So.. I got owned today. I'm prepared to go to the library to study for my final exam tomorrow and my car doesn't start. When i turn the ignition, it makes a clicking noise and won't start. I assume it's my battery so I get my roommate out to jump my car and it starts fine. I'm on my way over to school and stop by a gas station to pick up some water/red bull for studying. I assume everything is alright, so I stopped the engine and go in to buy my stuff. I come back out and it doesn't start again. On top of that, it's raining cats and dogs and I'm surrounded by bums chilling outside the ghetto-a$$ Mobil on Elgin and Scott. My roommate comes by, jumps it, it starts again, and I bring it back to where I stay. Still doesn't start... Does anybody know what the problem is? Is it the battery that's gone? I wouldn't think so. My friend said it might be a problem with the alternator. What do I do now? It sucks... cause I just finished paying off my car note.. and now it starts acting up on me...
You can go to Auto Zone and have your battery checked free of charge; an easy way to eliminate one possibility w/o taking it to the mechanic.
could also be as simple as a loose battery cable/connection. disconnect and reconnect the wires and then rejump the battery and drive around for a while (to recharge properly)... o/w yes likely the alternator.
I don't know if this works with newer cars but back in the day when I had trouble with my battery I used to turn on my car and disconnect the negative cable to the battery. If the car turned off, then you knew the alternator was bad because it wasn't providing enough juice to run the car.
Its probably something related to your battery (battery itself or cable). If it was your alternator, your car would die as soon as you pulled the jumper cables off. Follow Junkyarddawg's advice; get a free checkout @ autozone and theyll tell you for sure.
That helps.. since I was able to drive for awhile in between jumping the car. So, I'll stop by Autozone tomorrow and hopefully it'll solve my problem. Appreciate the advice..
You should probably not go to gas stations in 3rd ward either...you might not have a car to worry about for long.
I had the exact same problem when I lived in Waco. My battery died 4 times in one day. If it turns out that your battery works fine, it might be cable corrosion. That's what it was with mine. At Wal-Mart or Autozone or wherever you can buy this round metal cleaner that you use on the terminals. Worked perfect for me.
you don't even need all that. some baking soda, and water or vinegar will do it nice and easy. depending on the type of car you drive, it should be relatively easy to replace the alternator if indeed that is the problem.
Sounds like it's almost definitely your alternator - same thing happened to me before - jumped my car, started working but died again shortly after. Don't know much about cars but the alternator is what re-charges your battery while driving. You'll probably have to replace it.
Could just be a bad spark plug.....happened to me . When I would turn on the ignition it would just make clicking sound. This would be the cheapest thing to start of with...
its your battery. if you needed a jump to start your car you should have never turned it off. if it was the alternator your car would start but die after a few minutes. (eventually killing the battery too if you keep doing it) your car doesnt have a volt meter? or battery warning light?
