jon40 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I drove the car yesterday, came home no problems. two hours later, I get in the car and it won't turn over at all, not even any clicks from the engine compartment. All accesories and lights working fine, plenty of power, voltage on the dash reads 11.8 when the ignition is on. Acts pretty much as it would if you were trying to start the car if it was in gear. I thought maybe its a mechanism that detects whether its in park, so I move the gear shift to all positions, no dice and the locks still actuate when going in and out of park. I disconnect the battery and reconnect, thinking it might reset something. Now, I get a single click when I try and start it, not the kind of clicking you'd hear from a dead battery though. Jumping it has no effect on the symptoms and all accesories work strong with or without jump. Battery is an AC Delco "6 year", maybe 2-3 years old, has the green eye window, which still reads green. Anyone have any idea what might be happening here? Thanks in advance for your input. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I drove the car yesterday, came home no problems. two hours later, I get in the car and it won't turn over at all, not even any clicks from the engine compartment. All accesories and lights working fine, plenty of power, voltage on the dash reads 11.8 when the ignition is on. Acts pretty much as it would if you were trying to start the car if it was in gear. I thought maybe its a mechanism that detects whether its in park, so I move the gear shift to all positions, no dice and the locks still actuate when going in and out of park. I disconnect the battery and reconnect, thinking it might reset something. Now, I get a single click when I try and start it, not the kind of clicking you'd hear from a dead battery though. Jumping it has no effect on the symptoms and all accesories work strong with or without jump. Battery is an AC Delco "6 year", maybe 2-3 years old, has the green eye window, which still reads green. Anyone have any idea what might be happening here? Thanks in advance for your input. Jon Sounds like a bad starter solenoid. Can you put a jumper from the battery's positive terminal to the solenoid's positive? It might help and could be used as a temporary fix. BE CAREFUL! Cleaning battery cables is ALWAYS a good idea. Sometimes positive ends coorode internally (under red insulation) and look just great externally. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 To rule the battery out completely, swap it with a known good battery and see what happens. Don't assume that because it is only 2-3 years old, it is good. I have had batteries fail in 6 months and have had others bad right off the shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhinchley Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Have to press the brake to start the car? Maybe that switch. Or possibly a corroded wire at the battery or starter. Hmmmm.......starters/solenoids usually do not just go out cold. Usually act up first. So I would check the other options first, if you have had no past problems, and work back to starter/solenoid. Though the pinion in the starter could be jammed. Could also be the theft deterent system. Sometimes the lock cylinder is dirty and can't read the key. Try some contact cleaner in the lock cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Have to press the brake to start the car? Maybe that switch. Or possibly a corroded wire at the battery or starter. Hmmmm.......starters/solenoids usually do not just go out cold. Usually act up first. So I would check the other options first, if you have had no past problems, and work back to starter/solenoid. Though the pinion in the starter could be jammed. Could also be the theft deterent system. Sometimes the lock cylinder is dirty and can't read the key. Try some contact cleaner in the lock cylinder. Theft deterent system would set a message and you would not hear any click. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 My guess is that the positive battery cable is corroded inside: I were you would be to clean the battery connections. This means to remove the positive cable (AFTER removing the negative). Take the RED insulator off of the positive cable (watching how you take it apart) and clean the two cables and the lead lug that is between them. You will probably find white acid buildup in there. If there is a washer WATCH were it goes. Use battery terminal cleaner or baking soda and water. When the positive terminal is tightened (don't over tighten you can crack the battery case), make sure the cables are tight and not able to be turned if you grab them by hand. Sometimes, the bolt is too long and bottoms out and a washer is needed as the lead lug squashes smaller and you can't get the joint tight. Note that the contact mating surface on the battery can get 'dented' from the cable contactors, try to find an 'undented' place to connect the positive cable by turning the cable so you get a tighter connection, continually placing the cable in the 'dented' location works against a good connection especially if the bolt is bottoming out. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 BBF is right on - I will bet you have a ton of corrosion between the positive battery cables. If that is not the problem, chech the neutral safety switch connections (mounted on top of the trans - where the shift cables attach) for corrosion. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growe3 Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Go to the fuse box in the trunk. Check the fuses, I think one of them is marked IGN. In any case look for a blown fuse, and replace with the same value. -George Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon40 Posted February 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 Thanks for your responses, Well, unfortunately, the car is parked about 45 min. away from where my tool chest resides, and with the basic tools I had in the trunk I couldn't free up the positive lead to have a look at it. I got my tools and was able to get a decent wrench on it just now. You guys were right. the positive connection was corroded so bad, instead of spinning out the bolt, it took the lead seat out of the battery completely. There was no sign of corrosion from the outside... unbelieveable. Now, the bolt that goes into the battery is siezed up on one of the positive cables. Any idea on how to free them up without ruining them? I'll put some liquid wrench on it and see if that helps. I'm going to head out an get a new battery. Thanks, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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