Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Help, my car won't start

When I went to start my car this morning it would not start. When I went to turn the key the lights in the dash came on but dimmed very low, but at the same time, my deck powered up and was working fine. I got no cranking/turning of the motor when I turned the key. I ended up disconnecting the negative battery terminal for a minute then reconnecting it and the car started up just fine after that.

Well, after haven driven the car a couple more times today (probably started and stopped it 4 times)....now it is not starting once again. This time when I turn the key, I get noise (from what I assume is the starter). It makes a rapid clicking noise but it won't do anything else

Any ideas???

have you tested the battery? Pull out a voltmeter and see what she's kicking. If she's fine, I'd say try cleaning the terminals. Corrosion is really bad especially w/the the cold climate. Do this stuff and see what happens.

About the clicking: are you saying that you turn the key but nothing happens? I'm not really understanding what you mean by this is you could please clarify.

Good luck.

I'd assume he's describing the sound of the starter clicking over because there's not enough power for the battery to crank it.

Being in Canada that sound is all too familiar

I actually did have the battery tested....on my way back from my dentist appointment this morning I decided to swing by Autozone to have the codes read and the battery tested since the car gave me problems starting (as stated in my original post). The battery tested alright....it dipped a little low on a full load. The guy also said the battery tester said something about "charge and retest" which he said it appears the battery was drained and needed to be run around town for a little bit until the battery can recharge itself.

To clarify my problem....

The first the the car wouldn't start: I got no clicking or any noise for that matter. The lights in the dash were extremely dim (but oddly enough, my cd player powered on and worked fine). To fix this problem I cleaned the battery terminals and the car started up the next time I tried it.

The second time the car wouldn't start: I get a clicking noise when I turn the key. If I keep the key turned for several seconds, the clicking noise will stop. The motor still won't turn over. This is the current state my car is in when I try to start it......

A little drive around town isn't enough to charge a flat battery. The battery should be hooked up to a charger, my guess is the problem will either go away then, or you'll need a new battery. It is also possible that your alternator is no longer charging your battery!!! You should prob have the charging system load tested.

Just for kicks I hooked my voltmeter up to the battery and it read 12.30 volts. Also, all my accessories seem to be working fine (like my heating/cooling and stereo......those all will function right now). Is it still possible I could have a dead battery and all those accessories still work like that?

Yeah I agree w/Dan. Test your starting system and also see if the place can recharge your battery.

Oh you have to love batteries.

I am almost positive your battery is dead, dont believe what Autozone/Walmart/etc. people tell you, they just told you that so they wouldnt have to work on your car ( I used to work for Wal-Mart and would get complaints against all the techs giving them bad information)

The first time you tried to start and then you removed your neg. battery cable - that reset all your load options. It turned off your radio - amp, whatever. They were all reset to "off" so the only thing drawing power was the starter. But then after driving a short trip - the alternator stored a little power in it - not enough though because when you turned everything back on and tried to start it again - the "clicking" listed above is the starter not getting enough voltage. "clicking" is always a sign of a bad cell or battery that is about to leave you stranded.

If its a grinding or whiirrrrrrrr - its your alternators teeth not finding its mark - you are either missing a bolt (causing the alternator to sag and not be level) or its gone my friend.

Replace your battery - thats most likely your problem.

Yeah, the battery seems to be the cause of my problem. I just now need to decide on what kind of battery to get since I don't have the cash for an Optima.