It drove just fine yesterday but today it won't start. It's not even turning over and I can't hear the starter slenoid engaging. Battery voltage is still 12+ volts, and I can hear the fuel pump turn on and everything looks almost normal on the dash when the key is turned to the on position. Then, when I turn the key to the start position the dash lights flicker, I can hear a small relay clicking away somewhere behind the dash, but no starter noises.

My first guess was that the factory security system was screwed up and the starter-disable feature was somehow enabled, but disconnecting and connecting the battery did nothing.

I'm pretty baffled at this point so I'm planning on investigating with my multimeter today to see if I kind figure this out. but, if anyone else has had this problem any advice would be much appreciated. thanks

 

The battery showing 12V doesn't mean much unless it is tested under load. When the battery failed in mine, it went out overnight - literally. One day it was running well, the next, it was dead. How old/what mileage is the car? Mine failed at 70k miles after about 4 years.

One thing to watch for is that the stock battery is not maintennance free - you need to keep the cells topped up regularly. This is not done as part of dealer servicing, and if a cell gets low, the battery will croak.

 

did you try poping the clutch?

 

The car has about 101K miles on it, but the battery, Optima model 51R, is about a year old, a year and half tops.
I've ruled out the "clutch switch" on the basis that when i attempt to start the car with the clutch out i don't hear that relay chatter like I described earlier, so it's trying even less hard to start, versus when i have the clutch in.

thanks for the tips. I'll try measuring the battery voltage with the headlights on to try and load the battery at least a little bit.

 

Yeah, a 1 yr old Optima should still be very healthy. Unless it failed, that doesn't seem likely.

The solenoid for the starter may be the next thing to check (Suby experts comments?). The starter itself might have gone bad, but you usually hear signs of them struggling for few weeks - or months depending on finances

I haven't had starter problems on my WRX yet, but my last car (RX-7) went through the same thing at 100k miles.

 

update: Lorry, you might be on to something with that battery load idea. I just measured the voltage across the battery with the car in the "on" position and the high-beams switched on. The voltage dropped to about 5 volts and the high beams barely light at all, can just see the bulb filament glowing. I think it's time to find a ride to the auto parts store (after i find that battery warranty info) Thanks again for the help, i'll be sure to post my findings here.

 

voltage isn't everything, my battery just crapped out on me, voltage was fine, but the amperage was low.

 

Your battery is shot, either because it went bad or the alternator isn't charging properly. Get a known good battery in there and then check the voltage with the engine running, it should be 13.5-14.5 if the alternator is working properly.
If your Optima is only a year old it is still under warranty should it turn out to be NG.

 

yep, you guys nailed it. My yellow-top Optima battery crapped out just 15 months after buying it. I replaced it with a new red-top optima (under pro-rated warranty...hopefully) and it started right up. Can't believe such a simple thing as the battery dying took me half a day to figure out. I guess since I haven't had a battery die so quickly and suddenly before, especially a pricey optima, I just moved on to the next possible cause after it measured 12 volts. Thanks for the help everyone. This new battery has a better warranty.

Also, the guy at Batteries Plus mentioned that the model of Optima I had (51R) was backordered for 7 months or something. I wonder if i'm not the first to have one fail prematurely.