Electrical short problem maybe

[mtnbob]

Car wouldn't start tonight. Battery was fine, clicking under the hood, not repeatedly like when the starter is going out. While i turned the steering wheel, the horn beeped a little on its own then stopped. I couldn't jumpstart it nothing happened. I managed to push start it my self(thank god it starts easy), and drove it 35 miles home with no problem. When i shut it off in the driveway, it restarted easily like nothing was ever wrong. I know these things don't fix themselves for long. Any suggestions where to start? Could there a connection between the steering making the horn sound a little, and the car not starting?

[lyeinyoureye]

I'm going for battery problem, but it could be a short. The battery could still be strong enough to energize the solenoid and kinda sorta honk the horn even if it's near the end of it's life. Take off one of the battery cables and put a multimeter in line to measure for current use when it's off to see if something is draining it.

[jettaman8691]

I have had similar issues at times, and it did turn out to be a short. Kind of hard to find sometimes, but since you know it is in the area of the steering wheel, that's a good place to start. After you get the steering wheel of, look for any rub spots or breaks in wires. The wires get brittle over time.

[mtnbob]

Thank you I will look into it this weekend. That would make sense since I've been replacing just about every rubber part on the car. Would the relay make any difference? I had my cold start relay replaced with a used one(all I could find at the time). I bought one to have a spare anyway. Or doesn't that only affect the glow plugs?

[jettaman8691]

When it come to electrical stuff, the problem can offen come from the darndest place, so I always just start at the closest thing to the problem. Good luck.

[CoolAirVw]

..... not repeatedly like when the starter is going out.

Dont be so quick to rule out the starter. Take a voltmeter with you. Next time it wont start make sure you have 12V at starter on Positive battery cable with key off. Then check voltage on the small wire on the starter that engages the solenoid while someone holds the key in the start position for you. Note: Small wire will probally be less than 12V if your glows are burning.

Sometimes my horn honks because the other keys on my key ring jam up in between the steering column and the steering wheel making connection on the brushes inside there.

Took me a few months to figure out that was it . Usually it was when I was starting but it also happened when turning sometimes.

[mtnbob]

hmm excellent points ty

[Tac]

I also would think starter. Before taking the steering wheel of check it out with the volt meter. Then check under the streering wheel. I had a small short at the fuse for the GP. But of course it's only shorted when the GP are on. Look at this.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welc ... 2bZm3cMXUw

[VWCaddy]

Might also be the chassis to engine ground that has an issue. I ended up adding a separate ground cable from the motor mount to the block on my '82. Had problems with intermittent starting problems. For a simple test if this will help, just clamp a battery jumper cable from the battery "-" post to the engine block and see if it starts better. If so, that might be the cause of the problem.

[Fatmobile]

Might also be the chassis to engine ground that has an issue. I ended up adding a separate ground cable from the motor mount to the block on my '82. Had problems with intermittent starting problems.

Yep, ya beat me too it.... reading through the post,.... I know, I know reading, reading and last post someone steals my guess.
Just kidding I always appreciate your input.
Crank it for awhile and feel for hot/warm spots. I always suspect the ground connections. Not having the chassis ground connected can make some funny things happen.... and not having the block grounded correctly will slow down the starter.

[58 special]

same thing happened to me here recently when the temps dropped to about 40...
the caddy wouldnt turn over fast enough to start it, like the batt. was dead.
tried jumping it and nothing happened. finaly I found I had a bad positive batt. cable, and then i had a new starter in my parts turck and put it on too and she turns alot faster now
so for me it was a combination of both cable and the starter.

[Vdub-bub]

Check your cable connections on your solenoid, sometimes there can be some corrosion making for poor contact, it might seem good and tight but still not making a good connection.

[inmytree]

Not sure if this is helpful, but this is a post on my intermittent no-start problem...

viewtopic.php?t=6533&highlight=