2001 SL (silver in color, 4 doors, 4 wheels, etc.). have had problems with car not starting, even though battery is new. Turning the key results in nothing, all lights on dashboard are off, except sometimes security light. Some smal clicking sound can be heard, but not from the engine turning. Turning key into 'on' position, all the usual lights on dashboard come on, including Security light.

Happened last month, and, just from having it towed, the local garage said it worked fine when they turned the key. Then brought it to dealership, they said it could be the remote starter or A/C, neither of which i have on my car. They said they had removed or bypassed the A/C (which, again, I do not have). They then corrected their answer to something about my car being A/C ready and that's what they did. Whatever, they're quickly losing my confidence. At their suggestion, I also had new keys cut at the dealership.

Because it's electrical, I doubt any other auto-shop will touch it.

any similar incidents?

 

hmm i had a problem with that when i locked my doors with the remote lock the car would not start untill i unlocked the door. im not sure if you said you checked that yet but i would give it a shot

 

nope, no automatic locks. I don't have any of those power windows, power locks, auto-starter or even A/C.

 

Question here, turn the key to the "ON" position. Have somebody stand in front of the car, and watch as you turn the key to "START" ... do the lights stay bright, or do they dim/go out ???

 

I could do that, but it involves me looking for a drive down to work & back. Could you give me a "what if..." scenario if the lights stay on or off?

 

Welll, if the lights go dim (even though you have a new battery), I would suspect a defective battery cable - more likely the one for the positive side of the battery. With a bad cable, the starter can't get enough power to spin the engine

 

Does sound like the positive battery cable.

 

tried to disconnect the battery, in hopes of resetting the security feature. didn't work.

So I had it towed to the dealership, and, in case anyone wants to know what the cause was, it was a cross thread left behind when the new battery was installed, (4 months ago?) which would have slowly drained the battery, thus setting-off the security feature, and eventually, though much slowly, draining the battery entirely.

Hmmm, sounds odd, but they didn't charge me for service this time.

 

sounds nonsensical