No start/Engine won't turn over after driving.

[vortex2450]

The problem is as the title states.

Starting today the engine will not turn over.
It's as if the clutch is not being pressed.

When I turn the key the voltage drops to < 8v but nothing happens.

Information of interest:
I just flushed the coolant system less than a week ago.
The car has been running tip top.
No Engine Light but I have yet to check codes.
Rear Cam seal has a moderate leak.
Battery is aging (8 yrs old) buts still holds 12.5 volts.
Alternator seems to be getting weak.
There is an after market alarm system installed which has a switch that can prevent turning the engine over in this same manner but I never used it and disconnected it a while ago.

Anyways,

First time this happened was after about 90 minutes of sporadic highway driving. I checked all the fuses in the Power Distro box and the interior panel.

The car has started every-and-any time with one click of the starter. There has been no noticeable loss of power.

I tried for about 30 minutes get get a sign of life to no avail. I left it for about an hour and came back and it fired up first crank.

I drove home with no problems. Parked it and let it sit for about 4 hours. It started up first click again, I drove it kind of hard and nothing in the terms of power loss or funny noises.

When I got back home after about an hour of driving tonight I parked it turned it off and when I tried to crank it immediately after I got nothing.

My initial thoughts are:
Clutch Interlock
Starter Signal Issue
Alternator?
Cam Sensor..

I am doubtful of the CPS because I just replaced the WP seal/gasket and the CPS is at least a replacement of the original and known to work.

I am tired, I will ponder this deeper in the morning.

Thoughts?

-Josh

 

[Ishodu]

If the car wont turn over and there is a large draw of power it would likely be the starter.

 

[kevinspann]

Or the battery, if it's dropping to 8v on attempting to crank over.

 

[Ishodu]

True enough

 

[vortex2450]

If the car wont turn over and there is a large draw of power it would likely be the starter.

The starter is a newer unit with maybes 30k on it. It never showed any signs of being fatigued. I just woke up so I'm going to jack the car up and have a look see.

Or the battery, if it's dropping to 8v on attempting to crank over.

I'm thinking along these lines. I've been contemplating buying a new battery anyways.

Its worth mentioning I just recently ****** with the battery connections and the positive connections is so far corroded I couldn't even get the terminal off because the nut had dissolved.

Also, it's worth mentioning that lately my interior dash and headlights have been flickering to a noticeable degree and the voltage throughout the car even during highway driving floats at about 13 volts as compared to about 13.8 - 14 volts at was before I messed with the battery connections.

See the thing is the car behaves that same way whether I am pushing the clutch in or not.

As in I turn the key to "on" the voltage reads a tad under 12v. I DON'T press the clutch in and turn the key and the voltage tanks and all the dash lights/radio go out until I left off the key.

The exact same thing happens when I DO press the clutch. When it doesn't start that is.

I believe my problem is at that positive connection, it probably isn't charging correctly while driving and can't move enough current when I'm hitting the starter. So I'm going to go ahead and replace the battery today because it's been on the "to do" list for a while.

What makes me worry is that this is a problem after a lengthy drive...

I dont' have money or time to be replacing an alternator right now..

thanks,

-josh

 

[Shovert]

Can you jump start the car with another car? I am thinking bad cell in battery. I have had one just die like that. New or recent replaced means nothing now a days with quality of parts. Maurice

 

[vortex2450]

Can you jump start the car with another car? I am thinking bad cell in battery. I have had one just die like that. New or recent replaced means nothing now a days with quality of parts. Maurice

I did not try that. I got it to being the starter/starter solenoid.

Luckily I have a parts car full of parts so I swapped in another starter on a hunch when I couldn't get the solenoid to click and the starter wouldn't turn over when I jumped the terminals.

Thanks for the suggestion though . The battery is still in need of replacement as is most everything else on this rolling pile of crap...

Thanks for all who interjected here.

-Josh