Car Won't Start.. No Lights.. Not a battery or fuse issue..

[pleong]

ight I put the car on ignition 2, everything powered up, fuel pump primed, cluster came on, everything was on... Didn't touch anything else..

Saturday morning, I went to look at my wideband LC-2 status light, because I was concerned the sensor needed to be re-calibrated or maybe it was bad, so I took the panel off from under the steering column, I started looking for it. I didn't pull on any wires, but I nudged my Innovate turbo timer/AFR gauge module, looking for the LC-2 sensor. I finally gave up, and decided to just power on the car. I got nothing, except some clicking noise from under the dash. It sounded like a relay click.

There were no lights on the dash or gauge cluster, headlights didn't work, dome lights didn't work, didn't hear the fuel pump prime. The battery is constantly connected to a battery tender. I also checked the voltage and it read 12.6 when the key isn't in there. So I know the battery is good. I checked all the fuses in the engine bay and in the interior and they looked good. I'm almost certain no data is being transmitted via the OBDii port since my racepak wasn't reporting any numbers.

The ONLY things that had power were my power windows, power mirrors, wipers, cig lights (Racepak and Ethanol content analyzer is connected to that), and my HVAC unit. It blows air and the lights for the re-circulation and A/C turn on.

I thought maybe the immobiliser was activated, so I grabbed my spare key and that didn't work either.

Has anyone ever ran into an issue like this?

Below are a list of mods to the car pertaining to the issue...

P3cars gauge (connects to OBDii)
Racepak IQ3 (Connects to OBDii)
Innovate auto timer/afr/voltage gauge
zeritronix ethanol content analyzer

[CARBONGT86]

If possible disconnect innovative module and examine connections .Remember that your situation is a result of your actions likely you disturb some connection and now something in the circuit is not getting power .Worst case scenario you have a short which should show up in a fuse blown or electrical burn smell.Systematically removing add on components and checking circuits I cluding possiable internal fuses too devices .Also 12.6 vdc is a static voltage what is it when circuits are applied you might have a direct circuit to ground.

[pleong]

Well the weird thing is I've been running the innovate for over a year with no issues... I get 14.2 when I turn the key to ignition.. The weird thing is when I check the fuses the starter fuses says its grounded but I haven't touch that either.. There's no blown fuses anywhere and no electrical burn..
But I'm going to check all the grounds today after work and check the starter.. And just completely remove the innovate

[pleong]

It did randomly start up yesterday after checking the relays and then it died on me after 15-20 seconds

[fx1mark]

a battery needs volts and amps to start a car. testing the voltage of a battery normally will be an indicator of whether or not the battery is good but is no guarantee. even with a battery tender on a battery it can go bad. The lights should work even with low amps but to eliminate the battery completely as a problem, simply hook up a known good battery with jumper cables and see if you still have a problem. normally if you turn your key and you hear a click, but no start, it's the starter solenoid switching but there is not enough power to turn the motor over.

[pleong]

Originally Posted by fx1mark

a battery needs volts and amps to start a car. testing the voltage of a battery normally will be an indicator of whether or not the battery is good but is no guarantee. even with a battery tender on a battery it can go bad. The lights should work even with low amps but to eliminate the battery completely as a problem, simply hook up a known good battery with jumper cables and see if you still have a problem. normally if you turn your key and you hear a click, but no start, it's the starter solenoid switching but there is not enough power to turn the motor over.

I hooked it straight up to a jump box yesterday and nothing.. I'm beginning to lean towards something being grounded.. going to check all the grounds today and the starter.. last case will be to remove the turbo timer.

[stugray]

Did the dealer install an aftermarket alarm system in the car?
They might have even if you didn't pay for it.


There is another thread where almost this exact same thing happened to someone and it turned out to be an alarm that the dealer had installed. The new buyer said they didn't want it, so the dealer just disabled the alarm by plugging in some connector.
Something came loose later and disabled the car just like you are describing.

[pleong]

Originally Posted by stugray

Did the dealer install an aftermarket alarm system in the car?
They might have even if you didn't pay for it.


There is another thread where almost this exact same thing happened to someone and it turned out to be an alarm that the dealer had installed. The new buyer said they didn't want it, so the dealer just disabled the alarm by plugging in some connector.
Something came loose later and disabled the car just like you are describing.

Yeah I'm sure of it because the whole underside of my dash is taken apart, so I would've noticed. I read that thread and asked a few questions. Thanks though!

[pleong]

OK! So it was a battery issue LOL but not because it was dead or anything.. one of the accessory terminals on the positive terminals was loose.. causing an arc... which resulted in some melted plastic... which poured onto the contact surface of the accessory terminals.. a little bit of sandpaper and elbow grease and she's back up and running

[NyC Zn6]

lol battery issue

[fx1mark]

Originally Posted by pleong

OK! So it was a battery issue LOL but not because it was dead or anything.. one of the accessory terminals on the positive terminals was loose.. causing an arc... which resulted in some melted plastic... which poured onto the contact surface of the accessory terminals.. a little bit of sandpaper and elbow grease and she's back up and running

that's good news!

[fumanchu1]

OMFG Can't believe I didn't think of that, same thing happened to me 2 years ago with my IS300 (except mine died mid slide, probably due to vibration) kept shorting everything. Culprit was also a loose battery terminal.