Crossfire's been down for 2 months now. I replaced the clutch due to a bad throwout bearing/slave cylinder (the clutch pedal got a squishy feel and the car developed the tell-tale burning smell that goes with a slipping clutch). After I got the clutch done the car didn't want to start (clicking solenoid but no crank), but I figured that was quite likely a dead/low battery since the thing had been sitting for almost a month. I put it on a trickle charger and lo and behold, it fired right up.

I drove it around for a couple of days and it seemed to be fine. Then, inconveniently, it left me stranded at a restaurant, back to the clicking solenoid but no crank symptom. I got a ride home and then installed a new battery the next day (the one in it was the original, so almost 8 years old). Even with a brand new battery it wouldn't start. That was about a month ago.

Today I put a new starter in thinking maybe the burned up clutch had fouled up the starter somehow (usually two issues in related systems don't happen at the same time unless the two issues are related), but that didn't fix the problem, still clicking, but no crank.

Here are all the current symptoms:
1. Turn key to start get rapid clicking but no crank
2. Remote unlocks and locks doors just fine
3. Unlocking and opening door with key sets off alarm
4. Verified connections of sensors, especially those that had to be disconnected for the clutch replacement
5. When I turn it to start and then back to on without it starting the wing comes up... not sure if this is normal behavior? The interior lights stay off until the wing is up and then they come on

I've got it back on the trickle charger for now to see if it'll start up again after a few hours of charging, because after all the attempts the lights are now pretty dim. What should I check if that doesn't fix it? What if that *does* fix it?

 

Thanks for giving us the CURRENT symptoms in a clear and understandable format!

Ok, the fast clicking - does it sound like the click is a relay under the dash or in the control box under the hood (near the battery) or does it sound like the soleniod/starter making the click?


And a spoiler coming up when the car is NOT going 63mph is not normal.

 

As I look over the symptoms, the only common denominator that can cause all of this is a bad battery. OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT LIMITS CURRENT FROM THE BATTERY - so look over the positive battery cable - mostly the smaller cable going to the four-fuse box near the battery, both battery connections, and the ground lug/screw on the battery ground cable as it attaches to the chassis.

I would say "pulse module" but does not explain the spoiler and interior lights acting weird.

I'd swear you have a bad battery OR bad battery cable.

 

Okay... Quick update:

1. In the time between the first post and now, the trickle charger went from yellow (charging) to green (charged), so the battery itself is probably fine.
2. I had my wife listen while I cranked and after I explained where the clicking noises can originate, she concurs that it is the solenoid, not the relays on the driver's side under the hood or under the dash (noise is coming from driver's side engine bay, and is quieter to me with door shut)
3. New symptom: Unlocked with fob, alarm went off. Fortunately for neighbors I have one of the bum alarm units that you can't actually hear with the hood closed (and with the hood open, it sounds like an angry mouse)
4. New symptom: When locking with key fob lights were VERY dim.

Conclusion: I concur that is likely a bad cable, now just to find out which. There was a lot of corrosion on the old battery negative terminal. I cleaned the connector before installing the new battery, but could these symptoms be related to negative cable as well as positive? If so, I have no issue with making that my next troubleshooting step. Just so I don't have to dig, do you know off the top of your head where the negative cable terminates to the frame/body?

Also will try disconnecting my audio system, as it has 4ga wire tapped directly to the battery. Just one more thing to complicate an already complicated system...

Thanks for the quick feedback!

 

Do you mean passenger side? Are you in England or ?

 

Whoops, my mistake! There's a box under the hood on the driver's side... no clicking coming from there, but I didn't open it, I just assumed there were relays there.

The clicking is pretty honkin' loud, though, relays are usually fairly quiet. It really sounds like a solenoid to me...

 

Ok, first of all, the charger lights don't impress me, I would NEVER trust them to tell me anything! Put a voltmeter on the battery and have the wife hit the key to start and see what you get for an under-load voltage.

Second, of COURSE the battery ground cable can cause this! It is a very short cable that terminates to the body of the car (which is, IMO, a stupid place for it to terminate) under/behind the battery itself.

If you had a LOT of corrosion on the terminals, you may have corrosion IN the terminals. There is NO FIX for this, you must change the cables.

Everything you keep posting is re-confirming bad battery voltage. This is caused either by a bad battery OR bad battery cables/connections. A battery connection is:
1) The connection between the battery posts and cable clamps.
2) The cables themselves.
3) The connection of the large positive battery cable at the starter.
4) The connection of the battery cable where it connects to ground.
5) The connection of the small positive battery cable where it connects to the engine fuse block.

You say the lights are dim - yet you say the "battery is fine". IF the battery is fine, then the connections to it or the cables themselves have a problem. There are really no other possibilities. Everything you are posting is indicating poor battery voltage.

FOLLOW the battery ground cable to it's end below/behind the battery and see what the lug looks like.

 

Is this a LH or a RH drive car?

 

I suppose what you are hearing is the solenoid.

You turn the key, the pulse module commands the solenoid to engage, when it engages the heavy current the starter draws causes the available voltage to drop (due to the problem we are chasing) and as the voltage drops, the solenoid drops out. When the solenoid drops out, the voltage goes up due to no starter load, so the solenoid then engages again and the process repeats.

The voltage is dropping because of high resistance in a battery cable or connector, or because of a bad battery. The battery ground wire goes to the chassis wall just ahead of the battery, open the hood and LOOK AT IT. Is it in horrible shape? I replaced my battery ground cable within a month of buying my car (along with the battery) just to avoid stuff like this.

Have you looked over the battery ground connection at the battery? Look at the lug at the chassis connection. This is right ahead of the battery.



WAIT A MINUTE - there has to be a large, high current ground cable from the engine block to the chassis. Any chance you left this disconnected / damaged it during the clutch replacement?

 

I'm definitely going to replace the negative cable, there's corrosion there for sure.

re: "wait a minute" Yes, I'm certain I reconnected it. I went through *that* particular song and dance with my Jeep once, so I was careful to look for it. That said, I'll double-check it, since I am not a huge believer in coincidences. I just hate to have to put the dang car backup on on stands again! This is why I like working on my Jeep much more than my Crossfire. I can sit up under the Jeep without a jack!

 

Ok, one slice of humble pie for me, please. I do know a *little* bit about cars, I'm no master mechanic by any means, but I should have known this much...

It was the negative battery cable. I pulled the thing off and looked at it under better light and it was corroded to all get out. So I went to the local AutoZone, picked up a $10 replacement and slapped it on, and the car started up like it was p***ed off at me! I'm going to leave that new starter in. The old one was pretty gunked up with clutch dust, so I figure it doesn't hurt to have a new one to go with the new clutch, even though it was probably an unnecessary replacement.

Thanks for the help, guys, I should have figured this one out on my own, but I'm glad you guys were here when I was being too dumb to brain

 

At least you came back to tell us what you found, so many who come for help don't.

 

Hey, I figure the least I owe you for the help is the ending to the story