Mugen_1

Last night I drove my car (1997, 156,xxx) to St. Louis (about two hours away) for a day of fun with the girlfriend. Everything was going fine until we parked by the Arch and tried to leave.

With a concert we needed to be at in about 1.5 hours being only 15 minutes away, we sat in the car and people watched for about an hour before leaving. Headlights were off, accessories were on for a bit, car was started once in that period and ran for a few minutes just fine, then when I went to start it to actually leave, nothing. I had all my lights and accessories, windows rolled down fine, but my power locks didn't work, and my alarm went off briefly in that time period without either of us pushing the panic button.

I called AAA and asked for a jump since I assumed the battery was just dead. About 15 minutes later, a guy shows up and cleans my battery terminal of buildup, then hooks it to his mobile jumper unit thing and tells me the battery tests low but isn't dead. It "charges" for a while, and still nothing. I keep cranking it over and it doesn't even click. I asked him if he'd hook up his F-350 to my car for a jump instead, but he decreed that his portable charger was better than the truck.

After rooting around under the hood, he determines the only thing that could possibly be causing it is that the starter went out and suggests it gets towed. Being two hours from home and the girlfriend needing to be at school tomorrow, waiting overnight wasn't an option. So, having at this point no other real option besides leaving it parked in a no parking zone in a shady part of the city, I decide to have it towed .7 miles to a Dobb's to have them look at it in the morning. When the tow truck arrived, we left and met the girlfriend's dad at the Hyatt so he could drive us the two hours back home.

So, I get a call this morning at 6:30 from Dobb's telling me the car started strong like ten times in a row without even a hesitation. The guy told me he had no idea what was wrong with it, and that he can't really test it for anything if nothing is going wrong. He told me also that he'd start it periodically throughout the day to see if he could replicate the problem, but that the starter was as strong as it should be.

I'm convinced the battery was dead the whole time, and the guy from AAA had no idea what he was doing. Now my girlfriend has to drive me two hours back to St. Louis to pick it up tomorrow, and the $50 concert tickets she got us for my birthday have gone to waste. What do you guys think might have happened?

deanshark

Man, I hate it when a nice adventure with the GF goes in a bad direction. Especially if it's a first date, they think you did it on purpose just to be stuck somewhere with them. Sorry to hear about the bad night you had but I don't think it was the AAA guy not knowing what to do. Those portable jumper/chargers are pretty easy to operate, anyone can do it.
I'm thinking it was part of your security system. You say the alarm went off briefly. With this security system being complex (and stupidly crazy) it might have set itself so it wouldn't start. (Exactly what it's supposed to do) It probably works now b/c it was disarmed by unlocking it with the key. This alarm thing just happened to me. When you do get your car back just get the battery tested in case but I think it should be fine b/c the guy today said the starter is turning strong. Good luck.
Don't keep us wondering, what concert were you going to?

Mugen_1

RIGHT AFTER I posted this, I read the other thread about the stock immobilizer system preventing the car from starting (hence why the locks/trunk wouldn't open). I had put the key in the ignition though and turned the car to ACC and the alarm stopped, I figured that would've made the car realize that I had the authority to operate it. The thing is, she manually unlocked her door a few times before the alarm went off and well...it didn't those times.

The battery is going to get replaced before winter - AAA guy said it was starting to wear out. I un-blame the AAA guy now - that's my own fault for not knowing this.

Concert was Teserect, Animals as Leaders and the main act, Between the Buried & Me...had my BTBAM shirt on and everything ha.

anesthesia

Dam, sorry to hear bout that, i still think its your alarm as mentioned, usually stater dont just go out suddenly, you would have symptoms like clicking but still able to start. I had that clicking for over a month before i replace mine.

ThomasGS4

iTrader: (19)

Sure sounds like an immobilizer issue.

deanshark

These starters do, alot. Just about everything on the LS is different from other makes and models. Luckilly mine hasn't gone yet. Every time my alarm acts up I start to think it's the starter, but then I remember, it's that damn alarm.

Concert was who??? Am I getting old or what? Never heard of any of them.
Don't blame yourself for not knowing about the Immobolizer, it's not something anyone would actually need to think of in that situation. The first time it happened to me I was going crazy trying to figure out what I was gonna need to fix b/c everything tested out good. I'm thinking about bypassing mine somehow so it doesn't do it anymore. Someone wants to steal it, fine.

LJBSJB

Thanks for posting your problem / solution. As a new owner, I'm making mental notes to learn from the experiences of others. Maybe my concert tickets won't go to waste! Thanks! :-)

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

this doesnt really apply to you as your car doesnt have an immobilizer...


Mugen, the '97 had a weird starter-kill as part of the immobilizer which makes diagnosing starter problems in low battery situations a royal pain. I suggest you try reading the '97 model year manual as if I recall correctly it has a reset procedure in case of a battery swap.

TheDream

Interesting....My initial gut feeling was starter since the starter does go bad on these, and is a PITA to replace based on personal experience, but glad you figured it out.

kcasto

No input on the car - BtBam, Tesseract, and aal are all great bands though