Greetings everyone,
Recently had an issue with the car failing to start, initially seen a few weeks ago. Due to my lack of initiative, I assumed the battery was not retaining charge and changed it, resulting in a £200 error.
After extricating myself from bed in the evening to do some diagnostics, I believe I have identified a power supply problem.
Here is a summary of the symptoms I am experiencing.
The car began the other day, remained idle overnight, and successfully started in the morning. After a brief drive, it failed to start five minutes after being turned off, with the battery reading 12.45 volts.
The vehicle begins operation with support from an auxiliary battery via the front jump terminals.
The alternator measures 14.5 volts. Current drain when the vehicle is off (not in sleep mode). 70 milliamperes
The push-to-start mechanism produces an audible relay click. The IBS sensor has been removed, still the engine fails to start.
The voltage measurements taken under load and straight from the battery in the trunk yielded the following results:
12.6 volts while turned off, 12.5 volts with ignition on, and 12.2 volts when cranking.
When measured from the front jump ports: 11.6V with ignition on, 0.4V while cranking.
Relocating the battery from the rear compartment to the engine block and trying to initiate the start using jumper cables produced a repeating clicking sound reminiscent of a machine cannon.
I am led to assume that the positive wire from the battery to the engine compartment is defective. Conversely, I believe that the battery connected to the front jumps should have started the automobile.
Any recommendations or additional aspects to evaluate would be highly appreciated.
I like a challenging problem, but this one is overwhelming me.