Car won't start!!! Urgent!!!

[Slant]

I have a 2000 GT with 25k miles.

Mods: AEM Pully, NX 50 shot (bottle has been disconnected for a week.)

Never had starting problems until tonight.

Leaving work, the car barely started... really weak, but it still turned over.
Got home fine.
Leaving home, the car will not start.

I've been running on empty for a while so I thought I was out of gas.
I put in a gallon of gasoline and still no go.

When I turn the key, all I hear is a loud clicking sound from the engine area.

When turning the key, the rpm needle goes crazy. It bounced up and down between 0 to 3-4k rpm.


All the lights work. Headlights work.

Possible problems:
1. starter
2. alternator
3. ???

Any helpful suggestions or feedback will be appreciated.

[marcus_GTS]

Your battery is dead. The clicking sound is the starter solenoid trying to engage the starter. Charge the battery, and the car should start. The root cause is likely either your alternator or some short that's pulling a lot of current all the time, even when the car is off.

[mwz26]

i agree

[Slant]

How would my lights work if my battey is dead?

[Oo DaRk StAr oO]

When my battery was dead car didnt do anything! Just try replacing the battery if it dosent work return the battery. Trial and error will fix this.

[GTS LAID]

the reason your lights still work is b/c the starter requires a lot more power than the lights.. and your battery isnt fully dead... only partially... i have the same problem.. .with my car the lights stay on but the mp3 player stops playing cause it draws a lot of power.

[Slant]

Makes sense.
I was hoping its not the alternator b/c its not covered under warranty as it is.

[GTS LAID]

it is covered under warranty... its not the alternator though... theres really no reason for it to go.. its a really young car.

[Slant]

They would not fix it under warranty b/c I have AEM pully on there.
If its not the alternator, what do you think it is then?
I have a very modest sound system.

[GTS LAID]

yes with the AEM pulley they would refuse service to something like that... just get the battery checked out... i'm more than 75% sure thats your cause of root evil.

[Slant]

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.
But I'm wondering why the battery would go out like that all of sudden.
Is this a case of "sh!t just happens for no reason" or is there more to it?
I've got an exam tomorrow and I can't be stressing over this anymore.

[GTS LAID]

ya i've had the same **** happen with it... i think in my case the reason was b/c i sparked the positive terminal against my strut bar.. and although it didnt fry the fuse it probably gave it a nice wakeup call...

[BadTOYO]

Originally posted by Slant
How would my lights work if my battey is dead?
Well, do you wanna know how much current it takes to move an 11.5:1 compression motor compared to lighting up a set of headlights?
R

i hope everything work out sam!

[Raw Iron 1]

I hate electrical problems. They suck. Luckily for me my old man has been an electrician for 40yrs!

With ALL of your lights on you will probably draw about 40 amps on the battery. But your starter requires up to 200 amps to crank your momo. If your battery is fully charged (12.66 volts) and you have a dead cell in the battery, everything will work fine until you put a load on the battery, this is when you will notice a problem. A dead cell in the battery may still let you make 12.66 volts but it won't be able to make the amps necessary to turn the starter because the battery is already under a "load condition" with the internal short. ALWAYS go the cheapest route first if you don't know what the problem is, in this case the battery would be the cheapest route. Most places like Auto Zone or Pep Boys will test your battery for free.

Ways to test your battery...

Fully charge the battery and disconnect it. Take a voltage reading. It should have a "surface charge" of about 13-13.5 volts right after you take it off charge. Leave the battery disconnected for 24 hrs and take another reading. It should be at least 12.66 volts wich is considered "fully charged". If it is reading like 11.9 or something after being charged and disconnected then you have a bad battery/shorted cell.

Another test you can do is to fully charge your battery and start the car while having someone take a voltage reading on the battery. A fully charged battery should not drop below about 10 volts while cranking. If it does you either have a bad battery/shorted cell OR a bad starter.

Another test is to swap it for a known good battery like I do when ever I have a battery problem with my Vette or Parisienne since they use the same battery. If the problem follows the battery then it is the battery. If the problem still occurs with the known good battery then the problem is the car.

Ways to test your alternator...

When your car is running your alternator should be cranking out about 14.5 volts at idle with all accessories turned off. Turn your high beams on and you should get little or no voltage drop. If you get a major drop like down to 11.5 volts or something then you have either a bad battery, bad alternator, or a short somewhere. If you are not making over 13-14 volts to start with then you may have already found your bad battery or alternator.

Now, if you are seriously equipped like me with all kinds of testers and multimeters then you can do an amp test on the alternator. In a repair manual they will give you an amp test and specs. It usually requires that you warm up your engine, turn the high beams on and maybe the blower motor on medium high, rev the engine up to 2,000rpm, and then take an amp probe reading on the alternator. If your alternator is putting out well below the specified amps, then you may have a bad battery, alternator, or a short.

All these tests can be done with a volt meter except maybe the amp probe test. I just bought an ass kick'n volt meter for Asian Honey and it has all kinds of bells and whistles and I got it at Sears for about $20.oo. Best damn volt meter that I have ever seen for the price.

12 volt auto specs...

A fully charged 12 volt car battery is considered fully charged at 12.66 volts. A 12 volt battery reading below 12 volts is considered a dead battery. That's right, 11.9 volts is considered dead even though your lights may still work and your car may even still start.

On 12 volt auto systems most alternators will crank out some where between 13.5 and 14.5 volts at idle, warm engine, all excessories turn off. Most cars I have worked on crank out 14.2-14.5 volts under these conditions with a good working charging system.

Jason

[QWKsilvr808]

Several of the Hawaii ppl were having problems with the stock Toyota battery failing prematurely. Others from this board have also complained about this before.

The problem is prolly nothing short of just the stock battery being crap. I started my car up one morning and it seemed to start sluggishly... then leaving the office at the end of the day I got in my car and got nothing but one weak turn and then just a loud rapid clicking. At first I panicked, but I had a couple of our student workers push my car and I kick started it. I drove it to my uncle's house that night and tried to trickle charge the battery, but it wouldn't hold the charge when we checked on it again in the morning. It had enough power to run everything perfectly fine, but not nearly enough cranking amperage.

I took the car into the dealer and they replaced the battery free of charge after doing a charging system diagnostic and finding nothing else wrong aside from the faulty battery.

Funny, because the GT-S is supposed to get the "upgraded" battery from the cold-weather package right? Some upgrade. :wtf: My friend also had problems with the battery in her GT.

[FriedRice]

my dad's avalon battery died yesterday. his stock battery was crap. toyota replaced it. and yesterday it died. im not a statistician by any means... but 2 crappy batteries in a row? uh....what are the chances of that? btw... 2 batteries in 2 years. each battery is supposed to last 3-4 years rite? 2 in 2 years is just crap..... go kragen autozone, wutever... u mite need a new battery. check to see if theres any white powdery stuff on the poles... that white stuff somehow saps ur power... happened with my mom's mpv and dads avalon.... good luck man.

[kat]

Im having the same problem with my gts parts car. I cant get the starter to kick, but its a brand new optimum battery. the clock on the dash starts to dim then it goes out. Could the starter be seized? The car is from quebec and it looks like a 1988 but its a 2003 its rusty and all the alm parts are really oxidized (the starter) If you could help that would be great !

[Gtsjeg04]

depending on use and temp. batteries will go bad in different intervals even if they are the same type. Also just bc your lights come on doesnt mean that it has enough amps to turn the starter. The lead plates could be weak but still keeping the voltage at twelve so all your stuff still works but the heavy amperage stuff.