starting problem....and more!!!

[nyc1rob]

Ok...This one's got me stumped...2010 genesis sedan 4.6...My car has a problem starting intermittently. When it doesn't start, the brake pedal will be locked up and car is dead....After about 4 or 5 minutes everything on the dashboard lights up as if I started the car, then I just have to press the start button and it starts...But after the car is running, the clock is always reset to a different time and sometimes the shade goes up and down by itself.

This is what I checked:
all connections to battery...seems ok
main fuse (big yellow one) is seated ok

From what I heard on here, it could be the "brake switch" but why all the other weird symptoms? clock, shade?

Taking it to Hyundai Monday morning..4/22

Thanks Rob

 

[mikec]

Those other symptoms point to flaky battery connections. At either end. Pop the hood and open the black plastic cover on the box near the rear of the engine bay, passenger side.

It's either the smaller battery wire (that powers most of the car except the starter motor) or the beefy ground wire. The ground may be loose/sloppy in the trunk too - follow the black wire from the battery to where it attaches to the chassis.

While testing for sloppy connections, having interior lights ON and/or headlights ON (engine off though) helps. You or a helper can see fluctuations in the lights when you wiggle wires near the problem connection.

A battery with a bad internal connection can do this too. Much harder to troubleshoot unless you have a voltmeter to test directly at the battery posts.

Next time it happens, turn on the interior lights... do they work? Or are they dim?

mike c.

 

[homeofstone]

Did you check the battery ground (negative) wire in the trunk where it connects to the body of the car?