2002 Buick Rendezvous not starting

PUKABOY

MEMBER
2002 BUICK RENDEZVOUS
FWD
AUTOMATIC
153,000 MILES

2002 Buick Rendezvous clicking sound when attempting to start. Two years on a 3 year battery, voltage 14.8VDC (engine running) measured across +post on the fuze/relay box and body grounding point. After engine is shutdown measured 10VDC at same location. Pulled battery and measure 12.4VDC on the bench. Have not had cranking amperage tested. I've had this problem before with the car and pulled all of the battery cables to clean and inspect, same with the body ground connections. This time around the car goes about 10 start cycles and then will not turn over. Works fine if I jump the battery but won't start after that unless I put the battery on a charger. I suspect a weak battery but also want to make sure I'm not missing an intermittant ground or something to do with a bad relay in the system.

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DOCFIXIT

MECHANIC
18,828 POSTS

Put meter across BATT terms have helper start does voltage drop?

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Thursday, April 18th, 2019 AT 1:51 PM

PUKABOY

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4 POSTS

Doc,

Already have the battery out. Should I install it and do the voltage drop test before I take the battery to have the cranking amperage tested? Also, what does the voltage drop tell me about the battery? Thanks

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Thursday, April 18th, 2019 AT 1:51 PM

DOCFIXIT

MECHANIC
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Would tell if Batt or starter if Batt out go have tested

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Thursday, April 18th, 2019 AT 1:51 PM

PUKABOY

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OK. I'll let you know what they tell me.

Thanks

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Thursday, April 18th, 2019 AT 1:51 PM

PUKABOY

MEMBER
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Doc,

Took battery to store for check and discovered the helicoil was loose in the positive terminal. The parts guy told me he wouldn't be able to get a valid check. Although the connection was tight in the terminal I figured the loose helicoil might explain the problem so I brought a new battery home and hooked it up.

I did the voltage drop checks and got the following results:

Batt voltage between the terminals - 12.6VDC
Batt Voltage between the terminals with the key in the run position (car not started) - 12.2VDC
Voltage drop between terminals when cranking - 1.1V
Voltage drop between Neg terminal and chassis ground when cranking -.04V
Voltage drop between Pos terminal and starter when cranking -.18V
Batt Voltage between the terminals with the key in the run position (car started) - 14.4VDC

I buttoned everything up and did 10 start cycles with some driving in between. It seems to be running fine and starts right up each time. I'll try first thing in the morning to see if sitting overnight is an issue.

Could it have been as simple as the helicoil?

Thanks