Help car wont start, Batt problem Options

[whatthe]

Ok help !!
I was trying to install a short shifter took off the negative terminal on the batt. That was the night before. Together put everything back together. Music plays Dash lights come on. As i try start the car it dies. Now nothing turns on.

What do i do? Jump start the car/batt again?

[Remy]

Before you try to jump start it try checking your fuses first.

[whatthe]

^this is going to sound noob as hell but how and which one? The ones under the hood or the ones inside the car? And what do you mean by check?

thanks for the quick reply remy

[garin]

did you test the battery? if you have a multimeter. 12v= good. less then 12, you need a new battery.

[bccentaur3]

So all the lights don't even come on now?

This post has been edited by bccentaur3: Dec 15, 2008 - 11:33 PM

[Remy]

Make sure they're not broken like that. Just check every fuse you have it'll be easier lol if your all your fuses are still good we'll move onto step 2.



This post has been edited by Remy: Dec 15, 2008 - 11:35 PM

[whatthe]

I tried to start it again, this time turned off the radio and everything then tried to start it and just made a low click sound like before and after that no lights or anything. Ill check the fuses now and i dont have a voltmeter

This post has been edited by whatthe: Dec 15, 2008 - 11:42 PM

[NGHTKD]

this happened with my mates 6th gen and it turned out to be a blown fuse

This post has been edited by NGHTKD: Dec 15, 2008 - 11:43 PM

[whatthe]

Ok, all the fuses under the hood are good . . what now guys? jump start?

This post has been edited by whatthe: Dec 15, 2008 - 11:51 PM

[Remy]

Yes now try to jumpstart it.

[whatthe]

First try, struggled and failed. Second try Success !! Guess i learnt something new today

Thanks for everyones quick replies

[trd_420]

if your headlights are dimm its the battery!! JUST GIVE IT A JUMP!!

gLAD WE COULD HELP

[legalkid86]

if the car cannot maintain to stay on while on idle its the alternator its draining your battery and if you cont with a faulty generator it will mess up the batter in return the ecu....

[whatthe]

ok im back again. . .car started i went for a drive(5mins or so) to charge the batt back up.i come back home turned it off. Tried turning it back on and same thing happening again. Should i leave the car on longer to charge the back up more? you rekon its just hasnt been on for long enough to charge the car back up?

[legalkid86]

Its either you have a lose cable that comes directly from the starter, or your battery is completely dead as long as it does not die when your driving it than its not your alternator if it does not turn on after been turned off its your battery...

[PHLCELICA]

I've had that problem before. Next time try and move the battery cables to a tight position and see if it'll start.

[whatthe]

Yeh when the car is on and im driving it doesnt die. Only when its off and i turn it on. Thing is its got a new battery 5 months ago. . . Well ive jumped it and going to leave the car on for 15mins and turn it off and turn it back on to see if its going to run. If not something is up

Alright the car was on in my driveway. . and now it just turned off itself. =/

This post has been edited by whatthe: Dec 16, 2008 - 12:39 AM

[legalkid86]

very rare the battery would be the problem, more than likely its the cable from the starter. do you hear it crank though??

[whatthe]

yeh i do hear a crank, what do you mean cable from the starter? where is it locateed?

This post has been edited by whatthe: Dec 16, 2008 - 12:43 AM

[legalkid86]

its the positive cable that runs from the back of the starter *near the back of the engine and runs to the positive terminal. check the post remove the cables from the post and reassure the cables and reattach the cables, though if the car turned off that does not sound like your cables it would have to be a faulty alternator does you car have an amp gauge? to see how many volts its putting out??

[azian_advanced]

one thing you should do is clean the battery terminals.. use some sort of wire brush and clean the power and ground connectors that attach to the battery and the terminals on the battery itself. there's a chance that this may be the culprit.
i had this issue in the summer, my battery and alternator were in excellent condition but my car wouldn't start after turning it off. the problem was it was not getting connection due to a layer of oxidization that develop between the connectors and the battery terminals.

[bccentaur3]

Get a voltmeter check your battery. It should be around 12. Then jump the car if it doesn't start and when it does check it again. It should be around 14 or higher. If not and lets say its 13.8 and it slowly drops then its your alternator.

[Remy]

Yeh when the car is on and im driving it doesnt die. Only when its off and i turn it on. Thing is its got a new battery 5 months ago. . . Well ive jumped it and going to leave the car on for 15mins and turn it off and turn it back on to see if its going to run. If not something is up

Alright the car was on in my driveway. . and now it just turned off itself. =/

Get your batt tested even new batts can have problems and be defective too and if the batt tests good its your alt its probably faulty and not charging your batt at all.

[RUNNIN-LOW]

well that has happen to me alot lately.. check your grounds. if all your lights and stuff turn on and radio works but once u try to start the car and all your power just dies and the car wont turn. i think it might be a ground. i had to hook up a 10gauge wire to my starter bolt and chassis. once i did that, my car turn over right away. i would suggest doing that and see if it starts.