So this has been going on for a for weeks where I'll turn the key to start the car and the engine won't crank. All I've had to do is turn the key again and the car will fire right up. Today though it happened but this time everything in the car went dead, I disconnected the battery then reconnected it and everything went back to normal? What could this be? I'm pretty sure I only have this problem when I go to start the car right away instead of waiting for the electronics to turn on for a few seconds in accesory mode. I've had the auto tilt steering wheel function set to "on" lately and that's right around when I started having this problem...any advice/help would be great. Thanks!

 

I was have an issue with the car being dead, turned out to be the main battery ground strap. Replaced it with one from an auto parts store and no more issues. My old one looked OK.

 

QUOTE: 'I'm pretty sure I only have this problem when I go to start the car right away instead of waiting for the electronics to turn on for a few seconds in accesory mode. I've had the auto tilt steering wheel function set to "on" lately and that's right around when I started having this problem'

I have not read anything on the subject, but it would seem to me that the car would not start or crank while the steering wheel is in motion, something related to safety perhaps. Mine only tilts down to the lowest point when I insert my key, as I keep it in the fully retracted position to drive, but I have always waited for the system check to complete before turning the key to start the car. When I have forgotten to wait, the steering wheel was already down by the time I got to the point of actually turning the key to start the car.

 

[QUOTE=KayScotts;1516842]So this has been going on for a for weeks where I'll turn the key to start the car and the engine won't crank. All I've had to do is turn the key again and the car will fire right up. Today though it happened but this time everything in the car went dead, I disconnected the battery then reconnected it and everything went back to normal?

I also had this happen on an old Toyota station wagon; it turned out to be a loose connection at the starter that would expand and contract with the heat of the engine, making and breaking contact and causing an intermittent 'no start' situation.

 

This helps a lot! I wonder if it could be both problems because it seems too coincidental with that its only been happening since I've had the steering wheel on auto but at the same time I don't see how it would cause the whole battery to have to be disconnected

 

Hmm before you replaced the ground strap was the car only dead sometimes or just permanently until the part was replaced? Because in my sitsuation it's only happening every so often?

 

Kay I can't imagine how this can be related to tilt auto on off. I am very familiar with the tilt/telescope circuits and there is no overlap with the starting circuit. (FWIW the tilt motor only draws 1amp. This point is related to my suggestion below.)

I would go and have the battery and alternator tested for free at AutoZone. This, like Jandreau mentioned, is likely due to low voltage. I've seen the turn no starter engagement many times. She always starts on 2nd try. But whenever this happened, the battery was below 100% charged.

You mentioned everything going dead, that was when I suspect alternator. I had same thing happen last week, turns out the alternator was only putting out a low charge so depending on accessories usage I was either slowly draining the battery or slowly charging it.

Looks like I found out the hard way - your "battery not charging" warning does not alert you with very small discharging..

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

John

 

I actually had the battery and alternator tested already and they are OK. (I probably should have mentioned) the car has a parasitic drain that has not yet been dealt with. I wasn't sure if it would be related to the current problem I'm having in this thread but the car battery will die within 3-4 days if not started but since I've been driving every day and disconnecting the battery EVERY night for around 4 months and without the battery going dead, I assumed it was okay. I am going to bring the car to an auto electrician to have the drain fixed soon. Hopefully it will be easy for them to locate the drain but back on topic, could the starter problem be a delayed result of the parasitic drain?

 

The parasitic drain could most likely be coming from the little 'door' or 'flap' that partially obscures the ignition key hole when the key is withdrawn, and should make a crisp 'snap' noise if it is functioning properly.

I had the exact same drain in my car, and had disconnected the battery, and used electronics cleaner and canned air to blast it clean and dry it out; be careful not to get any cleaner on the surrounding plastic or trim as it fades it out. I then used a penetrating oil that purported to be non-drying, but was not, so the problem returned and same thing, 2-3 days of no driving, and the battery was dead.

This happens because the little 'door' enables the car to go to 'sleep' and if it does not close completely, it continues to draw voltage from the battery to power the computer modules. I re-cleaned it last night and used white lithium spray lubricant to lubricate the mechanism and it works great again.

The little 'door' is actually more complicated than it looks, when it folds down it actually moves a sliding 'carriage' across the top of the ignition cylinder and it reminds me of a gun slide. It is important to spray lubricant up into this 'slide' as it is the 'real' mechanism that shuts the car's electronic down, the 'door' can and will become gunked up, but the 'slider' is the part you want to be sure to clean all the grime and gunk from, and re-lubricate while depressing the 'door' with a probe, or bent paper clip just be careful not to let the 'door' close on the paper clip as it will get stuck, and when it does, do not pull it out forcefully, simply depress the 'door' a bit more and remove it. Also sprayed the lubricant on the key and worked it in and out of the ignition to lubricate the tumblers and wiped away the black grime from inside the cylinder.

 

03 XKR explainted it well. I just wanted to confirm: Yes the drain is reducing battery charge level.

No one would argue and we all have experienced it, less than 100% charge level = (or for the engineers <=> "always equals" ) electrical gremlins.

The turn no starter engagement is common to me with a small drop in charge level. The "cut out" you experienced is just a progression of the low battery results.

Jandreau is right on the money in that a corroded connection can virtually interrupt all currrent flow and make the battery seem dead, but your history with the parasitic draw nails it in my mind. The battery is being slowly discharged each time you turn off the engine. These are the results.

Check the switch flap 03 XKR mentioned, super easy to find.

Just ask if you need a plan for finding the parasitic draw should that fail. It is not as hard as it sounds.

John

 

I actually have already cleaned the flap on the ignition barrel months ago in hopes of solving the drain and it didn't help BUT I wasn't aware of how in depth it was, I'm thinking maybe the "carriage" you mention wasn't completely cleaned so Ill definitely give it a more thorough cleaning.

 

Will do! Appreciate all the help

 

If I read your first post correctly, first try no start, next try no problems?
Was that consistent? Of course you need to find the voltage drain.
Did you try locking the car, this is supposed to put car in deep sleep and see if the problem persists? I always wait for system diags to complete before turning over engine btw.