intermittent click when trying to start

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rwebb616
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Posts: 123
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 9:16 pm
Year and Trim: 2005 Bonneville GXP

intermittent click when trying to start

Post by rwebb616 »

I don't know if anyone is still watching these boards and interacting, but I figured I would give it a try anyway. I'm having trouble with my car starting consistently.

The behavior is changing. At first when I would turn the key I would get a click click click and then sometimes it would catch, turn over and start... now I get one click and completely lose power to the entire car.. almost like the battery is disconnected. No interior lights, no door locks, no chimes - nothing. When I get it running again (as you'll see below by manually activating the start relay) my fuel stats are all reset for fuel used etc.. so it's like it was completely disconnected from battery.

I know that it is not the starter and I know it's not the battery (checked and just replaced battery - still have issue) .. I know a lot of threads say this is due to a weak battery but I've had my entire charging system checked... alternator is charging (and was replaced only last summer), battery specs at 800 CCA .. I don't think it's battery related.

When this happens I turn the key to "ON" and then open the hood and go into the fuse panel and manually activate the starter relay and the car cranks and starts every time. I believe if this is the case the solenoid is okay too.

This problem is only occurring when I use the key to start the car. It's happening more often than it used to which leads me to believe some electrical component somewhere is failing.

I'm also seeing some weird electrical things happening too.. like I get the service stability system indication and a couple of times when that happened I lost power to my stereo.

Thought about grounds but I'm not sure where all of them are and what to check.

If anyone can help, thank you in advance! :)

Rich
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J Wikoff
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Year and Trim: 1992 SSE
2009 G8 GT
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Re: intermittent click when trying to start

Post by J Wikoff »

I would take the battery cables off and clean those connections and I would ground buss connections. The buss is under the under the driver door frame trim on the bottom near the a-pillar. Looks like a small candy bar is wrapped in the electrical tape. Cut that tape open to inspect.
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rwebb616
SSE Member
SSE Member
Posts: 123
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 9:16 pm
Year and Trim: 2005 Bonneville GXP

Re: intermittent click when trying to start

Post by rwebb616 »

Found the culprit... was a disconnect switch that I had installed to track down a parasitic drain. The knob on it wasn't tight and it was arcing and not making a good connection. Took it out and now all is good!

Rich
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