's dead. Try making sure that the terminals are tight and then get a boost from someone else's car.

Hey Keith, I did try jumpstarting the car earlier today.

Before the jumpstart, all the accessories would still be powered on when the car is turned to 2 & 3. However all power would be cut as soon as I try to crank the car.

After the jumpstart, none of the accessories are getting power and the weird shenanighans with the alarm not disarming/responding occurred.

I actually just got out of the car, tried to reset the alarm via the 5 turn method to no avail. And I also discovered that when I manually push the power lock button in the car, the alarm LED comes on and the motor seems to be moving (similar in sound to when you unlock the door as someone is opening it).

:confused:

when your jumping your car are you reving the car that's on for about a min or more at a higher rpm and then trying to start your car? i found it helped for my buddies 240 cause he was listening to his music. first couple of times it didn't work but i rev'd my mom's camry for 3 min or so at 3k and it started up like a champ :D hahah

Also, make sure the negative clamp of the jumper cable is on the frame of the vehicle with the dead battery and not on the battery when jump starting. Sounds silly, but they recommend this for a reason. Also turn off all accessories, like fans, defroster, wipers, headlights, stereo, etc.

What's the voltage reading of the battery?

Also, why did you disconnect the battery in the first place?

Yup, that was done but as soon as I tried to crank the car, all power died. Even with the cables still connected, car didn't crank at all.

Unfortunately I don't have a voltmeter to check. But the battery and car ran strong up till last night. Starter was strong and cranked hard.

Took the battery out to start the car in storage! How ironic that the DD now doesn't start anymore.

Sounds like you're better off towing it to a sponsor to diagnose

What I would suggest is signing up with BCAA which is like $60-80/year which gives you 2+ free tows a year plus other benefits.

I towed my car somewhat recently and it costed me $100. So kinda makes more sense to go the BCAA route. I think you need to wait 24 hours before the first claim though.

Fair enough but I'd rather try to diagnose and troubleshoot before having to tow the car...

Worst possible timing as well since it's Christmas and the holiday season.

At this point, I'll try a fresh battery, check fuses and possibly disconnect the alarm? Does anyone know how I can go about "resetting" the alarm, if such a thing exists in the first place.

That's what I think it is too. When you're hooked to the other car, you're only drawing so many amps. When you try to crank, you're drawing waaay more juice and if there's a loose connection (terminal, clamp, crimp), the connection gets hot/sparks and breaks.

I think you guys are onto something...

I know for sure that my neg. terminal is loose cause the nut is eating into the terminal, thus the clamp is being stretched and I can't tighten it. Essentially, the terminal slides on and off with ease.

But given my limited knowledge of Gr.10 physics, the terminal theoretically is still touching the battery and is just as efficient?

no. if it's loose at all, and you're saying it can slide on and off the battery post with ease, it's not a good enough connection.

if you wanted to test that out. take your jumper and connect the negative cable to the negative battery post and see if it starts then.

that would rule out any connection problems

if it was your battery, connect those cables directly to another battery (eg the car ur trying to jump start off of, and see if it starts that way).

Nope. The cables and connections to your battery are that thickness for a reason - to supply amperage. You can't take something thin, like a speaker wire, and expect it to work.

Make sure your positive (batt. terminal and clamp) is clean and tight. Matter of fact, after you wire brush it and it's starting to get snug while you're tightening it, give it a bit of a twist and then tighten it down.

Your negative clamp might be toast and I suspect your jumper cables might be too. (Going by what you've posted)

-do what I said with the positive and tighten down the neg. as good as you can
-hook up your jumpers as follows
---pos. to pos. on both cars
---bare metal bolt to bare metal bolt on both cars for the ground
--------could be the adjustment bolt for the PS pump or alternator
-hook both jumper cables on the good car first, then pos. on yours, then ground on yours
-once the jumper clamps are on, without squeezing them, wiggle them back and forth so they scratch the surface they're clamped on to
-start the good car then give yours a shot and report back

I'll pick up new battery terminals, I can't see how the neg. terminal can be salvageable and let you guys know, thanks so much!

Make sure your wire to clamp contact is very clean. Wire brush it if you see any corrosion.

The neg. cable is already quite taut, I reckon I might have to get a new, longer cable while I'm replacing the terminal?

Wouldn't be a bad idea. Thick wire to block/cylinder head, thin wire to body/chassis.

Any ideas on where would be a good place to source wires and terminals from?

I'm assuming Lordco/NAPA etc.

Correct.

Get the same thickness or thicker than stock.