[zbeegle]

Need some advice. Got in my 2016 kia Soul yesterday turned the key and click. It is a standard. Checked the battery and it showed 12.5 volts, checked the fuses and they all looked good, tryed to jump no luck. Pushed started it and it started fine, drove it home and it ran fine. Checked alternator and it was putting out right at 14 volts. Checked the power to the synoid and it showed 12.54 volts. Replaced the starter and still nothing. What did I miss? Thanks

 

[SportsterDoc]

To start diagnosis, check resistance from battery negative post to your engine block. Ideally it would be less than 0.2 ohms.

Or simply disconnect the battery ground cable at the frame, then clean and reconnect.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[jdmartin]

I say you have a dead cell/cells somewhere in the battery. Replace the battery. I have found over the past 15 years all kinds of weird symptoms are solved by just replacing the battery. Had a similar situation in my Nissan Titan. I'd drive to the store and be fine, come out and click - nothing. Would pull the cables, clean the connections, test the voltage and alternator, get back in and it would start fine. Two days later I'd get into the truck and the gauges would all start acting screwy. Replaced a couple of IPDM relays which appeared to solve the problem for a couple of days, then back to bizzaro land. Finally just said the hell with it and replaced the battery - problem solved.

Bottom line is that on all these new electronics over the past 20 years, cars are super sensitive to current and voltage more than they ever were in the past. Car batteries have gotten better - it doesn't seem like it, but there's more draw these days on batteries and my original Soul battery lasted 8+ years - but the cars are smarter than the batteries any more.

 

[zbeegle]

I say you have a dead cell/cells somewhere in the battery. Replace the battery. I have found over the past 15 years all kinds of weird symptoms are solved by just replacing the battery. Had a similar situation in my Nissan Titan. I'd drive to the store and be fine, come out and click - nothing. Would pull the cables, clean the connections, test the voltage and alternator, get back in and it would start fine. Two days later I'd get into the truck and the gauges would all start acting screwy. Replaced a couple of IPDM relays which appeared to solve the problem for a couple of days, then back to bizzaro land. Finally just said the hell with it and replaced the battery - problem solved.

Bottom line is that on all these new electronics over the past 20 years, cars are super sensitive to current and voltage more than they ever were in the past. Car batteries have gotten better - it doesn't seem like it, but there's more draw these days on batteries and my original Soul battery lasted 8+ years - but the cars are smarter than the batteries any more.

Okay, any more ideas? New battery installed. Check the power to the starter 12.54 volts, voltage to solenoid when you turn key. Thoughts?

 

[bwdz75]

So you have a multimeter and the skills to replace a starter so we are in good shape. Do not bother doing resistance tests as if you have one good strand in the wire it will show good numbers and you will just be on a wild goose chase although a bad reading would be an immediate sign of problems just don't let a good reading fool you. Couple of tests that should be performed would be voltage drop tests across power and ground. You will need an assistant for this. So you will place your voltmeter on DC voltage. Place one lead on the negative battery post and the other lead on a clean spot on the engine block as close to the starter as you can get, if you pull up the air filter box the top starter bolt will be a good spot, have your assistant try to crank the engine which will put a load on the circuit and see if you see voltage, anything in the 0.2 volts or more range implies resistance in the ground circuit although a good battery would likely overcome that small but you see anything over that it is a sign of a bad ground. Do the next test, place your lead on the positive large wire from the battery to the starter right on the post, the other lead will need to be attached to the battery post itself so this one will be tough if you don't have a lot of accessories for your meter, same thing you will be looking for, when you try to crank by loading up the circuit you should see next to no voltage in that circuit, you see anything over 0.5 volts on the positive side and there is too much resistance in that circuit. You can also start by checking the voltage drop right at the battery terminal to see if they are bad, put one lead on top of post and one on the outside of the terminal and voltage there while trying to crank is the result of a bad terminal. Of course one other issue could be the clipped in signal wire, I assume you don't have a pin tension gauge to check it so it is dangerous for me to recommend this but if you take lots of precautions with a trusted assistant you can have him/her try to crank it while you wiggle the signal wire on the starter, if your assistant runs you over or you get your hand trapped remember I said to be smart about this. One of those is likely to be your problem if you are certain you have a good battery and that your positive post is tight on that battery (if I only had a $ for every Auto zone battery that the posts are too small for the kias and cause this problem)

 

[eGAK009]

"if your assistant runs you over or you get your hand trapped remember I said to be smart about this"
- bwdz75

This is my primary concern when applying intake cleaner with my wife's assistance.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Do not bother doing resistance tests as if you have one good strand in the wire it will show good numbers and you will just be on a wild goose chase although a bad reading would be an immediate sign of problems just don't let a good reading fool you.

Or, from post 2: Or simply disconnect the battery ground cable at the frame, then clean and reconnect.

 

[bwdz75]

Oddly enough I had a Soul doing the exact same thing today so as always I throw it up in the air and tap on the starter and nothing so I clip on my leads to do a power side draw test (which I did not expect much but I always follow procedure and verify my work) and sure enough I have over 4 volts on the positive side when cranking or rather trying to crank. This car was missing the shield underneath and we are in a "salt on the roads in winter state" and even though it is a 2018 the connection right at the starter was incredibly corroded. I sanded the end of the cable, wire brushed the starter posts and put on a new nut and the car fired right up. It is pulling only 130-150 amps and steady with no spikes anywhere so I don't suspect it has a dead spot in it. Half hour labor and a dozen more starts just to be sure and I gave the car back to the customer.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Such a common issue is so oft overlooked!
Frequent advice for Sportsters is to check BOTH ends of BOTH battery cables.