Engine Would Not Start After Lock Is Released

[yinskyblue]

Last night was very cold. I turn my ignition on , the panel display appeared in a flash and then vanished. The engine did not start. I tried a second time , the same thing happened. The lock refuse to turn after that. I was able to remove my key and the only thing I saw was the clock display. All the other light switches and CD player work fine. I try the tapping trick and was able to release the lock. However the engine refused to start. Help !!

[blk_on_blk]

Have you tried a jump start to the battery? The cold snap could have killed the cells in your battery. It would be the first thing I would check if everything was working fine beforehand.

[code58]

Last night was very cold. I turn my ignition on , the panel display appeared in a flash and then vanished. The engine did not start. I tried a second time , the same thing happened. The lock refuse to turn after that. I was able to remove my key and the only thing I saw was the clock display. All the other light switches and CD player work fine. I try the tapping trick and was able to release the lock. However the engine refused to start. Help !!

You also need to check the ground cable. Remove it and make sure there is no corrosion- nice and clean and tight. As a matter of fact, remove both cables and do that. It could very well be the battery needing charging or shot, but check the cables 1st.!

[Grumpa72]

As others have suggested, you may have a battery issue and nothing else. Put a multimeter across your battery termianls and see what the voltage is. It should be 12+ volts. If you only get accessories, I would suggest that this is a clean indication of either a bad ground or a tired battery.

[blk_on_blk]

When a battery starts to fail, they can become very sporadic. You can still get a 12V potential across the terminals, but the meter measures that potential with nearly no load. The battery could be totally wasted when it comes to trying to put out any kind of a load. My shop recently load-tested my battery and it pretty much killed it; it was working fine when I brought in the vehicle, but it's true weakness, age, and fatigue showed up once they taxed it. I'm glad they tested it there and found an issue, for the first real cold snap of winter would have probably done the same thing... but leaving me stranded in a parking lot somewhere.

Checking the terminals is also excellent advice. Long term mild corrosion of battery terminals/ground can really shorten a battery's life span as well as kill performance.

[code58]

When a battery starts to fail, they can become very sporadic. You can still get a 12V potential across the terminals, but the meter measures that potential with nearly no load. The battery could be totally wasted when it comes to trying to put out any kind of a load. My shop recently load-tested my battery and it pretty much killed it; it was working fine when I brought in the vehicle, but it's true weakness, age, and fatigue showed up once they taxed it. I'm glad they tested it there and found an issue, for the first real cold snap of winter would have probably done the same thing... but leaving me stranded in a parking lot somewhere.

Checking the terminals is also excellent advice. Long term mild corrosion of battery terminals/ground can really shorten a battery's life span as well as kill performance.

I have a carbon pile load tester and an OTC electronic tester- I like both of them but they both tell me pretty much the same story. I load test the batteries in my wife's car and my truck about every 2 or 3 mo. I have found that a battery may start to weaken from a year to a year and a half before they actually bail. You will never know from the way the electrical or even starter operate. You will see this decline gradually with a load tester and replace the battery before it leaves you hung out to dry, even with just a trip to the market when it started fine when you left home. I have done this for years and have never had a battery bail unexpectedly on me with the warning that a load tester will give you. I have also seen corrosion on the surfaces of the clamp and post when none showed in a visible area. You can also get a black oxidization on those surfaces caused by the flow of electricity that will create the same barrier to electrical flow that corrosion does so don't assume just because you don't see anything externally that you have good contact. Remove the cables and visually inspect. I have actually seen corrosion on the post and clamp surfaces with the post covered with the red spray corrosion inhibitor.

[yinskyblue]

Last night was very cold. I turn my ignition on , the panel display appeared in a flash and then vanished. The engine did not start. I tried a second time , the same thing happened. The lock refuse to turn after that. I was able to remove my key and the only thing I saw was the clock display. All the other light switches and CD player work fine. I try the tapping trick and was able to release the lock. However the engine refused to start. Help !!

Thanks for the suggestion. The problem I have now is when the key is in the ACC position, all the panel lights and console lights came on with no problem. However , when I try to turn on the ignition, I do not hear any sound at all. It is as if there is no contact at all. My mechanic ordered a new lock assembly unit and replaced it. The same symptom appears. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[blk_on_blk]

I'm sure your mechanic can check at the starter to see if contact is being made by the ignition switch. That would be the first place I would check before saying the switch/lock assembly is bad.

[code58]

Last night was very cold. I turn my ignition on , the panel display appeared in a flash and then vanished. The engine did not start. I tried a second time , the same thing happened. The lock refuse to turn after that. I was able to remove my key and the only thing I saw was the clock display. All the other light switches and CD player work fine. I try the tapping trick and was able to release the lock. However the engine refused to start. Help !!

Thanks for the suggestion. The problem I have now is when the key is in the ACC position, all the panel lights and console lights came on with no problem. However , when I try to turn on the ignition, I do not hear any sound at all. It is as if there is no contact at all. My mechanic ordered a new lock assembly unit and replaced it. The same symptom appears. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I can tell you for a fact you NEED a new mechanic. That is unless you have a very large bank account because that mechanic doesn't know what he is doing. I would assume, since you didn't mention it this time that the issue of your lights going off when you turn the key has been resolved. How was that resolved? We need more complete information in order to help you. If you jumped juice directly to the starter (since it is so easy to get to), does it work then? If not it could be a bad starter but also may only be a bad contact plate in the starter selenoid. Find a more competent mechanic!

[blk_on_blk]

BTW, thanks for the insight on battery load testing, Code58. I find that very interesting that a battery can last a year to a year and a half from the first sign of weakening. That's actually pretty impressive it can hang on for that long.

Also, you are so very right on the hidden formations of resistive oxidation on batteries... I've seen some poor contacts that looked clean, but once you look at the actual interface, you can see the resistive layer.