CAR WONT START AGAIN!!! help please :(

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

interior light staying on somewhere? under the dash, in a door, etc...

 

[Rudy 10+ year member]

Test for parasitic drain. If nothing shows up there, it's going to be the charging system - alternators can fail in a way that they still produce current, but drain the system when shut off. Then you'll need a current load test on the alt.

 

[thorshammer1 10+ year member]

Get car started and pull the positive cable off the batt. Car should die if alt is bad. This is my guess.

Having car stereo installed is just coincedence.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Get car started and pull the positive cable off the batt. Car should die if alt is bad. This is my guess.
Having car stereo installed is just coincedence.

Do not do that. Newers cars hate that, and will mess up something with the ECU.

 

[kurrupt 10+ year member]

Do not do that. Newers cars hate that, and will mess up something with the ECU.

x2 that could cause more problems than you already have.

id unhook the amp for a few days see if it happens again

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

is there anything on an amp that may stay on while the car is off? a cooling fan maybe or anything?

and mike i took the car to the dealer twice and both times they tested for stuff that would be draining the battery. im guessing they would have seen that the interior lights werent turning off and would have fixed it. i notified them i had a system installed recently, also.

and again, if it was a bad alternator the dealer would have caught it..

i figure that if ive taken it there twice and they thought they fixed it both times that it has to be something with my system because they dont necessarily have to know anything about car audio. if it was anything besides my audio system im sure they would have fixed it the first 2 times.

i just dont understand how any part of my system could be draining the battery when the car is off. im 99.999% sure i wired everything correctly

could it be that my amp is defective and is drawing power when it shouldnt be?

 

[norfclk13 10+ year member]

What kinda battery you get? I had the same problem with My old car had the system in and threw in a in dash tv and car started when it wanted to. Replaced battery didn't work took it to the dealer and they said they couldn't find anything. Turned out that it was the altenator, so don't believe just the dealer take it somewhere else and see if they can find something. I would bet on the altenator tho. If not those check the basics of what a car needs to start Air( check your air filter) Spark (check your spark plugs and basic electrical under the hood) then fuel( try fuel injector cleaners) if not i don't know what to tell you, there might be bigger problems.

 

[NoPh33rRaCiNg 10+ year member]

any corrosion on the terminals? im sure if there was the dealer would have taken care of it but my girls acura had an assload of corrosion on the negative terminal, it would cause a poor connection between the negative post and terminal, it would start sometimes, then not other times, u could wiggle the negative terminal and it would grind some of the corrosion away allowing it to start

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

im 99% convinced something is draining my battery when the car is off..

heres why: if i leave the car off for 6 hrs the car takes a few seconds to turn over but it will still start.. if i leave it off for a day.. the car is COMPLETELY dead.. interior lights wont go on.. cant unlock it with remote and my car makes NO sound at all when i turn the key.. no clicking just nothing.. its completely drained

 

[norfclk13 10+ year member]

Check your positive and negative wires of your car that hook up to the battery make sure they are connected to the terminals completely. Or try getting the inserts for you battery post that make them bigger maybe 5 dollars at parts store to make sure you have a good connection, Or just purchase a red top or yellow top battery

 

[Rudy 10+ year member]

is there anything on an amp that may stay on while the car is off? a cooling fan maybe or anything?
and mike i took the car to the dealer twice and both times they tested for stuff that would be draining the battery. im guessing they would have seen that the interior lights werent turning off and would have fixed it. i notified them i had a system installed recently, also.

and again, if it was a bad alternator the dealer would have caught it..

i figure that if ive taken it there twice and they thought they fixed it both times that it has to be something with my system because they dont necessarily have to know anything about car audio. if it was anything besides my audio system im sure they would have fixed it the first 2 times.

i just dont understand how any part of my system could be draining the battery when the car is off. im 99.999% sure i wired everything correctly

could it be that my amp is defective and is drawing power when it shouldnt be?

It could be the amp or a dozen other things. Test for parasitic drain as outlined in the link in my previous post. Don't assume that your dealer has tested anything properly - they replaced the battery and when you went back told you that the battery terminals were loose - terminals that they connected! If the battery really was dead, it's not uncommon for that to take other parts of the charging system with it. Test for parasitic drain. If you find it you can fix t. If it isn't the there, the charging system isn't working.

 

[edzy 10+ year member]

well, do what you want, take it back to the dealer..what ever. I suggested taking the amp off line for a few days. Yes its possible for an amp to drain power, even when it appears off. I had one. To overcome this, i installed a 90 amp solinoid via a relay on a switched sorce. It would cut ground when the key was off.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

well, do what you want, take it back to the dealer..what ever. I suggested taking the amp off line for a few days. Yes its possible for an amp to drain power, even when it appears off. I had one. To overcome this, i installed a 90 amp solinoid via a relay on a switched sorce. It would cut ground when the key was off.

ok im gonna do this instead of taking it back to the dealer.. im sick of them saying they fixed it and then getting stuck at school with a dead car.. if the amp is the problem and if i get my car jumped and disconnect the amp power wire will my car start up again after i turn it off? like will my battery be charged good enough after a 45 min ride home?

also.. what problems could a loose amp ground cause.. could it be the sole reason of my problem?

because i still havent gotten my box bolted down in my trunk yet and and it will pull on the ground wire when it moves so its possible that my ground is loose.. (reason i havent bolted down my box yet is because my amp is on the back of it and i wanted to make sure my gains were gonna be ok so i didnt have to unbolt it everytime i wanted to adjust something) but im gonna do it the next chance i get..

 

[edzy 10+ year member]

well, now that you decided to share the loose box with the amp attached info. I say your amp if fuxed up. the ground to the amp being loose will have no bearing.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

well, now that you decided to share the loose box with the amp attached info. I say your amp if fuxed up. the ground to the amp being loose will have no bearing.

i doubt its the amp. its not like its taking any real beating from moving around a little bit..