Dead car...

[Mr.Positive]

I thought you said you had a charger and and did charge the battery. .

Just charging the battery may not work if the battery is bad. You can have a good voltage on the battery, and lights working fine, yet still not have enough amps to turn over the starter.

If you don't have enough amps, the solenoid will just click.

That's why jump starting the battery may work, while just charging won't. You can have the battery on the charger as long as you want, but if it's a bad battery, it still will not hold a charge.

Don't confuse voltage with amps. Try the jump, if the car starts, then you have a bad battery.

The other option is to just replace the battery first, if you know you have an old battery in there anyway.

 

[ketostix]

Just charging the battery may not work if the battery is bad. You can have a good voltage on the battery, and lights working fine, yet still not have enough amps to turn over the starter.

If you don't have enough amps, the solenoid will just click.

That's why jump starting the battery may work, while just charging won't. You can have the battery on the charger as long as you want, but if it's a bad battery, it still will not hold a charge.

Don't confuse voltage with amps. Try the jump, if the car starts, then you have a bad battery.

The other option is to just replace the battery first, if you know you have an old battery in there anyway.

OK I realize you have to load test a battery to really tell if it can push current, but I'm pretty sure if your battery has votage it also has the ability to push current. Some charges can jump start a car but you're right he most likely has a trickle charger. But if the battery won't trickle charge then he still has a bad battery or starter.

Of course the simplest thing to do is to just jump the battery with another car. But I still think if you actually have full battery voltage it will spin a starter. Sometimes starters short out and draw high current and just click or people think they have full battery voltage when they really don't. Why is everyone making such a big deal about trying to jump the battery? I said a few times he should make sure whether it won't start even with jumping.

It sounds like the starter to me from what he said.

 

[Latinoman]

OK I realize you have to load test a battery to really tell if it can push current, but I'm pretty sure if your battery has votage it also has the ability to push current.

That's not true.

A good example is wiring...

You can have a wire...and strip the plastic cover (showing the copper "hairs"). If you take some of the "hairs" (I don't know the term in English) and splice some of them off....you will still have voltage flow thru that wire...but you won't get enough amps.

That happened to me MANY years ago, when I used to trouble shoot and inspect fighter jets. Everything was reading great for voltage...and we changed different components, until we finally decided to read for current...and BINGO. Had to replace that wire and that fixed the plane.

 

[slitherjef]

Could not find anyone to give a jump, so I said screw it... Im gonna look for a truck... Damn car aint even mine... I can't drive, remember So I dont know how the hell I am going to get another car. Getting home from work is a b!tch, but I get to walk about a mile

 

[Mr.Positive]

You can have a wire...and strip the plastic cover (showing the copper "hairs"). If you take some of the "hairs" (I don't know the term in English) and splice some of them off....you will still have voltage flow thru that wire...but you won't get enough amps.

Another good point Latinoman, and reminds me, that you need to use good quality jumper cables. The cheap ones might not let enough current, amps through to run the charger.

The cheap cables will charge the battery, however if the battery will not hold a charge, you need good cables to get enough current to pass through to start the starter.

 

[ketostix]

That's not true.

A good example is wiring...

You can have a wire...and strip the plastic cover (showing the copper "hairs"). If you take some of the "hairs" (I don't know the term in English) and splice some of them off....you will still have voltage flow thru that wire...but you won't get enough amps.

That happened to me MANY years ago, when I used to trouble shoot and inspect fighter jets. Everything was reading great for voltage...and we changed different components, until we finally decided to read for current...and BINGO. Had to replace that wire and that fixed the plane.

OK I wrote a reply to this and it got deleted. You are confusing several issues here,current capactity of a conductor vs. a poor connection, (a wire is conductor and will flow more amps than it can carry and will burn out) and whether or not there is voltage at the starter etc. . I don't want to retyped my explanation. But I'm not going to discuss auto mechanics anymore with people who don't seem to understand the subject but just want to debate in circles.

 

[Latinoman]

But I'm not going to discuss auto mechanics anymore with people who don't seem to understand the subject but just want to debate in circles.

My education is mechanical engineering (a University Degree)...and I used to be an inspector (not just a technitian, but an actual trained inspector) of aviation mechanical and electrical systems. And have troubleshoot my share of electrical systems in aviation and automotive (as I own vehicles too) systems.

No offense, and I will say this under the risk of sounding arrogant...but unless you have my qualifications...it appears YOU are the one debating in circles.

 

[ketostix]

My education is mechanical engineering (a University Degree)...and I used to be an inspector (not just a technitian, but an actual trained inspector) of aviation mechanical and electrical systems. And have troubleshoot my share of electrical systems in aviation and automotive (as I own vehicles too) systems.

No offense, and I will say this under the risk of sounding arrogant...but unless you have my qualifications...it appears YOU are the one debating in circles.

OK then you'd agree that according to Ohm's Law if you have voltage then you have current as long as the resistance is not high through the circuit. A strand of copper wire will not have much resistance, a corroded or loose connection might have high resistance maybe even infinite. But if resistance is high then voltage will drop, so if you have votage at any point in a circuit you also have current and low resistance at that point. Is this not right? So if you have voltage at the starter then the starter has current.

Anyway I've said he should check the battery. But if his headlights are working good as I assume he said they were and the starter is just clicking then I'm saying without seeing the car and running a starter diagnosis from experience it's probably a bad starter. By the way I do have a bachelor's degree from a university, and I couldn't tell you how many mechanical engineers don't know anything about cars.

 

[Bible_Belt]

c'mon, voltage regulator! :woo:

 

[iqqi]

I would bet $100 it isn't the battery.

It's the starter.

Keto, you are kind of sexy in this thread.

 

[ketostix]

I would bet $100 it isn't the battery.

It's the starter.

Keto, you are kind of sexy in this thread.

It's kind of funny you are going against the majority to agree with me here . It could be a discharged battery but from what the OP said it doesn't sound like it.

 

[iqqi]

It's kind of funny you are going against the majority to agree with me here . It could be a discharged battery but from what the OP said it doesn't sound like it.

I just pick stuff up from having one too many "hoopties" in my life.

When this exact thing happened to me, my stepdad was positive it was the starter, and not the battery. He said the fact it was trying to turn, but unable to turn, meant starter, and not battery.

He was absolutely right. And it was noted.

 

[EricInTheHouse]

I work on cars under a tree, lol... no degrees here, just working on many a car and busting my knuckles from using piece of crap tools.

It's the starter... they are cheap, so put one on see what happens..

 

[Latinoman]

I work on cars under a tree, lol... no degrees here, just working on many a car and busting my knuckles from using piece of crap tools.

It's the starter... they are cheap, so put one on see what happens..

And if it does not fix it...then he is several $$$ out. Jumping the car is FREE.

I am not saying it is the battery. All I am saying is that you have to rule out what cost NOTHING first...then work your way out.