Electrical woes - car won't start

[geoff]

Went to go for a drive today. Opened passenger door to put some stuff inside, close it and hear a low "clic, click, click, click, ..." noise. Wonder what it is. Open the door, and it stops. Get behind the wheel, turn the key and nothing happens :( I'm late, so I plug in the battery maintainer, take another car. When I get back tonight, I still hear clicking noise, get in, turn key, dash lights up, but nothing else happens. Pull the key out and the dash is still lit up!

Car hasn't been driven for two weeks (but not locked, so no alarm drain). All doors were closed. Battery (Optima 34R) only a few months old. Alternator replaced a few months back. Not sure if the battery maintainer has done anything good. Trunks won't even open. Last time I drove the car (right before Xmas), all was fne.

Any suggestions on what I should check, or should I just have the car towed to the dealer on Monday (unless I can jump start it)? Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of town all week, and had plans for a road trip in the Boxster next weekend.

I'm guessing something drained the battery, and will continue to do so. Never had a problem like this before, so I'm not sure what would have caused it now.

[Jinster]

Disconnect the battery, try jump starting using your other car. If it works, then your battery is toast.

If not, take it to your dealer or an auto electrician.

[deliriousga]

With today's computers, it's best to use a jump starter rather than another car. Several people with 928s have fried their computers jump starting with another car due to the power surge when it's connected. The jump starters have a built in relay that won't allow the power to turn on until the jump starter is connected properly.

Your problem sounds like a bad battery or a bad ignition switch. If you are going to try and fix things on your own and don't have one, go to Radio Shack and get a good multi-meter. You can test the battery with that and see if you are getting any voltage if it jumps off and quits when you disconnect the jump starter.

[Tool Pants]

Charge the battery with a real charger, not a maintainer. Then have a load test done on the Optima to make sure it is ok.

[0586slb]

Pull the key out and the dash is still lit up!

This alone suggests your ignition switch has failed. Do a search on the forum fo 'Ignition Switch' - there are many threads about it.

[geoff]

Update:

Charge the battery with a real charger, not a maintainer. Then have a load test done on the Optima to make sure it is ok.

Left the Porsche battery maintainer plugged in overnight, and it started right up this morning. Drove it for a while with several stops, and it seems OK. Not sure if Optima batteries recover faster or not, or if it's just because it's a relatively new battery, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Pull the key out and the dash is still lit up!

This alone suggests your ignition switch has failed. Do a search on the forum fo 'Ignition Switch' - there are many threads about it.

The dealer replaced the ignition switch wih the new style about a year ago. When my alternator failed and sucked my old battery dry, the dash lights did similar, unpredictable funky things. I think the very low battery weirded out the computer, which is why the dash lights were acting strange.

The low "clic, click, click, click, ..." noise seems to have been the windows trying to close after opening and closing the door. The noise stopped once the maintainer put enough charge back into the battery.

I'm still not sure what the problem is. Maybe I didn't close a door properly. Last time I drove the car (right before Xmas), I exited from the passenger side without opening the driver's door (parked close to the wall and didn't want to get dirty) - first time I did this.

About exactly 4 years ago, I had LoJack installed. The battery is supposed to be good for 2 years. Their customer service on the phone this morning was clueless, but 1) they did answer quickly and 2) they really tried to help. I plan to schedule a LoJack service call when I have a little free time.

About a month ago, I installed a short shifter, requiring disconnecting and reconnecting window switches, seat heater switches and alarm microswitch for the rear center console. Even though the car was off and the alarm wasn't set, this might also have caused the problem.

I have to take the car in soon for the annual service, so will have the dealer check current drain, alternator output, etc. at the same time. In the meantime, I expect the battery maintainer will keep things working. I'll post an update when I know more

Thanks for all the suggestions so far...

[reefish]

Dont forget the check your fuses. I think its E1 and C1... check the shop manual...make sure no blown fuse....