Mark99GT

My battery (old) was bad, so I had to jump my car evertime I wanted to start it. It always started up fine, no problems. Today I finally got around to getting a new battery, swapped it in, and now the car won't start. I get one click and thats it. Ihad them dispose of my old battery, so I cant throw it back in to test.

How do you test a battery to see if its good? Its a brand new die hard gold from sears. Is there anything stupid Im forgetting here? Couldn't be PATS related could it? Im thinking the starter is bad, but it worked fine 2 days ago.

Kinda weird that after a battery swap it all of a sudden wouldn't work now. The connections are tight, I can't think of any ground wires or anything that would be loose. Any ideas?

1fstblckgt

Are your connections good on the terminals to the battery?? Make sure they are really tight and you cant move them at all.

vermontstang

Did you sand down the terminals a little before connecting? Just roughin them up a lil. Also did you clean the connections too? I always do these 2 items when putting in a new battery. Probably useless but worth a try!

03mustgt

If you can jump it and get it too start it isnt the starter. Turn your headlights on and see if they are really dim.

Mark99GT

No, I can't jump it with the new battery (forgot to mention that). Headlights, vents and stereo system all work fine, even when they're all on at the same time. So its definitely getting power. The terminal connections are tight, but I didn't sand or clean them. They looked fine when I took the protective caps off of them. I don't know, its gotta be a bad connection somewhere. I just put lts on too, getting at the starter (if I have to) is gonna be a bitch.

trickdriller

LOL, sorry man, but it does sound like the starter's your problem. You said you get one click and that's it? Maybe the gears are stuck and it can't slide into place? I don't know, just trying to save you from having to swap that thing out. You could always try beating it with a rubber mallet or something

vermontstang

The terminals will look clean, but you should roughen them up before installing.