fm_Jack

Hi this is my very first post on this forum and really glad to join the community. I need help diagnosing my car because it won't start. I have a s2k ap1 2002
Status:
The car won't start when pressing the ignition button. The dash light will turn off when the button is pressed and I can hear the crank for one second. The battery was newly replaced and I check the power is all good because it has the power to lower windows and fully retract the roof. Yet after I tried to jump start the car with my portable battery it ignites without an issue.
Possible cause:
I was still fairly new to manual driving so I had about 4 stalls at a stop sign yesterday continuously and had to restart the vehicle every time in a short amount of time. The ignition was good before yesterday.
It would be a big help if anyone know where to start checking.

flanders

Sounds like your battery is either bad or needs to be charged.
The starter demands ~100 times higher load than windows and other accessories so it's normal these stuff may seem to work.
But you should also check that your battery terminals are tight and if there is any damage to the battery ground.
If you got a multimeter check the voltage on your battery, first while resting and then when you try to crank.
Shouldn't drop to much, under 10V is bad.

Car Analogy

Concur. Your good battery is currently not so good. Maybe there is an issue with the charging system, and the battery was good, but now not so much.

Or.maybe something is slowly draining the battery at rest, like a poorly installed stereo or alarm system.

A voltmeter test first. 12.6v is normal. 12.3v is super weak, 12v is dead, and below that its already in the ground rotting.

Get back to us with battery voltage.

fm_Jack

Hi Thank you for your reply and it ended up the battery issue. I found out Autozone sold me the battery that was actually manufactures 2 years ago. I guess lesson learned and never trust them anymore.

B serious

This seems a little extreme over a battery?

engifineer

That would be, but I know shops that will refuse to install parts purchased from Autozone. I do not buy parts from them. I probably know of close to 10 instances of people getting garbage from there. Their cheaper parts are total crap and they are no cheaper for name brand parts.

engifineer

But in the future... when you get these symptoms, always check the cleanliness of the terminals. Seeing lights and gauges coming on and then them going off as soon as you draw higher current (Aka when trying to start) is the main symptom of dirty battery terminals. Unless they tested that battery I would say there is an equal chance it was not bad if the terminals were not clean and installing a new one simply got a better connection via luck because of removing and reinstalling them. Always clean them when you have them off. Quick 30 seconds with a terminal brush and you will be sure to have a solid connection again.

zeroptzero

I was going to suggest holding the start button a bit longer to ensure it starts before releasing, but I see that the issue was with the battery.

The S2000 start button is not like most modern cars today which are a simple one touch button. The S2000 button has to be held until the car starts, much like old key ignitions.

fm_Jack

LOL I guess so but I would be cautious with them.

fm_Jack

Update. Actually the car died again after switching to another new battery. This time I verified it before I made the purchase directly from the shop. The battery tests 12.3-12.5V when the car shuts. Yet it still reads the same (instead of ~14V with positive current flow) after the car ignites when I jump started it. Right now I would assume it might be an alternator issue or as @engifineer said could be a bad connection. My battery missed the box holding it.

In addition, even when the car works, the crank is rather weak and sounds like the car will stall at any moment. Plus the EPS like is blinking somehow... Taken the car to the shop again and will keep the post updated.