My new(old) car did something scary today at lunch. I got in it and when I turned the key it just made a "wuh" noise and something moved a bit without the engine turning over. It did this a couple of times. I thought the battery was dead, but there was nothing left on to drain the battery and the brights and stereo worked fine. I locked then unlocked the car with it's remote thinking the car might be somehow interrupting the starter, and tried again and it started. Could the starter have been binding and not engaging, or was my battery low but recovered, or is there a starter interrupt that might have been engaging? I got out of the car this morning and didn't use the remote to lock it as it is in a secure lot and there is nothing of value in the car. Could this have left a courtesy light on or something? Anyway, went to lunch and it started back up just fine.

Doug
'99 Black GTP Coupe

Hey,

Bad connections at the battery will sometimes render the starter useless, and let everything else work properly. Dunno if that's the problem, but it's a start, and, and easy cure if it is. Disconnect the terminal connectors and clean them up. Use a little Axle grease to help prevent corrosion, or, buy some stuff at the auto store that helps prevent it.
Later now,
Clint

It turned out to be the battery. It died completely after I got it home. Tried to charge it but could tell it was dead. Bought a Sears Die Hard Gold for $97 with a 3 year free replacement warranty. Just finished installing it. Now that was a pain, tight squeeze. She fired right up with the new bat. It's on the charger for the rest of the night.

Doug
'99 Balck GTP Coupe
Mods:
Sears Die Hard (added 240hp)

Hopefully you had all of the wiring and cables, etc associated with the battery checked as well. Mine (97)had some loose connections at the battery and started dying in the middle of traffic - the car would just stop and would not start again. Scary.

Yeah It was pretty obvious the bat was dead. Had a dead cell or two. I figure it was the original bat or at least a couple of years old. Car was mfg in Nov. '98 so it could have been 4 years old. Anyway, when I put the old bat on the charger, it jumped to 10A on the variable charge-rate gauge. Normally a healthy dead battery will register no more than 6A on my charger, so I knew something was up. After a couple of hours it still had no charge so its definately dead. New bat has been working well so far.

Doug