I went to start my 1999 Monte Carlo the other morning and … nothing. All the lights come on and the radio works but there is no attempt to turn over, not even the click of the solenoid. I popped the hood to find a squirrel claiming squatters rights to my engine compartment. Insulation ripped from under the hood was jammed in next to the alternator and in the serpantine belt. I cleared it all out and began hunting for frayed or broken wires. I couldn’t find a one! I went through all of the fuses and replaced four that were probably already blown before Rocky moved in. I’m at a loss. Here’s the wierd part - my electric trunk release no longer works from the button in the car or on the remote. Just a faint click coming from behind the back seat somewhere. Any ideas on where to go from here?
There are wires running from the control units to the engine compartment where the power supply is through areas like the roof posts. It’s likely wiring in one of these areas has been chewed. Happened to me when these "rats " got into my overhead console and the entire headliner had to be removed to fix the rear power window and lights from the belt line up. These critters don’t just stay where the nest. They have nothing better to do but explore, chew and return. Where to go from here ? Unless you have enough time, inclination and tools, take it to mechanic. You need to know your schematic and have a multimeter and lots of time or money to have some one else do it.
maybe your poor monte carlo just wanted a friend? how long had it been since you and he just hung out for the day?
maybe the squirrel actually took time from his nut gathering and just had a nice chat with monte, and monte was so pleased he invited him in for the long winter months out of kindness and loneliness…
I had a sqirrel or squirrels make a home out of a Ford explorer that I bought once. THe truck had a bad fuel line and the people let it sit for months without disturbing it. It happened that the cover where the clutch master cylinder would go thru had fallen off at some point and this is where they got in. I got the truck cheap and once I fixed the fuel problem I found the nesting stuff all over the cab. Their nests were all in behind the dash and I had to strip the interrior to clean it all up.
In your case I wonder if it is just a coincidence and you just have a bad connection at the battery or the cables somewhere. I’d remove the cables…clean the posts and clamps good and charge the battery.If the battery is more than 4 years old, I’d replace that too. You may have gotten lucky and that they just had moved in and didn’t have the time yet to explore too much and destroy anything.
You are hearing a click when you use the trunk button so the wiring could be ok…just not enough amps traveling thru the battery connections for it to work properly, just like the starter.
Yosemite
I agree with yosemite. your terminals could just have oxidized or corroded and this is coincidence.
lights and all will still sometimes work if the connection is poor