Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - View Single Post - Car won't start - doesn't try to crank at all, but lights are working HELP

cdo221 · 05-09-2014, 01:38 PM

This happened to be twice, yesterday when I was about to go home from work - after pressing random buttons the car eventually started (about 2 minutes). And then this morning, tried random things for 10 minutes and gave up because I was late for work. FR-S is sitting at home right now.

Here's what happens:
I unlock my car, open door, and get in. Everything works as it should - my turn signals flash when I unlock. My fog lights also flash because it's wired up to my parking lights.

I sit down stick in the key - the engine immobilizer light goes away. I try to start the car - everything freezes and the car does not even try to crank. None of my lights work. My unlock/lock does nothing - I see the physical lock struggling trying to move but it does not flip to lock/unlock on either door. If my door was open when I was trying to start the car, the window is stuck in the 'down' position from the auto up/down feature.

I have the AutoMate Alarm that comes with a flashing LED when it's armed - it stays solid lit for a few seconds before going away during this time.

Yesterday, I physically unlocked/locked the car, pressed the unlock/lock on my key fob, the unlock/lock all doors switch inside the car, pressed the button on my AutoMate Alarm system, and tried cranking the car in number of different combinations. Eventually the car started again and everything functioned as normal.

I have had instances where the car took an extra few seconds to crank up but this time the car started up no problem.

This morning - exactly the same symptoms as above. I was eventually able to get my lights/lock functions working again. That is, my key fob was able to unlock/lock the car and my fog lights/parking lights would blink like normally. But, it got stuck again when I tried to start the car.

In both cases, whenever I tried to unlock/lock the doors, the locks would wiggle as if it was struggling to lock itself, and the lights would have an abbreviated blink - as if it tried to complete the blinking but immediately stopped short.

UPDATE:
Details on post #19. I disconnected and reconnected the negative terminal. Everything seems to work again. I didn't drive the car to charge the battery, but it still works 24 hours later with just the disconnect/reconnect.

Additionally, my car trunk does not pop using the cockpit button nor the button on my key fob. Panic does not work either when the car freezes.

Is this an issue with my battery? I feel like it's not since all my exterior/interior lights seem to work fine until I try to start car which freezes up everything. Additionally, after getting the car unfrozen, the lights function as normal again. I'm using the original battery that car came with, I'm at approximately 16,000 miles right now, bought in Nov 2012. Don't think I'm due for a new battery yet?

Is this an issue with my aftermarket alarm? I feel like this is most likely the case just simply due to the fact that it's affecting the lock/unlock functions. Also the fact that the LED stays solid lit when everything doesn't work - never seen it do that. Either it's off completely, or it blinks when the system is armed. But, I've had this alarm for over a year now.

Or is this an issue with the FR-S immobilizer/starter itself? The immobilizer light DOES go away when the key is put in.

Electrical related mods:
Automate Alarm - uses the stock key fob, professionally installed - I've had this installed for over a year now
http://automatecarsecurity.com/Produ...001/AM1.5.aspx

HIDs - Morimoto w/ their relay harness

Fog lights - LED bulbs - harness gets power directly from the battery but has a relay hooked up to the parking lights so it's only - I originally had the harness getting directly to a battery without the relay but the place that did my car alarm said they changed the fog harness for me for free.

Sidemarker - wired to always flash in sync with the turn signals

Tom's Tail Lights

Valenti Reverse light w/ some custom wiring I did to separate the V parking light and the brake light functions - also added a flasher relay from eBay so the 4th brake light flashes. This is tapped into the driver side tail light harness.

Also got a dash cam and radar detector hooked up to the glove compartment 12V socket (using a 12v socket splitter)

NO TPMS - I just drive around with the TPMS alert

Please, any help would be great! Or if I should get it towed to either the dealership or back to the alarm install place?

The place I got my alarm installed does do good work though - they do the "OEM" alarms for one of the dealerships in my area on the weekends. The dealership charges $600 but if I go directly to them, I paid $250.

