Car will click, but won't start

[Ursae_Majoris]

2002 Isuzu Axiom (similar to Isuzu Rodeo), 67K miles.
Happens intermittently, in the morning. I will turn the key, hear one click but nothing else.

Original starter, battery is 2 years old (JCI Costco battery). Car has factory alarm, aftermarket 2-way AstroStart remote starter. Plain, non-transponder, key.

I thought it might me remote starter interfering (years ago I had problems with it killing the car soon after start, but that has been fixed with complete removal/reinstall of the starter).

Turned off the remote starter last night. This morning I turned key 5 or 6 times before car started up.

Isuzu also has a safety feature that will not allow starter to engage if the engine is running.

I am thinking about stopping by AZ to pull any codes. If there is nothing stored, I will disconnect the battery overnight to clear the ECM and BCM of any errors.

Next I can pull the remote starter brains out completely (wires just unplug).

I am hesitant to throw money away and replace an OEM Denso starter with a re-built no-name, if I am not 100% sure it is the culprit.

Any thoughts?

 

[SLCraig]

Bad connection? New battery has me thinking its just a connection problem. I have seen that before.

 

[HerrStig]

If it's a Denso it's likely to be the contacts inside the solenoid. They can be replaced without the need to buy a new starter. Put a voltmeter on the terminal on the starter with the fat wire running to it from the battery. Engage the starter. If the voltage stays at battery voltage and the starter doesn't turn then the internal contacts are flakey. If the voltage drops a couple, then the starter drive/motor may be at fault. If it drops many volts then the connection to the battery needds to be looked at.

 

[Carbon]

Also put the meter on the battery. If the battery voltage drops below 11 volts while cranking, charge the battery.

 

[Michael_P]

Agreed with SLCraig. When I was 18, I changed the entire charging system and battery on a 10 year old car. It turned out to be the negative battery cable. The thing is, it looked intact. It just had corrosion behind the insulation which I could not see. Since then I have seen this several times.

 

[VK56VD]

I'm betting it's a starter. I had a somewhat intermittent issue on my car that was similar to yours. It was extremely hard to narrow down. People have told me the battery connections, ignition switch, and so on...

It finally gave out where it wouldn't start any more.

Put in a different starter and no issues follow.

Tap on the starter when it doesn't engage. After a few firm taps, if it starts right up, most likely it's the culprit.

Let us know what you uncover.

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

Thank you all.
I will let you know what I uncover. The bad part is it does not start in the morning, when I really need to go to work, so I do not have time to trouble shoot it.

I'll start it this Saturday/Sunday and try to measure voltage on the starter.