Car won't start, engine coolant high temperature?

[TeaFee]

Parked car in garage after a decent drive this morning.
Ambient temp is ~80f
Went to start the car after plugging in new dash cam into the usb on the center console, and car won't start?

Initially, the headlights were flickering and I couldn't get them to turn off with the toggle on the steering wheel stick.
Then the push start/stop button wouldn't even respond.

Disconnected every usb/cig lighter inside, then disconnected negative terminal and reconnected, now seems bit more normal.
When trying to start, it says "Engine Coolant High Temperature"
and all the lights and usb/cig lighters power on.
But no starter motor or anything.

Edit:
checked fuses, and both
(CDS) 25 A Electric cooling fan
and
RDI 25 A Electric cooling fan
fuses were blown.
So the radiator fans haven't been turning on for a while I guess?
Replaced both blown fuses, but car still won't try to start

[humfrz]

That sucks!

Is your car a AT or MT?

Did you check the big fuses up on the battery terminal?

Do you have a code reader? If so, any codes thrown?

If you don't have a code reader, I suggest you invest in an inexpensive one then check for codes.

Come back.

[FR-S2GT86]

What is your battery voltage? While you're under the hood checking that with a volt meter, what do your terminals look like, any corrosion? Are they tight?

[TeaFee]

Walked my butt to autozone and hauled a new battery back.
Popped it in and that managed to bring the car back to life.

Bit confused cause the very 1st thing I tried when it didn't start was jumping the car with my portable lithium power pack jumper thing.
When that didn't work, I didn't think to multimeter the battery to double check.

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

What is your battery voltage?

7.8v when it was still attached to the terminals in the car.
11.9v now after 24hrs have passed since I swapped it out and left it on the ground.
Does that suggest something else is the root issue and not the battery, or is that normal?
New one's still reading 12v+ for now.

Originally Posted by humfrz

Is your car a AT or MT?
Did you check the big fuses up on the battery terminal?
Do you have a code reader? If so, any codes thrown?

-2014 manual limited (2021-07-17 Edit: this was typo, mine's actually a '17 model)
-Nope, did not even know those were a thing, thanks for the info.
-I do have one, but couldn't really get it to establish a connection with the car.
Guessing if the charge was so low that it couldn't even keep the lights on without flickering, maybe didn't have enough to power the OBD-Reader?
Though it did power up the reader just fine, just couldn't get it to 'establish a connection with the car'.
The interior overhead lights also wasn't turning on, neither was the door/trunk's auto unlock when sensing the key fob. Though it sensed it just fine when inside the car and trying to start it.
The instrument panel and the day-light running LEDs were illuminated, but would flicker like a dying lightbulb every now and then.

[soundman98]

something's wrong with the terminal in the 2nd picture. at the very least, it's corroded, bent, and twisted. doesn't look oem.

[humfrz]

So, does everything work right with the new battery?

[TeaFee]

Originally Posted by humfrz

So, does everything work right with the new battery?

Yup! And car is starting up maybe a tenth or two of a second faster now.
Just worried same thing might happen to this new one though, if the root cause isn't just the oem battery at end of life.
I mean, it felt perfectly fine and always registered 12-14v to the car while running. Until it suddenly didn't and died.
Maybe I should get a battery tender / new jumper for the oem one and pop it back in? Currently somehow registering 11.9v now.

Originally Posted by soundman98

something's wrong with the terminal in the 2nd picture. at the very least, it's corroded, bent, and twisted. doesn't look oem.

Hmmm, I'll go find a new brz from a dealer and take a pic to compare then.
Thanks for the warning, I just hooked it back on the way it was, didn't think it might be wrong/damaged.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by TeaFee

Yup! And car is starting up maybe a tenth or two of a second faster now.
Just worried same thing might happen to this new one though, if the root cause isn't just the oem battery at end of life.
I mean, it felt perfectly fine and always registered 12-14v to the car while running. Until it suddenly didn't and died.
Maybe I should get a battery tender / new jumper for the oem one and pop it back in? Currently somehow registering 11.9v now.

Hmmm, I'll go find a new brz from a dealer and take a pic to compare then.
Thanks for the warning, I just hooked it back on the way it was, didn't think it might be wrong/damaged.

Yep, them batteries do wear out. 6-7 years is pretty old for these batteries. My 2013 has the OEM battery and is working fine. However, about every 6 months I add distilled water (if needed) and put it on a charger overnight to perk it up.

With the voltmeter attached to the new battery, it should read 12+ volts without the car running and 13+ volts with the car running.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by TeaFee

Yup! And car is starting up maybe a tenth or two of a second faster now.
Just worried same thing might happen to this new one though, if the root cause isn't just the oem battery at end of life.
I mean, it felt perfectly fine and always registered 12-14v to the car while running. Until it suddenly didn't and died.
Maybe I should get a battery tender / new jumper for the oem one and pop it back in? Currently somehow registering 11.9v now.



Hmmm, I'll go find a new brz from a dealer and take a pic to compare then.
Thanks for the warning, I just hooked it back on the way it was, didn't think it might be wrong/damaged.

I'll take a picture later today of my '14. Much easier

[RZNT4R]

Originally Posted by soundman98

something's wrong with the terminal in the 2nd picture. at the very least, it's corroded, bent, and twisted. doesn't look oem.

Nah, it's fine

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by RZNT4R

Nah, it's fine

when did they change the terminal design to an angled, non-spacer connection?

i've never seen a battery terminal with an angled bolt design. it's always perpendicular to the battery posts. looks someone put their back into it.



here's my pics btw. which is an entirely different negative terminal connection. i've also got some extra 4ga wiring, and a battery maintainer plug. not to mention, my entire engine bay needs some cleaning.

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by soundman98

when did they change the terminal design to an angled, non-spacer connection?

i've never seen a battery terminal with an angled bolt design. it's always perpendicular to the battery posts. looks someone put their back into it.



here's my pics btw. which is an entirely different negative terminal connection. i've also got some extra 4ga wiring, and a battery maintainer plug. not to mention, my entire engine bay needs some cleaning.

I hope the fuses for those two aftermarket wires you’ve got connected to the positive terminal are close by.

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by TeaFee

Walked my butt to autozone and hauled a new battery back.
Popped it in and that managed to bring the car back to life.

Bit confused cause the very 1st thing I tried when it didn't start was jumping the car with my portable lithium power pack jumper thing.
When that didn't work, I didn't think to multimeter the battery to double check.


7.8v when it was still attached to the terminals in the car.
11.9v now after 24hrs have passed since I swapped it out and left it on the ground.
Does that suggest something else is the root issue and not the battery, or is that normal?
New one's still reading 12v+ for now.



-2014 manual limited
-Nope, did not even know those were a thing, thanks for the info.
-I do have one, but couldn't really get it to establish a connection with the car.
Guessing if the charge was so low that it couldn't even keep the lights on without flickering, maybe didn't have enough to power the OBD-Reader?
Though it did power up the reader just fine, just couldn't get it to 'establish a connection with the car'.
The interior overhead lights also wasn't turning on, neither was the door/trunk's auto unlock when sensing the key fob. Though it sensed it just fine when inside the car and trying to start it.
The instrument panel and the day-light running LEDs were illuminated, but would flicker like a dying lightbulb every now and then.

That negative terminal clamp looks aftermarket to me.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

I hope the fuses for those two aftermarket wires you’ve got connected to the positive terminal are close by.

always. they're just outside of the picture