I thought I'd share this problem I had this weekend. Maybe if someone else had the same symptoms this would help.
A few months ago I went to start my car and turned the key to the on postion. All the lights on the dash lit up very dimly, flickered on and off, a bunch of clicking and buzzing sounds were heard, the car would not start, headlights indedepently pop up and down or not work at all when I tried turning them on, horns would sound weak then gradually get louder when held button down longer, radio and clock would flicker very weak or not be on at all, and hazard light would not turn on and make a buzzing sound when pressed.
No fuses were blown, battery was fully charged...reads over 12 volts with a volt meter at the battery terminals and at the under hood fuse box connection...thought it might be a grounding problem and checked the neg battery cable connection...it was a little loose and I jiggled it and everything worked like normal again. I fixed to loose connection and everything worked great for a few months.
It happened again today, but this time the Neg battery terminal was still on tight like how I fixed it. I checked the fuse and the battery charge..everything was good...so I thought. Brought the battery into the auto parts store per Prime members advice and the battery turned out to be no good. Put the new battery in and everything was back to normal :biggrin:
I didn't think it was the battery at all because I didn't know a weak battery (despite showing over 12 volts with a meter) would cause electrical items to make weird noises and stuff to work improperly (flip up headlights to move independently of each other). I just thought things would be weak and dim. Oh well.
I would like to personally thank the fellow Prime members below for the quick advice they provided when in need!
Briank - If you have a volt meter you can check for bad connections by measuring across the connections looking for voltage. Since you did find a problem with the negative connection I would remove, clean and reinstall that connection and check the other end of that cable for proper connection to the body.
D'Ecosse - another relatively common problem is the ground lead between the battery & the chassis
the first one is the clamp itself which is very easily stretched & often cannot be tightened down properly onto the battery terminal; solution is to replace the clamp (or temorarily insert a piece of solid copper wire between the terminal & the clamp to allow it to tighten down more securely)
the second is the -ve ground cable itself - may be severely oxidized & also have a bad connection to the chassis grounding point; a replacement ground cable, complete with a new terminal should be relatively inexpensive - this is not an uncommon problem on the NSX so would be a good idea to replace it. The connection on the chassis is a little awkward to get to on the bttom of the bulkhead behind the battery - but after removing the spare & bracket plus the battery, just follow the lead back to identify its connection point. I found it easier to access with the car raised & from underneath.
Given your previous 'fix' helped for a few months I would recommend you replace the entire battery ground lead.
drew - It sounds like a battery problem. The battery should be ~13.5V, actual 12V is too low.
I would take apart and clean both ends of the two battery cable connections. You'll have to get dirty for this to happen...
If nothing: have the battery checked at an autoparts store to ensure it is OK. They do go bad...while you are at it, if it is a battery with caps: check the water level...it is probably very low.
If none of that pans out: the next step is a dirty ignition switch. Fortunately, it can be removed and cleaned in less than 30 minutes....the switch gets dirty and makes a poor connection that mimics a bad battery. However, if you wiggle and push in/out the key the electrical behavior tends to change a bit, giving you a better clue.
Malibu Rapper - Honestly sounds like a bad ground or power connection. I would replace the terminals with high quality audio terminals that will stay tight. The stock terminals tend to stretch over time, especially after you tighten them. Sometimes it seems good but it really is not.
DocL - Starting problems are usually related to a few things. A bad battery or loose connection, which you have addressed. A bad ignition switch, or a bad main relay. If you do a search for main relay a lot of information will come up. It's a relativfely cheap part, about $50.00, and takes about 20 minutes to fix.
Larry Bastanza - Checking ther voltage on the battery will not tell you much. You must have it load tested. I would suspect the battery is bad, or maybe now the positive terminal is loose
A few months ago I went to start my car and turned the key to the on postion. All the lights on the dash lit up very dimly, flickered on and off, a bunch of clicking and buzzing sounds were heard, the car would not start, headlights indedepently pop up and down or not work at all when I tried turning them on, horns would sound weak then gradually get louder when held button down longer, radio and clock would flicker very weak or not be on at all, and hazard light would not turn on and make a buzzing sound when pressed.
No fuses were blown, battery was fully charged...reads over 12 volts with a volt meter at the battery terminals and at the under hood fuse box connection...thought it might be a grounding problem and checked the neg battery cable connection...it was a little loose and I jiggled it and everything worked like normal again. I fixed to loose connection and everything worked great for a few months.
It happened again today, but this time the Neg battery terminal was still on tight like how I fixed it. I checked the fuse and the battery charge..everything was good...so I thought. Brought the battery into the auto parts store per Prime members advice and the battery turned out to be no good. Put the new battery in and everything was back to normal :biggrin:
I didn't think it was the battery at all because I didn't know a weak battery (despite showing over 12 volts with a meter) would cause electrical items to make weird noises and stuff to work improperly (flip up headlights to move independently of each other). I just thought things would be weak and dim. Oh well.
I would like to personally thank the fellow Prime members below for the quick advice they provided when in need!
Briank - If you have a volt meter you can check for bad connections by measuring across the connections looking for voltage. Since you did find a problem with the negative connection I would remove, clean and reinstall that connection and check the other end of that cable for proper connection to the body.
D'Ecosse - another relatively common problem is the ground lead between the battery & the chassis
the first one is the clamp itself which is very easily stretched & often cannot be tightened down properly onto the battery terminal; solution is to replace the clamp (or temorarily insert a piece of solid copper wire between the terminal & the clamp to allow it to tighten down more securely)
the second is the -ve ground cable itself - may be severely oxidized & also have a bad connection to the chassis grounding point; a replacement ground cable, complete with a new terminal should be relatively inexpensive - this is not an uncommon problem on the NSX so would be a good idea to replace it. The connection on the chassis is a little awkward to get to on the bttom of the bulkhead behind the battery - but after removing the spare & bracket plus the battery, just follow the lead back to identify its connection point. I found it easier to access with the car raised & from underneath.
Given your previous 'fix' helped for a few months I would recommend you replace the entire battery ground lead.
drew - It sounds like a battery problem. The battery should be ~13.5V, actual 12V is too low.
I would take apart and clean both ends of the two battery cable connections. You'll have to get dirty for this to happen...
If nothing: have the battery checked at an autoparts store to ensure it is OK. They do go bad...while you are at it, if it is a battery with caps: check the water level...it is probably very low.
If none of that pans out: the next step is a dirty ignition switch. Fortunately, it can be removed and cleaned in less than 30 minutes....the switch gets dirty and makes a poor connection that mimics a bad battery. However, if you wiggle and push in/out the key the electrical behavior tends to change a bit, giving you a better clue.
Malibu Rapper - Honestly sounds like a bad ground or power connection. I would replace the terminals with high quality audio terminals that will stay tight. The stock terminals tend to stretch over time, especially after you tighten them. Sometimes it seems good but it really is not.
DocL - Starting problems are usually related to a few things. A bad battery or loose connection, which you have addressed. A bad ignition switch, or a bad main relay. If you do a search for main relay a lot of information will come up. It's a relativfely cheap part, about $50.00, and takes about 20 minutes to fix.
Larry Bastanza - Checking ther voltage on the battery will not tell you much. You must have it load tested. I would suspect the battery is bad, or maybe now the positive terminal is loose
