So i head out to my car last night (going to the lady friends house of all places giggity) put my key in the ignition and go to crank my car up and everything goes black. I figured it was just some kinda weird one time thing that happens with these cars so i didnt worry about it to much i just turned the key off and tried again... nothing. This time the car seems like its having a seasure all the lights a flickering on and off and it doesnt start again... so now im pissed off i get out unplug the battery for about 15 mins txt the girl and let her know i might be a little later then expected. I hook the battery back up and try again and get the same thing . So now im figuring ill just hook the battery charger up and see if that works so i let it charge for about an hour go try it again and get nothing. Then i had to txt the girl back and let her know i wasnt coming tonight (worst kinda txt you ever have to send). I left it hooked to the battery charger all night and it still wont start. The lights and radio all come on when i get in and put the key in the ignition, its not clicking when i try to crank it like it has a dead battery, and it has always started on the first time trying to crank it... So im out of ideas on what could have happend, maybe i blew a fuse? If so which fuse could i have blown? I cant say i have ever read about anyone elses car doing this so any insight would be greatly appreciated. So come on guys help a brother out

the car is a 05 ss/sc with 71000ish miles, it has an exhaust and raw intake and i havent done any mods in it seems like forever so i dont think it has anything to do with that.

 

Check your fuses in the engine bay

 

is there any certain ones i should check or just start pulling **** and looking?

 

I think a fuse is an excellent idea - I would find a map of what fuse is in what location in your box and then just pop em out and take a look. A broken blade fuse will be pretty obvious - the wavy metal in the center will be blown apart. It might be some of the higher amperage fuses that cover larger systems. Whatever lights were flickering (headlights? cabin lights?) should match to a fuse or two.

Just remember when you blow a fuse - it happens for a reason - so if you find a blown fuse and replace it, keep in mind that if it happens again you have an underlying problem that's causing too much current to flow through that circuit.

 

Check your larger fuses (Ignition, etc) Hopefully for your sake it's a faulty Ignition fuse.

 

If everything goes black when you turn the key and it doesnt click at all there is a chance it is your starter. if you can get to it tap it with a hammer and see if it starts. if it does replace the starter

 

i just went out and check my fuses none of them looked broken or burnt up so unless i blew a relay... not sure if you can do that but im guessing you could then it didnt look like a fuse, ill have to try and find out where the starter is located see if i can give that a tap maybe that will work.

all the lights where flickering gauges, cabin light, head lights, everything.

 

Hmm if the cabin lights were flickering then that sounds like a dead battery to me, does your battery charger have engine start setting?

If not see if you can have someone jump you off

 

naw this is an old school battery charger my dad had so we dont have that high tech stuff is it better to try and jump the car from the front in the engine bay or straight on the battery

 

Definitely could be your starter. It may have been drawing massive current (my guess is your lights were all flickering at the same pace as your usual engine start sound?) due to something failing internally and then it quickly fried itself... but not enough current to trip a fuse. Your battery may have been drained a little but you seem to have that under control. Starters are not insanely expensive, FWIW.

Anyone know how to check a starter motor with a voltmeter or does that require disassembly of the motor housing?

 

well heres an update i got it to start by jumping it off my brothers car so i took it around the block and decided to see if it could handle any draw from the electrical stuff, so i turned everything on and it died so i had to get my friend to come jump it again and i took it home let it run for a bit turned it off and turned it on again to see if i could get it to start and it wouldnt so i guess that just means the battery isnt strong enough to turn the car over?

 

This is God's way of saying she has AIDS.

 

your battery is done, go get a new one.

 

Replace the Battery, 05 vehicle with 70k you got your moneys worth outta that battery. Average battery life is about 48 months so its time.

 

Change the battery before it kills the alternator if it's that bad. ;-)

 

im gonna say the car is done, might as well crush it....orrrrrrr replace the batt , sounds like it may have dropped a cell or to.

 

Yeah, when you're charging your battery, it's not full until you see the amperage come down (I have an old-school style too, with an analog ammeter on the front). When the battery is charged, it won't draw any amperage (or very little). So just because you stick it on the charger for an hour or a day doesn't mean the battery has any juice! Buy a high-quality replacement immediately or you'll hurt something like Stroker said.

 

These cars wont run off the alternator? It seems weird that the car will die when running accessory's if the alternator is working properly.