Hello, new to forum, thanks for all the great info needed on previous repairs.

2001 S40.

Intermittent starting problem that causes the notorious low battery "clicking"

First instinct was to test battery and load test showed that battery was bad. Replaced with new battery and tested charging once car was running and charging was good.

Starting problem still persists randomly, doesn't matter if car is warm, cold, etc. Purely random.

If car does not start, it can be jumped and starts immediately...

The battery cables did have some heavy corrosion buildup and are now clean.

So my question is could the battery cable be causing the lack of voltage getting to the starter or is the starter going bad, or something else? I am going to do the light bulb test on the small starter wire when i get a chance to test the starter but wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

I have starting problem 2-3 months ago. My problem was that it just did not start. Fuse blown but could not find why fuse was blown.

It turned out when i opened up my engine cover some of the harness was pinched with the screws ( to attached cover to engine). Thus, wires got very hot thus got burned.

for your problem: i think the answer to your question is yes. You may have change the wiring.

good luck!

 

Checked all connections, wiring, and voltages from battery to starter. Everything is good.

Randomly when key is put in ignition and turned to on position, the whole electrical system goes in and out of power and after a few tries it will all come on. Any ideas of any relays to check?

 

2001 S40.

I replaced the electrical component of my ignition switch and got some good results with intermittent low voltage failures like yours. The voltage drain from the battery while the car is off seems solved well enough.

Still, I am having another seemingly common type of failure that I believe I have traced to the dash cluster. The driver management circuitry is my prime suspect. I'm thinking there is a defect in the circuit board that causes intermittent 'freak out' episodes under certain conditions.

I was driving down the highway at 70 mph a few days ago, A/C, radio, and cruise on. When I trurned on the headlights, the dash went nuts and the car bucked in 1 second intervals from ignition failure, in time with the headlights and dash lights flickering on and off. A few days earlier, the outiside temp reading on the dash was -40F---in North Carolina.

Aha, I thought, this is a voltage/ground situation at some central location in the car, a problem not unlike those I am reading a lot of complaints about. The circuit board in the dash cluster is just the kind of thing that would cause such maddenning problems.

Removing battery terminals and touching them together for a few minutes seems to have had a favorable, if temporary, effect. I don't know that this is directly related to the central fault, but it seems to make a difference. I am securing a schematic of the dash cluster over the next few days. It would be great if I could repair this with a jumper wire. If I do, I'll shout about it.