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Drove the car to work yesterday, made a few stops along the way with no issues.

When I got out of the office, the car would no longer crank.

I have a CEL, but no DTC (checked with HP Tuners). No security light. Battery is good (checked with a multimeter while someone else tried to start - dropped from 12.2V to 11.9V).

Scanner can talk to the ECM, all accessories work. I can hear the fuel pump and starter relay clicking. The starter is about a month old and has, at no point, given any indication of suboptimal performance.

About a week ago, I had a similar issue, but it turned out to be a blown 30A fuse. I replaced that and everything was fine. I pulled and checked all of the fuses and everything looks fine.

When viewing the status bits in my scanner, I can see that the clutch position switch is working. I also see a crank request when trying to start the car.

Earlier today, it slowly cranked for about half a second, then stopped. Haven't been able to repeat that.

Good times. I have the factory service manual set but haven't found a useful diagnostic procedure (though I'm probably just looking in the wrong place.)

Suggestions?

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I would suggest it's actually the battery which is at fault. A good battery should register about 13.1-13.5vdc when fully charged. When down to the low 12vdc region (and dropping into 11vdc area during attempted start), the battery really isn't at a good point as far as a charge goes. I'd take it to a parts store and have them load test it for you. They can tell you whether my theory is correct or not. You should be able to give it a jump start and see if that will get the car on the road, then take it to the store to have the battery checked. If a jump start doesn't get you started, my theory may be blown out of the water.

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  • I'll give it a shot, but I replaced the battery at the same time that I replaced the starter a few weeks ago.
    – 3Dave
    Commented Jul 8, 2015 at 17:50
  • No dice. :/ starter relay clicks. (That's not new)
    – 3Dave
    Commented Jul 8, 2015 at 18:31
  • What do you mean by "starter relay clicks" ... this is pretty much online with a dead (or weak) battery. Starter relay clicks, but car doesn't start ... just saying.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Jul 8, 2015 at 18:34
  • I mean I can hear a relay clicking when I turn the key, but still no crank. It was doing that before, I just forgot to mention it. The scanner shows "crank request." I tried jumping it but had no result (not even a slow crank). If it ever stops raining I'll try shorting the starter and see what happens.
    – 3Dave
    Commented Jul 8, 2015 at 19:10
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    Will do. Went ahead and threw the trickle charger and a tool kit in what passes for a trunk.
    – 3Dave
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 0:46

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