starting problems
 

okay yes i am 17....so i kno a few things about cars....my car wouldnt start...so it just clicked when i turned it over...so i went and got a new battery, i put the new battery in and started up....i turn it off...THE DAMN THING WONT START AND DOES THE CLICKIN THING AGAIN!! i dont kno what to do...my dads thinkin its the clamps on the batter for the posts....maby they arent gettin a good connection...what do you guys think????

RE: starting problems
 

test your tfi

RE: starting problems
 

maybe something drawing the charge from the batt/ hot long did it take for it to drain? like overnight or just a few minutes?

RE: starting problems
 

is the alt charging?

RE: starting problems
 

Well first thing first is to check the batteries voltage, should be around 12 or so, and 14 when car on. If the voltage is low, you most likely got a draw. You could always get new terminals if it happens to be a bad connection. Kind of need more info as the duration between the two starts, added a new stereo and things like that.

RE: starting problems
 

Most likely a bad connection or a dead spot in the starter.

RE: starting problems
 

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding. What he said.

First thing to know is if your battery is being charged. Jump start the car if necessary and check the DC voltage across the battery terminals. It should be around 13½ to 14½ volts. It may be lower if your battery was dead and you had to jump it. However, if its around 12 to 12½ or lower, your alternator is definitely not charging. It would be best to charge your battery with a charger prior to doing this test. If the battery is charging, but it's loosing the charge overnight, you probably have a parasitic drain. I doubt very seriously that it is a problem with the starter or a dead spot since a new battery started it up. If your alternator is not charging, a new battery will not last too long. Batteries are not fully charged when you buy them new, and they've often been sitting for up to a year since they were built.

If you think you have a parsitic drain, you can test by either using an amp meter or a 12 volt test light. Make sure the switch is off and all lights are off and all doors, trunks, etc. are closed. Disconnect a battery cable and connect the light or the amp meter between the cable and the battery post (if you use an amp meter, make sure you have the polarity correct). If you use a test light, if the light glows brightly, theres too much drain. Depending on the light, it may glow dim with the normal power drain for keep alive memory in the PCM, Radio, Clock, etc. If you use an amp meter, the draw should be much less than 1 amp.

RE: starting problems
 

thanks guys....my terminals were toast....i pulled them off and they were full of corrosion...so i put new ones on and worked perfect too bad i thought it was the battery first and spent $65 on a battery before i went and bought $6 terminals...ohh well hard lesson learned....but thanks this forum is alot of help