05-09-2014, 01:38 PM	#1
cdo221 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Drives: 2013 Ultramarine FR-S, 2015 RS 1.0 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 532 Thanks: 285 Thanked 174 Times in 110 Posts Mentioned: 13 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Car won't start - doesn't try to crank at all, but lights are working HELP This happened to be twice, yesterday when I was about to go home from work - after pressing random buttons the car eventually started (about 2 minutes). And then this morning, tried random things for 10 minutes and gave up because I was late for work. FR-S is sitting at home right now. Here's what happens: I unlock my car, open door, and get in. Everything works as it should - my turn signals flash when I unlock. My fog lights also flash because it's wired up to my parking lights. I sit down stick in the key - the engine immobilizer light goes away. I try to start the car - everything freezes and the car does not even try to crank. None of my lights work. My unlock/lock does nothing - I see the physical lock struggling trying to move but it does not flip to lock/unlock on either door. If my door was open when I was trying to start the car, the window is stuck in the 'down' position from the auto up/down feature. I have the AutoMate Alarm that comes with a flashing LED when it's armed - it stays solid lit for a few seconds before going away during this time. Yesterday, I physically unlocked/locked the car, pressed the unlock/lock on my key fob, the unlock/lock all doors switch inside the car, pressed the button on my AutoMate Alarm system, and tried cranking the car in number of different combinations. Eventually the car started again and everything functioned as normal. I have had instances where the car took an extra few seconds to crank up but this time the car started up no problem. This morning - exactly the same symptoms as above. I was eventually able to get my lights/lock functions working again. That is, my key fob was able to unlock/lock the car and my fog lights/parking lights would blink like normally. But, it got stuck again when I tried to start the car. In both cases, whenever I tried to unlock/lock the doors, the locks would wiggle as if it was struggling to lock itself, and the lights would have an abbreviated blink - as if it tried to complete the blinking but immediately stopped short. UPDATE: Details on post #19. I disconnected and reconnected the negative terminal. Everything seems to work again. I didn't drive the car to charge the battery, but it still works 24 hours later with just the disconnect/reconnect. Additionally, my car trunk does not pop using the cockpit button nor the button on my key fob. Panic does not work either when the car freezes. Is this an issue with my battery? I feel like it's not since all my exterior/interior lights seem to work fine until I try to start car which freezes up everything. Additionally, after getting the car unfrozen, the lights function as normal again. I'm using the original battery that car came with, I'm at approximately 16,000 miles right now, bought in Nov 2012. Don't think I'm due for a new battery yet? Is this an issue with my aftermarket alarm? I feel like this is most likely the case just simply due to the fact that it's affecting the lock/unlock functions. Also the fact that the LED stays solid lit when everything doesn't work - never seen it do that. Either it's off completely, or it blinks when the system is armed. But, I've had this alarm for over a year now. Or is this an issue with the FR-S immobilizer/starter itself? The immobilizer light DOES go away when the key is put in. Electrical related mods: Automate Alarm - uses the stock key fob, professionally installed - I've had this installed for over a year now http://automatecarsecurity.com/Produ...001/AM1.5.aspx HIDs - Morimoto w/ their relay harness Fog lights - LED bulbs - harness gets power directly from the battery but has a relay hooked up to the parking lights so it's only - I originally had the harness getting directly to a battery without the relay but the place that did my car alarm said they changed the fog harness for me for free. Sidemarker - wired to always flash in sync with the turn signals Tom's Tail Lights Valenti Reverse light w/ some custom wiring I did to separate the V parking light and the brake light functions - also added a flasher relay from eBay so the 4th brake light flashes. This is tapped into the driver side tail light harness. Also got a dash cam and radar detector hooked up to the glove compartment 12V socket (using a 12v socket splitter) NO TPMS - I just drive around with the TPMS alert Please, any help would be great! Or if I should get it towed to either the dealership or back to the alarm install place? The place I got my alarm installed does do good work though - they do the "OEM" alarms for one of the dealerships in my area on the weekends. The dealership charges $600 but if I go directly to them, I paid $250. Last edited by cdo221; 05-10-2014 at 02:03 PM.