Turn ignition - dead silence.

[Tafftastic]

Hi complete newbie with quick question as trying to fault find via Haynes Manual before speaking to garage. I'm broke so trying to avoid that route - dead car on driveway and no clue feels it could get expensive. Wondered if someone could offer advice so i can check cheaper things first.

In summary - its an 2011 Astra auto - never had issues but battery replaced a few years ago. light use.

yesterday tried to start but it didnt catch properly with loud noise but not the engine firing, thought battery might be low, used battery booster but didnt work, thought the booster pack might be too low so fully charged that, tried again and it just made whirring dry noise so different to first time. the lights were bright, radio works, etc.

i unplugged the battery as asked someone to come over with jump leads. but when i plugged the battery back in - turned the key and nothing happened. jump leads had no effect. total silence. put the full 2000amp booster on. total silence.

in terms of troubleshooting. i'm going to find a multimeter but should i take the battery out completely and just drag it to kwik fit for them to check the health or could it be a fuse that works specifically on the starter?

Thanks if you reply - struggling a bit and need a car.

[NMNeil]

Almost impossible to diagnose non starts from a distance, but from your description I'd check the starter motor, battery cable, and ground straps.
But that's a best guess.

[Boosted LS1]

As above, clean the connections at the starter, emery cloths good. Make sure the connections are a snug fit.

I thought this thread would be about an EV as I imagine they don't roar into life.

[hellorent]

Is it in park/neutral

[Tafftastic]

Thanks! Yes it's in park. I will start Googling and go through those in order.

Really appreciate the replies!

[aka_kerrly]

Tafftastic said:

yesterday tried to start but it didnt catch properly with loud noise but not the engine firing, thought battery might be low, used battery booster but didnt work, thought the booster pack might be too low so fully charged that, tried again and it just made whirring dry noise so different to first time. the lights were bright, radio works, etc.

i unplugged the battery as asked someone to come over with jump leads. but when i plugged the battery back in - turned the key and nothing happened. jump leads had no effect. total silence. put the full 2000amp booster on. total silence.

I'm intrigued by the first line, the engine turned over but didn't make it's normal noise? What sort of noise was it then?

After this do you mean that when you had a boaster pack and are confident the battery is sending enough power to the starter motor you can only the starter makes noise but the engine does NOT TURN?

you'd be incredibly unlucky but when a cam chain/belt snaps you only tend to hear a starter as none of the top assembly of the engine is turning.. can you turn the engine by hand and check timing marks.

Or a more simple solution could be the switch on the auto box that tells the ECU it's in park , these can fail and prevent the ECU switching fuel pump/injectors an possibly the starter motor to.

[GreenV8S]

Use a volt meter to measure the battery voltage at rest and when you're trying to start it. If the battery voltage is under about 12.5 V it needs charging. If the voltage is good at rest but drops below about 11V while trying to start it, you probably have a knackered battery. If it doesn't drop while you're trying to start it, you probably have an electrical problem. If you don't see battery voltage on the solenoid terminal while trying to start it then there is a problem with the control circuit through the ignition switch, alarm etc. It's conceivable something has been upset by your previous attempts to start it with a dead battery eg the alarm triggering and needing to be reset.

[tapkaJohnD]

You have disconnecetd the battery and left it like that for a while.
Experts - wont this have scrambled the security on the car (2011-vintage, so must have some) and made it unstartable, without dealer input?