QuestionQUESTION: I sometimes have trouble starting my Intrepid (SE, 2.7L v6), but other times it goes smoothly just as it normally does. During trouble times, I'd turn the key and I hear one or multiple clicks. In the case of my not releasing the key and hearing multiple clicks, the dash lights would blink or flicker in sync with the clicks. This I find strange since, even in the case of low/old battery or in winter, the dash lights should just stay on while the engine is trying to turn over. In most cases, if I just held on to the key at the start position, the engine would eventually turn over, even if it takes a while after the single click. Any idea of what might be wrong? I know the battery is ~5 yrs old, but I think it's running strong since the problem is only intermitten/unpredictable. The problem popped up all the sudden one day.
ANSWER: Hi Ken,
It does sound to me like your battery is at a very marginal voltage. I would try charging it up with a plug-in charger and see what the voltage reads and whether it holds it. It could be a flaky internal connection in the battery itself for example.
Roland
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QUESTION: Thanks very much for your reply. I'ved checked the battery voltage before -- slightly over 12V when off, and roughly 11.5V when car is running. And while I was checking on the battery (due to failure to start), I accidentally shorted the positive terminal to ground so I had to use my wife's car battery to charge mine and jump start the car. Interestly, even in this case, I noticed that the dash lights blinked once or twice in sync with the clicks. I also like to add that it seems to matter how I shut off the engine. If I turned the key quickly, chances are I won't have trouble starting next time. But if I do it slowly, then the engine will likely not turn over right away. It might click several times with the blinking dash lights, or maybe just once and then eventually turns over if I held on to the start position long enough. This is contrary to the 'good' start cases where, even in cold weather, it might take a little longer to start the engine but the dash lights remain lid. In light of this, could the culprit possibly be something else, such as the camshaft position sensor or crankshaft position sensor that's part of the ignition system? Really appreciate your spending time to answer my question.
AnswerThe clicking of the starter solenoid but the failure of the starter to respond, along with blinking of the lights, tells me that either the battery voltage under load is lower than needed to crank the motor over with the starter, or possibly the starter motor itself is not up to par. But again, I wouldn't conclude that latter possibility unless I know I had a charged battery with otherwise good voltage output under load conditions. If you had your battery in the circuit when you tried to jump with your wife's battery, that would have pulled down her battery's output because your battery was draining current from it at the same time it was attemting to start your engine. If you have the symptoms with only her battery in the circuit (clamps removed from your battery) then I would suspect that the starter is going out. You might want to check the - post wires to be sure they are firmly and cleaning grounded at their far ends, and check that the clamp/cable interfaces look tight and not corroded and that the clamp/battery interfaces are clean and tight.
Roland
