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Battery good.Turn key on and all accessories work wipers, lights, radio, etc. Turn key to start engine and there is like a loud click, starter doesn't turn and all electrical goes dead until I disconnect and then re-connect battery, then everything works again until I try to start the engine. Could it be a short in the selenoid or starter? Any suggestions? Daniel
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Generally the click is the starter solenoid engaging the fly wheel. The starter needs way more power than anything else in the car. It doesn't matter that the lights work. If the battery can't supply 10.5 volts under load, the starter won't turn. See if you can jump start the car and get to an auto parts store to have the battery checked.
Open electrical circuit , blown fuse's , wiper motor being bad , radio bad .Viewing wiring diagrams to see what all is involved in making these thing's work would be a good place to start . Do you know what an automotive wiring diagrams is ? An would you know how to test automotive electrical circuits with a DVOM - digital volt ohm meter ? Free wiring diagrams here http://www.bbbind.com/free-tsb Enter vehicle info. year , make , model an engine . Under system click on body & accessories ,then under subsystem click on wiper/ washers . Click the search button then the blue link. Electric Testing Techniques You Need to Know
Those are accessory functions working off the ignition switch when in accessory position or run position of the key. Were you to check if the wiper and radio fuse had power to them in the run or accessory position as they should, likely they would not. Power from the switch goes to the fuse panel, powering the fuses and circuits that only work with key in on or acc., either a direct wire to the fuse panel or sometimes, fuses get power from an accessory relay that sends power to fuses, but relay has to get a signal from a good working switch before it powers the fuses. What I'm trying to say, is the bad switch is probably the reason you have no wipers, radio, or mirrors.
Do you know how to voltage drop automotive electrical circuit's using a DMM - digital multi-meter ? Checking main power feed to fuse box etc.... loose connection , bad positive feed cable etc ..
Do you know what wiring diagrams are ? Electrical distribution diagrams ? Electric Testing Techniques You Need to Know
Free wiring diagrams here http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html
Enter vehicle info. year , make , model an engine size. Under system click on electrical distribution then under subsystem click on power distribution . Click the search button then the blue link's . test the circuit's . Plus knowing how the systems work would be good . When you turn the key to start it send a low voltage signal to the BCM - body control module . The BCM sends a message to the PCM/ECM - engine computer to energize the starter relay . A lot of complex electronic's an electrical systems involved .
When the engine dies do the accessories such as radio, lights, heater all die along with the engine; or do they keep running as they were prior to the stall?
If they all quit together (as if the key was shut off) I would check the electrical part of the ignition switch or the battery cables and connections (check both ends of cables and little ground wire near battery that connects to car body). The ignition switches are a well known culprit in the s10's.
If the radio and lights keep running after the stall, I would look at the crank position sensor, ignition coils etc.
Check the start solenoid, starter side, when you turn the key... The battery side will always be hot, the starter side should be hot when you turn the key.
It's probably a ground issue ,looking at wiring diagrams to see what these all have in common would be the first place to start ! Do you know anything about automotive electrical systems an circuits ? How to read a wiring diagram ? You can find free wiring diagrams here http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html Enter vehicle info. year , make , model and engine size . Under system click body & accessories , then under subsystem click on the thing's your having problems with ,like wiper / washers . Then click the search button ,then the blue links . In the first diagram you will see a couple of relays for the wipers ,, plus they are located in the intergrated power module . Also in that box you will see the front control module . These are all computer controlled systems . Having a scan tool that can check codes in this modules would be a first step to take . If no codes are present , checking power and ground circuits for the problem systems . Do you know how to trouble shoot automotive electrical circuit's ?
Having a repair manual from alldata would be a good thing to have , it would show all ground locations . Also how to take thing's apart to get at them . Some grounds maybe behind the insturment panel or behind kick panels etc.... This would show all that ! ALLDATA OEM Auto Repair Information for Professionals
This could be a combination of electrical issues, although i feel that the timing is coincidence in this case. When the combination is elec. windows, wipers, and dome lights this is indicative of the GEM module located behind your radio. The GEM (generic electronic module) is an electronic body control module that regulates electrical flow through a number of accessories.
These factory module boards are notorious for acting quirky by failing to ground intermittently until failing completely. I would be cautious in replacing ignition switches, locks, etc. as the issue can be also compounded by corrosion of the main battery ground wire in the engine compartment and which can cause frying of your under dash wiring into the main wiring harness which can get expensive (i speak from experience having had the exact same syptoms). My issues were that these symptoms occurred only in full ON. When in key BACK ACC mode, they disappeared.
New price for one of these modules is around $280-$300 and easily replaced.
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