Have a seriously bad starting issue

[Fox213505]

cliffnotes at bottom

Ok, so i was trying to get some air out of the cooling system, and i filled up the engine with antifreeze and may have spilled some(may or may not have something to do with my problem. I replaced the tube/ hose and air filter that goes to the throttle body ( i was cleaning it). I put everything back together had the heater air bleed valve still open. i went to turn the key and, click click click click is all i heard. i then went to get my battery charger and the battery has full charge. i go to turn the key it still only clicks. when it clicks the airbag light also flashes in sync with the clicks. no codes. it says check advance track and apply parking brake. also headlights flicker on and off and sometimes won't come on at all. this is the first problem with this car.

2003 V8 LS

Cliffnotes!

Car wont crank
Fully charged battery
airbag light flashes in sync with clicks
"apply parking brake" light on
"Check Advance track" light on
HID Headlights flicker on and off rapidly, sometimes not at all.
radio works at first but when i try to turn the car on it too flickers on and off.

Any help would be awsome please. I need this car

 

[SoonerLS]

That sounds like a low battery or a bad ground connection. Don't believe the charger; check with a volt meter--the voltage at the battery should, IIRC, be at least 12.7V; if the voltage is low, it plays hell with these electronic monsters.

If the battery is OK, check the terminals and make sure they're making good contact, then check the chassis ground connection in the trunk well. There are also a couple of main junction points up front (in the footwells, I think) to check.

 

[Fox213505]

Ok, i did check some codes the day before maybe i unplugged something in the foot wells. I will clean all the connections on the battery. I don't thinks its the battery since i had the charger on while i tried to crank it. I really hope its something simple. This just came out of nowhere. I was trying to fix a problem with the engine overheating due to air in the system and this comes up.

 

[Gunther1000]

Ok, i did check some codes the day before maybe i unplugged something in the foot wells. I will clean all the connections on the battery. I don't thinks its the battery since i had the charger on while i tried to crank it. I really hope its something simple. This just came out of nowhere. I was trying to fix a problem with the engine overheating due to air in the system and this comes up.

Its always scary to me when charging or jump starting a car. So many issues can come from arcing volts...

I have a catera that gave me hell over something as simple as a bad batt connection.

The terminals "looked" so clean and new I was convinced that wasnt the issue but after
Chasing electrical dragons for a week... a simple wire brush to the unmounted terminal
Had it tip top.

 

[joegr]

I vote battery. The only way to know is to have it load tested or to replace it with a known good battery.

 

[Gunther1000]

Damm droid... double post.

 

[Fox213505]

Ok i will make sure to clean the connectors and check the battery again (too dark to do it now) By the way will low battery make the "Check advanced track" and "apply emergency brake" lights to come on. Also what about the airbag light flashing in sync with the clicks when i try to crank it?

 

[Gunther1000]

Anything is possible with low voltage. My cadillac would "seem" to have FULL power, radio banged full blast with headlighs on and motor off, but when cranking stuff went 100% crazy. Sunroof opening on its own, windows rolling down you name it.

I hope its simple but without the proper tools (batt load tester, volt meter in starter etc) it is a guessing game.

Good luck man!

One thing I know is it is fixable. How much time and money it will cost is a matter of how Good you are at narrowing it down.

 

[SoonerLS]

I don't thinks its the battery since i had the charger on while i tried to crank it

Chargers do a good job of charging the battery, but I can tell you from experience that they can't provide the current necessary to start the LS. At least the general purpose off the shelf Schumacher units can't.

 

[Fox213505]

Ok, I Cleaned the terminals and checked the voltage it was at 11.6V i charged the battery for awhile and she fired right up. Good as new. Thanks to everyone who replied and helped me out. Much appreciated