Car starts when it wants to! Help! Options

[Por2geezcelica]

Hey guys, need your help with this problem im having. Currently my car is starting when it wants. This is what is happening: I turn the key and all the lights on the dash will dim and the starter will click once or twice, but wont do anything after. Sometimes when i bring the key back the lights will stay dim as if theres not enough voltage coming from the battery, and other times when i bring the kay back the lights will light up normally. This happened yesterday. I changed out the battery today and it started up fine, then later on in the day it did the same thing with the new battery so it isnt the battery. I changed the starter a few months ago, but im thinking this may be a starter problem since i believe it was a refurbished starter. The only thing is that sometimes when i bring the key back and am not trying to start it, the lights will stay dim as if the battery is not delivering enough voltage. Could a bad starter cause the lights to dim when not trying to start it?

I have narrowed it down to either the starter, maybe a bad ground point, or maybe the battery cables or the connection to the battery cable terminals? Let me know what you guys think.

[AMCMoe]

Is it possible that the alternator is going so it is not supplying the starter with enough voltage to start so it clicks due to insufficient amount of volts? Which would also make sense for why the lights are dimming?

The alternator is belt driven, so it only puts out power when the engine is running. When the engine is off, the power is being pulled from the battery.

For the last several months i have noticed when i hit the brake, the interior and exterior lights dim slightly. In the last few weeks though, something else has happened 2 or 3 times where when i hit the brake the lights dim to the point where they almost turn off then come back on. What do you guys think, this confirms its the alternator?

Sounds like a ground problem to me. However, if the alternator is putting out JUST enough to keep the battery minimally charged, then that could also be the reason why that happens.

You can take the car to Advance Auto or another parts store and they'll check the alternator for free. If the battery is all but dead the starter will click but won't turn...though the dash lights normally will also turn off, not just dim.