Not starting/no power...now starting fine

[Zishan]

Yesterday when going to lunch, I jumped in the NSX, turned the key and the car went dead, no lights on the dash, nothing.

It gave no signs of dead battery, but we jump started it and it cranked up like new. Went to lunch and it died there too. Jumped it again to get back to the office.

Leaving work yesterday, I was certain it would need a jump again, but it cranked right up. I've since started it numerous times with no issue?

Any idea what it might be? I checked the battery terminals and they are on tight....a little dirty, but tight. The main relay was also changed and I do not believe that is an issue at all.

Any ideas? It seemed electrical? Or can a battery go from completely dead to fine again just like that?

Thanks,
- Zishan

 

[Almost Stock]

I would check your battery terminals. If a terminal is loose it can act as you described. If your battery terminals are all properly tightened I would then probably start leaning towards checking the ignition switch.

 

[Zishan]

I checked the battery terminals and they are on tight....a little dirty, but tight.

I would check your battery terminals. If a terminal is loose it can act as you described. If your battery terminals are all properly tightened I would then probably start leaning towards checking the ignition switch.

Yes, I checked the terminals. Is there a way to check the ignition switch?

Thanks,

 

[Zishan]

Thanks, I think I found the thread about the Ignition Switch. But a hunch is telling me it's something else, as the car lost ALL power...like the battery was disconnected.

 

[pgilliam1]

Did you check both ends of the battery cables? Sounds like a grounding issue to me (if it's not the ignition switch :wink.

 

[Zishan]

Did you check both ends of the battery cables? Sounds like a grounding issue to me (if it's not the ignition switch :wink.

Thanks....didn't check both ends...i.e. follow where the cables from the cord go. Any insight as to where I can start looking and same with where the possible ground would be? I think it's in the engine bay below the air box...if I recall corrected.

 

[BTL3.0]

take the battery off and follow the ground cable to the chassis.
if u twist the ground cable on the battery, does it move fairly easy?? that happened to me before.

 

[itrsteve]

Free things first, get the battery tested. I had the exact same symptoms before and it seemed logically impossible to be a bad battery as I could jump it and drive around for the longest time and yadda ya. So I chased around grounds and tested all sorts of stuff..... I wasted a bunch of time as it just ended up being a battery at the end of life.

 

[Zishan]

take the battery off and follow the ground cable to the chassis.
if u twist the ground cable on the battery, does it move fairly easy?? that happened to me before.

Free things first, get the battery tested. I had the exact same symptoms before and it seemed logically impossible to be a bad battery as I could jump it and drive around for the longest time and yadda ya. So I chased around grounds and tested all sorts of stuff..... I wasted a bunch of time as it just ended up being a battery at the end of life.

Great ideas guys.....thanks for the help! I will give them both a try! :smile:

 

[NSX2398]

Free things first, get the battery tested. I had the exact same symptoms before and it seemed logically impossible to be a bad battery as I could jump it and drive around for the longest time and yadda ya. So I chased around grounds and tested all sorts of stuff..... I wasted a bunch of time as it just ended up being a battery at the end of life.

+1 I had exactly the same problem .. great advice and easy to do now that you've got the cables off anyway.

 

[ysoslow]

I had the same problem awhile back. Turned out to be the ground wire.
if turn out toe be an ignition switch, I have a brand new on sitting in my car you can use in the mean time.
I get paranoid of getting stuck, so i have that and a main relay with me all the time.

 

[Zishan]

Trung, I might need it.


I took everyones advice. I took the battery out while I was doing the RDX injector swap. Took it to Autozone, they said it was showing good, but put it on their charging machine anyways. Checked after it charged and it was confirmed good.

Once I reinstalled everything, I tried starting it and this is what I got (see video small 17 sec video, clicking sound sounds like its coming from main relay?). After that, I checked the grounds....the one connected to the battery, the one under the coolant tank, and the one connecting the engine to the firewall. All were good.

Take a look at the video....any ideas? :frown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI0Bc_PY8B8

 

[Thunder]

Check carefully if the mounting bar of the battery wire is not touching the positive terminal of the battery, you can put pictures of your battery?

 

[Zishan]

Thunder,

Nothing is touching the positive terminal, besides the power cord for stereo. I've also got a battery charger on it for the night.

I think it's the battery, regardless of what Autozone said/the test. I'm going to try swapping the battery out tomorrow.

 

[comtec]

Zishan,
Connect a volt/ohm meter to the battery and watch it as someone tries to start the car. If the voltage drops below about 11.5-12v then it's probably the battery. If it doesn't drop much it's something else.

Did you check the main battery grounds? G1 is a ground to body behind where the spare mounts.

Mike

 

[Doc308]

Another connection to check is the wire to the starter solenoid. Check to see if it is loose or has any corrosion on it. I had an occasional/episodic no-start problem with my '92 about 5 years ago and this was one of the main things which was recommended for me to check. If this is bad, no juice will go to the starter.

The ultimate cause of the no-start condition, in my case, was the clutch no-start switch. However, I understand that this problem is extremey rare. The switch could possibly be bad or it could be out of alignment.

 

[SOURCE 1]

Seems to be the battery to me. These cars are very touchy about the voltage in the battery. If it is low slightly they will act that way.

 

[butter78]

Seems to be the battery to me. These cars are very touchy about the voltage in the battery. If it is low slightly they will act that way.

Definitely the battery. Happened to me when I had it parked over winter. Changed the battery cause it died after a boost and a short drive to the local convenience store when we had some freakish good weather earlier this month. Now it runs perfect and starts every time.

 

[Moses]

Look at how corroded those cables are…………

 

[Moses]

See my post here for battery replacements

http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6650

 

[Zishan]

Hey guys,

I replaced the battery and all is good.....so far. I also cleaned up the rest of the corrosion I found underneath the red terminal cover.

Onto the next problem.....to be posted soon. :frown:

Thanks again,
- Zishan