Car not starting :(

Hi Guys,

I've done a few searches but all the threads found seem to be a bit different to my problem.

My car has been rarely driven in the last month coz its got no rego, but I've at least taken it for a lap around the block once every 4-5 days to keep everything running ok...

When I tried to start my car last nite there was no cranking sound or even the "click click click" you get when the battery's almost dead.

My dad's old car wasn't touched for 3 months and i knew the battery would be dead coz he didn't unplug the battery terminals, but it at least made the clicking sound when you turn the key after 3 months...

is this a battery related problem or possibly a starter motor problem?

Do the lights on your dash all light up when you turn the key to "I"? If not, then your battery is totally flat.

Get a new battery or someone to lend you their battery.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aaronng

Do the lights on your dash all light up when you turn the key to "I"? If not, then your battery is totally flat.

Get a new battery or someone to lend you their battery.

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Yeah my dash, radio, headlights, power windows all still work?

Have you even tried to jump start it or maybe see if the voltage is down?

The car needs pretty much the whole 12V to start...
If it's down it may not start but everything else may still work as they can get by on lower voltage

For example the trucks we service must have 24V to start up... if its anything lower than 23V then there is absolutely no chance of them starting
Cars are generally not that picky but still

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Originally Posted by civic-dream

Yeah my dash, radio, headlights, power windows all still work?

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Have you tried with someone elses battery yet? (just use jumper cables, with the donor car totally OFF)

Connect the batteries of the two cars using jumper leads
Start the donor car
Try to start your car

If you don't start the donor car it may no get enough juice
With the donor car running it will have about 14V which you may loose a bit of that if you have shit jumper leads, so that way you get that little bit extra that you may just need to start it

Also check the fluid level of the battery and get a battery hydrometer to test the acid from Repco or K Mart they are like $6

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Drew

Have you even tried to jump start it or maybe see if the voltage is down?

The car needs pretty much the whole 12V to start...
If it's down it may not start but everything else may still work as they can get by on lower voltage

For example the trucks we service must have 24V to start up... if its anything lower than 23V then there is absolutely no chance of them starting
Cars are generally not that picky but still

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Ok .. but shouldn't it at least make the ticking sound?

Depends how flat your battery is

Could the battery have drained that much in about 4 days?

sorry guys if this just turns out to be a flat battery problem.. i'll be quite embarassed:o

But i was expecting it to at least crank if it started totally fine just a few days ago..

Could be...

But heres an idea... go and try to jump start your car first

If it starts then good for you...

If not then well too bad, come back here and we might actually have something else to go by

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Drew

Depends how flat your battery is

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yes thats true lol ... tick tick tick .. and wont start... :p tick tick sounds is the distributor i think :confused: hahahaa..

if you dont have a jumpstart... ask ur mates to push ur car 2-3 people is enough.

put the gears on 3rd and put ur clutch fully down ..
and when u start getting speed by 3 blokes that pushing ur car LOL :zip: ... realease tthe clutch slowly as if u changing gears :p
den .. when the motor start runing .. quickly push ur foot on accel pedal with clutch pressed down and cahnge gears to 1st quickly

it works hahahah

although assuming ur car is manual yeah ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 040501912

yes thats true lol ... tick tick tick .. and wont start... :p tick tick sounds is the distributor i think :confused: hahahaa..

if you dont have a jumpstart... ask ur mates to push ur car 2-3 people is enough.

put the gears on 3rd and put ur clutch fully down ..
and when u start getting speed by 3 blokes that pushing ur car LOL :zip: ... realease tthe clutch slowly as if u changing gears :p
den .. when the motor start runing .. quickly push ur foot on accel pedal with clutch pressed down and cahnge gears to 1st quickly

it works hahahah

although assuming ur car is manual yeah ;)

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haha thanks for the advice.. but my car doesn't make the ticking sound... if it did then i wouldn't be as worried coz i'd just think it was a battery problem...

but i guess i'll try roll start or jumpstart it anyways

Well at least if your car doesn't start you have some good rep now

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Originally Posted by Drew

Well at least if your car doesn't start you have some good rep now

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:p i think i'll take your advice and try jump starting it first...

i'll get back to you guys if it doesn't work :wave:

ahahhaa ... :p good luck ! you will need it

If you cant get anything by jump starting I'll tell you how to forcefully start it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Drew

If you cant get anything by jump starting I'll tell you how to forcefully start it

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Does it look anything like your avatar? lol

why not just pull the battery out and take it to supercheap to have them test it? Obviously the cca's are low and your battery may not be salvagable at this point. The battery for that car requires a fairly high amount of cold cranking amps 430 or so, in order to turn over the high compression ratio engine.


Should cost you 80-180 depending on the quality battery you get.

If you luck out with push starting or jump starting it (not always likely to work) there's a good chance that the cells wont have the ablity to produce the amps required to retain the use of your battery any longer.

It's best to drive the car on the motorway if you're trying to charge the battery via the alternator. If you know the car is going to be sitting for a while. One of the most common and effective ways to prevent the battery from draining cell life is to dis-connect the negative terminal clamp on the battery.


Hope this helps,

^^ It'll probably need only 2xx CCA to start.

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Originally Posted by aaronng

^^ It'll probably need only 2xx CCA to start.

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Anythings possible...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dsp26

Does it look anything like your avatar? lol

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Yeah something like that...

You just run a wire from the positive terminal on the battery to the starter solenoid and should throw the starter and crank the car

If it works that way but not with the key then something is wrong with the wiring

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnnyVtec

why not just pull the battery out and take it to supercheap to have them test it? Obviously the cca's are low and your battery may not be salvagable at this point. The battery for that car requires a fairly high amount of cold cranking amps 430 or so, in order to turn over the high compression ratio engine.


Should cost you 80-180 depending on the quality battery you get.

If you luck out with push starting or jump starting it (not always likely to work) there's a good chance that the cells wont have the ablity to produce the amps required to retain the use of your battery any longer.

It's best to drive the car on the motorway if you're trying to charge the battery via the alternator. If you know the car is going to be sitting for a while. One of the most common and effective ways to prevent the battery from draining cell life is to dis-connect the negative terminal clamp on the battery.


Hope this helps,

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thanks alot for the useful info :D

I jump started the car last nite and it started fine... so i pretty much got worried for nothing...

I wasn't aware that a fairly new battery could lose power so quickly .. I drove the car around for about 20mins every 4-5 days to stop this from happening ... now i realise it wasn't enough to keep the battery charged.

make sure the terminals on the battery are done tight. if they arnt it wont charge.