3200GT Starting Problems

[sdlangford]

My 3200GT had a new battery last year and is on trickle charge so that the battery is always in a good condition.
Yesterday i decided to give the car a run after a number of weeks in the garage.
First issue i noticed was the central locking would not work, nothing. So i used the key and got in.
No electrical power at all, nothing.
Checked the battery and the trickle charger said "charged".
Odd.
I tried jump starting the 3200GT from another car, nothing, no lights, no dials, nothing, nil.
So i invested in one of these car battery jump starters.
Connected it, nothing still, absolutely dead even with the jumper connected.
The jumper has a "force start" button which you press for 3 seconds, i did this and everything came alive.
Jumped in the car, fired her up and got it running for 30 min.
Odd thing is the alarm red button on the dash keeps flashing, and hazards going on and off randomly....
Then it stopped.
So turned key again, nothing at all.
Back to the jumper, pressed force start again and it lit up again and started for few mins then stopped.
Maybe it is a dead battery again, maybe i am just unlucky, but its on trickle charge and seems ok.
When car does start the does start it is showing 13v.
I do not really want to shell out on another battery if its something else, just seems odd, had cars with dead batterys but normally i can jump start , but this is as though the car is in some sort of shut down mode.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Simon

 

[CatmanV2]

What on earth does that force start button do?

Sounds to me like there's a loose connection. Doesn't the 3200 have an issue with corroded ground straps?
C

 

[allandwf]

I would try the battery route. Is the trickle charger a conditioner too, or just a basic charger?

 

[sdlangford]

Its a conditioner also, well thats what it said when i purchased it.

No idea what the force button does but it brings it alive. And then it dies.

It does seem like a loose connection to me also. Maybe an auto electrician would be able to help ?

Simon

 

[rs48635]

My 3200 has a built in disconnect switch, check all connections here.

check battery terminals - had a cracked one which was not visible. The tell tale was that it would not tighten enough to lock in place.

Also check the other end of negative cable, which might be grounded inside the boot somewhere. car this age might have corrosion, especially given the potential water ingress on out cars.

 

[Bilko]

I had a similar problem with my 3200...turned out that the battery wasn’t as good as I thought, tried a different battery and problem solved ..hopefully that’s the outcome for you

 

[Oneball]

Sounds like the battery to me, if they’re completely discharged a battery booster or jump won’t bring them to life straightaway.

If you’ve got a voltmeter measure the voltage across the battery terminals with it disconnected.

 

[madmanmart]

Sounds like a goosed battery to me.

 

[davy83]

yes sounds like a goosed battery and also be careful with the 14 volt force start option as this can cause problems with the electronics. If possible try a replacement battery by borrowing one from another car just to convince your self. I would also suggest a volt meter across the battery terminals. When you try to start it you will see if the voltage drops off to a very low value, this will tell you its the battery. If the car is dead and the battery still has 12 volts on it then its a connection.

 

[sdlangford]

Ok thanks guys.
My battery is an E38 but when i search for replacements online it suggests a different type of battery. Anybody know what correct battery should be ?
Simon

 

[MRichards]

If you check the voltage then it must be checked on load. There is a battery load check switch on your multimeter for this. A battery will show 12 volts even when it's knackered.
I suspect your battery has high internal resistance even though it may show 12 volts or more. If so it's knackered. A common fault in old batteries.

A replacement battery will need to have the specified CCA ( 100 above the specification is better) and have DIN specification so that it fits in the car. Anything else is just bling.
The Varta E38 "Silver Dynamic" battery highly recommends itself & is popular. The 3200GT owner's manual does not specify a battery,so you can use anything which will do the job.

 

[Rex B]

Your Varta E38 is ideal as its the right height 175mm , lots of suppliers fir 096 size batteries but these are 190mm high which does not leave much room beneath the relays in the boot. I would like others suspect that its either it either the battery connections, Negative from battery to the body or a knackered battery and at one year old this should be under guarantee . There is a positive node near the bulkhead (not sure where )and this distributes positive feeds from the battery cable to the fuseboxes and starter motor. Could be the connection to this but I have only heard of this being a problem once..

Best of Luck

Rex B