The ongoing P5 gremlins....

So, my last post was a month ago, with the story that I had washed out the engine bay, and was rewarded with no turning over (though I was able to push-start). The next day it just started, no issues. However, over the last few weeks, it has had an intermittent problem, it will (seemingly) randomly stop turning over. Doesn't even seem to draw current. It'll last for a few hours to a day, and then just magically start working again. It's incredibly frustrating not knowing if I'm going to have to beg a quick push-start from strangers at the gas station or wherever. Maybe there's a loose ground wire somewhere, or maybe a bad connection to the starter? IDK, but any help would be awesome. Battery cables are good, connection is good and clean, not sure what else it could be. No bad fuses either.

Also, the power steering pump has begun a slow leak, maybe 1-2 ounces every 2 weeks or so. Has anyone ever used a rebuild kit on this? And if so, how difficult is it to accomplish? I only ask because remans are still like $160+core out here, and the rebuild kit is like $30. Would I just be better off replacing? I'd guess that's probable anyway, but still.

Thanks guys, I'm in a bit of a bind here, and need to get this stuff tackled.It's driving me nuts....(dark)

You don't say what you have checked to try finding the electrical problem. Do you have a multimeter so you can do some electrical testing? You say the battery cables are good? Have you made any checks to determine if there is a voltage drop between the positive battery post and the the battery terminal on the starter solenoid? Does you battery read 12.6 volts from negative to positive posts?

In general you have to do some diagnostic checks to solve the problem. Assuming your battery is good, you need to do a voltage drop test on the starting circuit. Information on how to do a drop test can be found here.
http://www.excelauto.com/online/Tech.d/strvdt.html

This you tube video shows a voltage drop test.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry68G0C2Fyc

The other alternative is to start replacing parts until maybe you stumble into a fix.



Clifton

I don't have a multimeter, and I live in an apartment complex where working on cars is strictly verboten, so I kinda have to be judicious with the working on it. As far as the cables, I can only tell from looking at them that there's no corrosion evident, and the connections are clean. It's weird, it just works sometimes and doesn't sometimes. No difficulty, no trying to make the connection, it just works perfectly sometimes, then without warning, it won't even turn over. And it doesn't fix itself until it's been over the road a few times on push starts. It really feels like a loose ground that only works when it's bounced into the right place. Where would it be though? A ground wire that would stop the starter from getting voltage? Also, I was thinking it could be an alarm issue, I have a dead man switch in the highbeam flash switch, but I have to use it to push start it, so I think it's working properly. And push starting rules out the ignition switch too. I'm really thinking it's either the ground wire or starter wire connection....

Oh, and flash, thanks for the ideas, if I can find a place and a multimeter, I'm gonna have a go at testing it, just don't have much of an idea where to do it yet. Thanks man.

My first guess would be a loose or corroded connection in the start circuit. Hope you can work out something to get it repaired. Good luck.

Clifton

+1 on the problem. I've had this happen 3 times now in the past 6 months. The day before wont start, the next morning, no problem. Same was the case this morning, but only started a couple of times.
Theres another thread on this same issue, it dealt with corrosion at the started terminal. In the end the guy just ended up installing a relay to bypasss the starter wires. Let me knwo if you need it and I'll dig it up.

Nice video link, Clifton. I always thought you had to have a special high-load meter to test the battery like that. I understand how a meter works with a large shunt resistor- but if the battery cable is bad enough to have MORE resistance than the meter- all that current is going to flow through the meter and destroy it.

Anyway- just one other thought- if the car is new to you, and is a manual- you might want to check the clutch start kill switch. My car doesn't activate the switch unless the clutch is pressed *all the way* to the bottom of its stroke. Even though I am fully used to the car- every now and then I find that I haven't pressed the clutch far enough in to start it. You might want to verify the switch is working as expected.

Edit- when I say "to test the battery like that" I meant with one lead on the positive battery post, and the other on the starter lead.

wildo said:

Nice video link, Clifton. I always thought you had to have a special high-load meter to test the battery like that. I understand how a meter works with a large shunt resistor- but if the battery cable is bad enough to have MORE resistance than the meter- all that current is going to flow through the meter and destroy it.

Anyway- just one other thought- if the car is new to you, and is a manual- you might want to check the clutch start kill switch. My car doesn't activate the switch unless the clutch is pressed *all the way* to the bottom of its stroke. Even though I am fully used to the car- every now and then I find that I haven't pressed the clutch far enough in to start it. You might want to verify the switch is working as expected.

Edit- when I say "to test the battery like that" I meant with one lead on the positive battery post, and the other on the starter lead.

Click to expand...

There's almost no risk using that method. Voltage meters usually have an internal resistance of around 10 Megohms, so by using Ohm's law (I = V/R), the current through the meter at 12V is 120 micro-amps (12V/10M = 0.00000012A).

The only risky thing that guy did was putting the positive lead on that little eyelet while the other guy was trying to start the car. If his hand slipped he could have accidentally put a few hundred amps through the tip of the probe (if he shorted the eyelet to the battery). He wouldn't have gotten hurt but there may have been some sparks and he could have damaged the tip of the lead.

That big shunt resistor in multimeters is used for measuring current, I think that's where you got confused.

fixed my car today as per previous post's troubleshooting. basically i just had to play with the terminals. i think it was a corrosion issue. easy way to test starter is to bridge the starter terminals with a screw driver. you have to do this from under that car, it is in the center right beneath the 4 intake tubes (manifolds?). pm me if you need more help.