HELP!!!! car won't start

[Yeee30]

my problem: my car won't start after three hours of chillen in the garage.

the first time i tried it clicked... but didn't crank over. the second time i tried it didn't even click.. nothing happaned, still had power to everything. so i changed the battery at autozone said mine held a low charge, put a new battery in the car and still nothing. no clicking no turning over whatsoever. my mechanic and i tried finding out what was the problem... we narrowed it down to a dirty soleniod (dirty contacts). so i went out and changed the whole starter... everything is in and i started it. it turns over really really slowly. like the battery is really weak. i jump started it still nothing... i changed the new battery over night just to get it going and tried it in the morning.. still nothing. just sounds like a whining noise. like i needs a little something to help it out.

if u guys could help me out that would be great... its been a week and i need my car up and running. i'll be getting back from work at 7pm so i'll be looking forward to some info... thanks in advance.

-binx

[jlevie]

The replacement starter could be bad. But first check the connections at the battery and at the starter.

[porsche gt1]

I would say more likely the ignition coil, if you replaced the battery, solinoid and starter it is all that is left between you and your car starting. well besides the cap and rotor wires and plugs but they would not created a slow start.

[lordofthewaters]

The slow turning would mean it's not this, but it can't hurt to check the ground cable running from the oil pan to the rail on the driver's side. It could look fine but be damaged enough to cause the click then no click you were hearing.

[Yeee30]

well i was thinking.... its either a bad new starter or a bad battery or both. so basicly i'ma just barrow my moms benz battery and see if it starts my car.. if so then its the new battery... if not then its the starter.

thanks for the help everyone

[Yeee30]

ok.... so i tried my moms battery in my car...... still nothing happened... just a whinning noise, and then i tried my new battery on my moms car... started up fine.... so CHECK my new battery is good. now i'ma just take the starter out and get it load tested and see if it works with a load on it.

if anyone has anything to say to this... feel free to drop a line.

thanks
- binx

[kommissar]

Sounds like a bad connection somewhere to me. I believe that the starter is grounded from the batter directly, but if not check the cable that lordofthewaters pointed out.

[Yeee30]

aight.. so i went to rebies to get it load tested...... bad new starter... got a replacement one.... put it in..... kinda cranked sounding like a weak dead battery... stuck the battery on the charger..... guess what.... needle went straight to zero.... so now i gotta wait for a friend to come pick me up to replace my battery.....

how odd.... bad new starter and bad new battery.... what are the odds of that.....

[Yeee30]

aight soooo i got the new battery checked and.... it was a good battery. put it backin the car.. still just cranked over and nothing..... so i got a few of my friends to push start it.. it started.. checked the voltage both alternator and battery... battery was about 11 and alternator was about 13.5 ish.. so i'm guessing i'm losing some volts somewhere... and now my temp guage is hella high and my car isn't even overheating and i still got all my coolant!.....

if u guys have anything to say.... PLEASE PLEASE hit me up! thanks!....

[kommissar]

The voltage is right at the alternator, charging voltage is around 13-14 V. It should be the same at the battery.

The fact that the voltage at the alternator and the battery are different seem to suggest that there is a connection problem somewhere along the way, but you said that the battery will crank the starter when installed. This seems contradictory, so I'm guessing this is not your problem

I don't know how to help you diagnose the problem... what type of reading do you get if you check the power junction at the front of the car? Ground it to a strut tower nut.

[Yeee30]

The voltage is right at the alternator, charging voltage is around 13-14 V. It should be the same at the battery.

The fact that the voltage at the alternator and the battery are different seem to suggest that there is a connection problem somewhere along the way, but you said that the battery will crank the starter when installed. This seems contradictory, so I'm guessing this is not your problem

I don't know how to help you diagnose the problem... what type of reading do you get if you check the power junction at the front of the car? Ground it to a strut tower nut.

i got the same voltage as the alternator..... this is really giving me a headache... so i'ma just bring it to an e30 specialist and have them figure it out..... i'm in a hole right now.. might as well just go big or go home.. so to a shop it is.... thanks everyone.... when i get info back from the shop i'll tell u guys whats up.

[Yeee30]

aight.. so anyways...i brought my car to the shop.. now its back home... all it was was just a ground wire hiding somewhere in my engine bay and snapped!.... boooooo... only ten bucks to fix.. now i'm a happy camper!

thanks everyone!