Car will not start - Noob Ques

[Dell99]

Need some help from fellow Ozhonda's.

My car was running fine yesterday, keep in mind it was a while since i did my last service. Any how

Went to start the car, and it cranked for a VERY short period n died. I thought sh!t. The parkers are working, the headunit has light but my HID's won't work. so thinking it could be a dead battery.

Went to check on thet dip stick n it was below min.

So i am thinkin that i should go to honda n buy some MTF and just pour the oil in and hopefully it should bring it back to life.

does it sound right?

[STTICH]

if ur car died because of not having enuf engine oil, then no, topping it up wont help.

but seeing u mentioned that there's noticable decrease in power supply ie hid wont work, it could possibly be battery & alternator related. probably a faulty alternator since ur engine was running for awhile then stopped.

any other symptoms?

[Bayani]

Sounds to me like your battery.

You should regularly check your oil. Top-up.

[Dell99]

well the thing is that it worked yesterday. No biggie... anyway went to start it n it wouldn't start during the afternoon.
If it was just oil..... y wouldn't a top up work??

[D4rk4n63l]

because if it was oil related, and I surely hope it wasn't then the damage's done.. no point topping it up. But it sounds more like electrical problem, any mate with jumper lead? otherwise check your battery voltage and your alternator

[80057]

lights dont work = no power = battery

radio and parkers use very little charge. and when you crank you will hear it trying to crank but it wont have enough ticker to.

oil has nothing to do with it. (but u should keep it above the min to prolong engine life, preventitive maintenance)

jumper leads or clutch start engine, then while car is on undo one of the battery connections, if the car still goes alternator is fine, if not alternator is dead and u will need a new one. or go to auto electrician and get it tested, if you sound like you dont know anything then his answer will be you need a new one lol.

[Dell99]

dam..

but disconnecting the battery as the engine is running. as the above post has mentioned. Wouldn't that me not advised

[Chuckz]

yeah seems like battery or alternator....

[Bludger]

well the thing is that it worked yesterday. No biggie... anyway went to start it n it wouldn't start during the afternoon.
If it was just oil..... y wouldn't a top up work??for your engine to die from low oil, there is no point topping up cos the motor would have to be stuffed already for it to die

[teaseR]

So i am thinkin that i should go to honda n buy some MTF and just pour the oil in and hopefully it should bring it back to life.

cant believe on noe picked this out for the bloke....
dont pour MTF in the engine.... haha its FEO!!!

[Dell99]

oops my bad

[Simmo2302]

unlike the lead batteries of old (ask ur parents lol),b4 they died a couple of days b4 u'd notice the car having just enough power to crank over (ie it'd crank slowly b4 kicking over).

these days new batteries are usually lead free (i think) and use other substitute materials, and do not give such warning, they just go open circuit all of a sudden. (ie u stop car, go to atm, withdraw $, go bak to car and the car wont start again).

so sounds like u need a new battery if it is older than 2yrs old.

if not, ur alternator could be on its way out and not charging the battery whilst driving. if so could be as simple as changing the regulator on the alternator or changing the bushes.

hope this helps

[Limbo]

Take the battery to a place that sells batteries and they should have a tester that will tell you if its the battery or the alternator.

Engine oil even if low should be ok, just top it up.
Jump start the car to get there. Or buy a battery backup pack. comes in handy those things

[Dell99]

well guys u were correct, it did turn out to be the battery. Once changed it is all workin fine now, unfortunately i dun hav a multimeter so i guess if the battery dies in 4months then i know its on its way out.

[Simmo2302]

well guys u were correct, it did turn out to be the battery. Once changed it is all workin fine now, unfortunately i dun hav a multimeter so i guess if the battery dies in 4months then i know its on its way out.


dies in 4 months ?? did u buy a 2nd hand battery, waste of money get a new one, 2nd hand batteries r unreliable cos the age of them is unknown.

having a multimeter wont give u early warning if battery is gunna fail, batteries go open circuit without warning.

if its ur alternator not charging the battery, replacing just the battery is just a placebo anyway, cos in a few days the battery will run out (if not sooner) cos not being charged, and u'll beback where u were.

best thing is go and buy a cheap or decent multimeter, it'll save alot of guess work and therefore pay itself off very quickly.

or do what i did when i got my first car (many years ago), just rock up to a mechanic or battery place and ask if they can just quickly have a look, they'll test the battery and alternator for consistant voltage and tell u which one is buggered.

[Dell99]

no the battery is brand new, what i ment is that if the alternator is on its way out then the battery won't charge.
i.e.

[80057]

dam..

but disconnecting the battery as the engine is running. as the above post has mentioned. Wouldn't that me not advised maybe on new cars with high tech computers and stuff, on a EK fine, its old school way of testing, my old man was a mechanic, i aint a know all but i did that to test heaps of cars when i worked weekends for him.


no the battery is brand new, what i ment is that if the alternator is on its way out then the battery won't charge.
i.e.


dude get the alternator tested, cos a new battery probably cost you 80-120, so dont waste money, testing should cost sh*t all.