I just bought a '97 SL2 that overheated due to a bad valve cover gasket. I trailered it home, and I've just begun to work on it. I was attempting to get the car to crank, and it seems like the battery has completely gone dead. Crazy thing is, the battery is showing 12 volts. I don't have any lights or anything, its like the battery isn't even in the car.


The other odd thing was, the first time I tried to crank it, the engine spun over but did not crank. When I turned the ignition off, the fan came on and would not go off. Any ideas on either of these???

Overheated due to a bad valve cover gasket or due to a bad head </span>gasket?

The battery must be able to supply enough current </span>(at a voltage of 12 V) to start the car and power the PCM, etc. It may read 12V with no load on it, but if you measure it with the key in the ON (cranking) position, it will drop severely if the battery is dead/unable to supply the current needed.

Engine spinning is usually referred to as cranking....i think you meant it cranked but wouldn't fire --this would be consistent with not having enough juice from the battery to even make a spark....

As for fan staying on --- the PCM is unable to operate properly without sufficient current at its needed voltage --therefore all bets are off as to whether to expect proper control of things controlled by it.

Try charging battery --- otherwise replace.

Derf

Ok....let me rephrase this. If you were to take the battery out of the car and test it with a multimeter it would show 12V. If you put it back in the car and hooked it up, the car would act as if the battery was NOT in the car. It has no power whatsoever, and I don't mean cranking. I mean no lights, no ding when the door is open, nothing. I checked all of the 30 amp maxi fuses in the fuse box under the hood, and they are all fine. So far I am still in the dark on this. I'm going to trace the leads off the battery tomorrow and see if one has somehow managed to come off. Any other thoughts would be appriciated.

In that case, check integrity of + battery cable, - battery cable, and their connections to the battery (corrosion). Also, the + terminal on the battery itself may be partially corroded from internal acid leakage around the seal.....

Try jumping it from a good battery.
If you get power when the good battery is hooked up, you're probably just looking at a dead battery. If you don't, it is likely more complicated.

Also, check the reading on your voltmeter when you're trying to crank the engine -- as indicated above, the v probably takes a dive under load.

Derf