I have a 2000 cadillac seville STS. Idrove all day and everything was fine.I park thecar for a few minutesand when it's time to get back on the road the car won't start there is just this ticking sound and the lights flicker on and off. I get a jump and take it to the nearest auto shop and they tell me that everything is fine,the battery andthe alternator voltage... what could this be?

 

Check out the starter, and check all electric connections.

 

I'm guessing this still has the original AC Delco battery. Seven years on one of these and it is time to think about another. G.A.R.Y. says checkout connections and this is good advice, especially the ground. Make sure the starter connections are solid. Did the shop test your battery? Once started the car will recharge the battery so it may appear OK. When you try and start it you are drawing on the Cold Cranking Amps and the flickering lights and clicking starter tell me you have a weak battery. Maybe you left something on inside car, a map light, a phone charger, something like that which drew it down. If this is the case the battery has probably recovered and may be fine.

 

Hey Katzmans Caddy. What is the ground?

 

The negative terminal on the battery is the "Ground" the black wire that goes on the battery. You need an excellent ground at all times. If the area where it meets the battery is loose or dirty you could try loosening off the ground wire and with fine steel wool brush the area on the battery where it connects as well as the end connector on the black wire. Shine them up. Tighten them back together. Make sure the red wire is tight and clean as well. Once you disconnect the ground you may have to reset your saved settings on the radio, set the clock, seat etc...

 

I would tend to agree with Katzman, you may have a loose connection somewhere, or alternately some corrosion at the terminals. I had a similar problem on a GMC truck I owned, and I thought the problem was a bad starter when it turned out it was just corroded battery terminals. The truck had started just fine that morning, too, and the battery voltage appeared fine, but the corrosion at the terminals was just enough to make it not start.Man was I angry when I replaced the starter, only to find that I needed to remove the battery terminals and clean them. [:@]Your flickering lights would indicate that this may be your problem as well.

Next after this would be as G.A.R.Y. suggests, check the starter. But that's a lot harder to do than the battery, so do the easy stuff first.

 

Definately check your battery terminals and make sure nothing is grounding out. Just take off your negative battery terminal and then put it back on making sure that it has a good connection. Also make sure that your battery posts are clean because this can also cause a bad connection.

 

Dont forget to check the selinoid as well. WHen it begins to malfunction, there is a clicking sound and the electronics kinda go haywire. If its on the verge of kicking the bucket it will do the same things your caddy is doing.

 

Just remember guys where the starter is on a Northstar.

 

I know this thread is pretty old but I am having a similar problem. I have the same car and I am also having a battery issue. My car was running fine until I parked one day to wait for my friend and left the key on with the radio playing, my friend comes out and I try starting the car up but it wouldn't start. My friends dad jump starts it and we are off. I get to my house and we chill, when its time for him to leave, my car wouldn't start again. This time I get my neighbor to jump start it, and we are off. We get to his house, I drop him off and I went home. The following morning comes, I get into my car and it wont start again, security light isnt on and no lights were working. I check the battery and there were no loose cables or anything, it was completely dead. That same day, I take it to pepboys to have it checked, and they tell me that its dead and that I can recharge it for $5, I said ok. He tries to recharge it and it wouldn't recharge.... he said it was to "hot", whatever that means... I said fine, I'll just buy a new battery. He looks up my car and he takes out the right battery for my car, I noticed right away that the battery I had was much smaller than the one he sold me. I get home and I take a look at the space provided for the battery and it was a perfect fit. Now, I'm thinking that the owner that had it before installed a random battery that wasnt even the right size and slapped it on (I bought the caddy at an auction like 8 months ago). I install the battery and I notice that the security light comes on and the little red light on the dashboard also came on. I try starting the car and it doesn't want to stay on, it cranks, but the accelorating needle just falls all the way at zero when it was idling at 1 when the car would start fine. I just really hope its not the alternator... It also needs an oil change and a tune up right about now so once I get it to start I will take it to the mechanic shop to do that. I need help trying to get it started though, any help would be greatly appretiated. Thanks!