When I turn my car key to start the car sometimes it doesn't start. When it doesn't start all seems fine until I turn the key to the start position and the starter does not turn--nothing. When I turn my key to the start position the SRS Airbag light goes on as long as I turn the key to start
Here is what I noticed. When I turn the key all the dash lights go on and then off. If the check engine light also turns off the car will not start. If the check engine light stays on after the other lights turn off the car does start fine.
What should I be looking for? I jiggled the key thinking that it might be the ignition cylinder but nothing. Tomorrow I will make sure the fuses are all inserted correctly by the rear seat heel boards.

 

Looks like a weak battery or poor connections at the battery terminals.

 

check battery,
check connections on battery as mentioned above
and also check the other end of the earth strap coming off the battery.

the 3 first points of call.

 

Today I cleaned both battery terminals/cables and the other end of the neg cable. I couldn't find my volt meter so I went to auto zone. What they told me was surprising. They said that my battery was good but that it was at 52% and needed a charge. How can the alternator charge the battery at over 14v (I've seen this with my own eyes) and the battery is only at 52%? I even just made a trip from upstate NY to Baltimore and back where each way was over 300 miles. Is the alternator meter on my car a gauge or the equivalent of an idiot light. That is, if the gauge reads the same today as last week does that mean the alternator was charging at the same rate both days?

After cleaning the cables the check engine light went out and the car did not start. I am hoping that the charge will make a difference.

Thanks for your input.
Jomo

 

One of the first things i do when i suspect a flat/broken battery is preventing the car from starting is to give it a jump start from another car.
(using good quality thick jumper cables and a decent car) to give it a jump. If it starts then the batter is looking to be at fault.

it is possible that your alternator is not charging the battery faster than it is draining.
do you find it is likely to start no problem when it has been stopped for only a short period but if it is left sat for longer it has trouble?
or it starts worse after longer trips?
there could be a battety drain in the system preventing the alternator from providing enough charge whilst it is running.
or there could be a battery drain causing battery loss whilst the car is sitting.

 

I had the exact problem and it turned out that bulkhead (firewall) electrical post insulator was shot and the post was shorting out with the bulkhead. I have a LHD X-300 and the bulkhead post is located on the right side of the engine compartment and connects the cable that carries power from the alternator back to the battery. I only noticed it when I saw arcing at night between the post and the firewall at night. The nut on the post was even starting to weld to the firewall due to the shorting out. Easy fix once I found the problem just removed the nut cut a 1/2 inch length of small heater hose to put over the post to keep it centered and away from contact with the firewall. Hope this solves your problem.

 

There is no parasitic drain on the battery. The alternator tested today over 14v. The battery is able to start the car even before I charged it over night. The car starts fine, when it starts.

If I turn the key until just before the starter switch my dashboard lights all go on and then they turn off a few seconds later. The check engine light should be the only light that stays on. When it does stay on the car starts fine. If the cel turns off the car will not start. I need to turn the key a few times until the cel stays on. The other day this took about 5 minutes.

 

Bingo, that was the exact location of the problem! I did not have a grounding problem like you did. It just needed a good cleaning. Just now whenever I turned my ignition key and the cel did not stay on I tugged slightly on the wire and the cel came on. This happened four times in a row. I just finished doing a good cleaning around that area and this should be the end of this problem.
This forum is great.
Jomo

 

electrical issues can be quite frustrating to find sometimes.
good to see you have hopefully sorted it with not too much trouble