Everything you're describing I've read before when people have a bad or run-down battery. Remember, a bad electrical connection can mimic a bad battery. Did you check the two connections I suggested? Those cause a lot of trouble on all brands of vehicles.
The way to find this is to use a digital voltmeter and start right at the battery posts. You must find 12.6 volts if the battery is good and fully-charged. If it's less than that, let me know. Next, a bad connection will show up with voltage readings only when current is trying to flow through the circuit. Turn the head lights on, even if they don't work. At least current will be trying to flow. Now move one of the meter leads from the battery post to the cable clamp on that post. The reading should be the same. Now move the other probe from its battery post to that cable clamp, and again, the reading should be the same. If you find the reading drops even a little when you move to a cable clamp, that connection needs to be cleaned and tightened. A drop in voltage that shows up when two tiny head lights are trying to work indicates a connection that will never let enough current through to run an extremely high-current starter or an entire electrical system.
If no problem was found up to this point, move the probe from the negative cable clamp to a paint-free point on the body. If the voltage reading drops, suspect the smaller wire bolted to the body. Now move the other probe from the positive cable clamp to the under-hood fuse box where the wire is bolted, but to be accurate, touch the probe to the stud or the metal tab going into the fuse box, not to the terminal on the end of the wire. This is the connection where most problems occur. Often you'll see a tiny spark when wiggling that wire.
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Thursday, December 14th, 2017 AT 5:58 PM
