Question for the mechanics of Lemmy; what is the most likely problem?
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So for the past ~two weeks I've dealt with the clamp that goes around my negative post had been slipping off of the post. Today before work(seems to be only when you have somewhere to be) I went to crank my car, to hear a single click but no start.
Now, the lights come on, AC goes full blast, and the headlights and radio work. I jumped the battery from my wife's car with no luck.
Based on this, could you give me some ideas/options/advice on how or what to fix/check? I have minimal tools and virtually no mechanical knowledge.
Any and all help is appreciated. Even if it's just a "damn. That sucks."
Video update. Yes I knowy car is dirty.
Didn't know this community existed but in case someone else needs it later: https://lemmy.world/c/mechanicadvice
Make sure your negative actually has good contact. For a time the jumper then goes from the inside of my fender to battery was bad and my truck would randomly die and wiggling that would get it to start again until I replaced the wire end. That said yiu probably needto replace the ends.
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Make sure your negative actually has good contact. For a time the jumper then goes from the inside of my fender to battery was bad and my truck would randomly die and wiggling that would get it to start again until I replaced the wire end. That said yiu probably needto replace the ends.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]IIRC I had it replaced a few years ago due to corrosion.
I'm hoping that it's just a matter of needing to tighten the contact around post since that'll just cost me some of my time.
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So for the past ~two weeks I've dealt with the clamp that goes around my negative post had been slipping off of the post. Today before work(seems to be only when you have somewhere to be) I went to crank my car, to hear a single click but no start.
Now, the lights come on, AC goes full blast, and the headlights and radio work. I jumped the battery from my wife's car with no luck.
Based on this, could you give me some ideas/options/advice on how or what to fix/check? I have minimal tools and virtually no mechanical knowledge.
Any and all help is appreciated. Even if it's just a "damn. That sucks."
Video update. Yes I knowy car is dirty.
Didn't know this community existed but in case someone else needs it later: https://lemmy.world/c/mechanicadvice
It's that clamp again (or the other one). Take them off, clean the terminals good, put them on again.
When starting, leave all the lights and the AC off for the first minute.
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So for the past ~two weeks I've dealt with the clamp that goes around my negative post had been slipping off of the post. Today before work(seems to be only when you have somewhere to be) I went to crank my car, to hear a single click but no start.
Now, the lights come on, AC goes full blast, and the headlights and radio work. I jumped the battery from my wife's car with no luck.
Based on this, could you give me some ideas/options/advice on how or what to fix/check? I have minimal tools and virtually no mechanical knowledge.
Any and all help is appreciated. Even if it's just a "damn. That sucks."
Video update. Yes I knowy car is dirty.
Didn't know this community existed but in case someone else needs it later: https://lemmy.world/c/mechanicadvice
I'm going to guess the battery. It's also the easiest place to start investigating. Everything else can still come on even if it doesn't have enough power to start the car.
How long are you leaving your jumper cables attached before trying to start it? Jumping can take at least a few minutes to build up enough charge.
How old is the battery? There's usually a month/year of manufacture sticker on it. If it's 5+ years old, there's a good chance it's due for replacement.
Is the negative post connection tight? There isn't any good reason the cable should be slipping off the post. Loose connection could also cause the car not to start.
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So for the past ~two weeks I've dealt with the clamp that goes around my negative post had been slipping off of the post. Today before work(seems to be only when you have somewhere to be) I went to crank my car, to hear a single click but no start.
Now, the lights come on, AC goes full blast, and the headlights and radio work. I jumped the battery from my wife's car with no luck.
Based on this, could you give me some ideas/options/advice on how or what to fix/check? I have minimal tools and virtually no mechanical knowledge.
Any and all help is appreciated. Even if it's just a "damn. That sucks."
Video update. Yes I knowy car is dirty.
Didn't know this community existed but in case someone else needs it later: https://lemmy.world/c/mechanicadvice
Have you tightened the clamp?
Is there anything on the battery post? Do you see any build up on battery post?
How old is the battery?
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It's that clamp again (or the other one). Take them off, clean the terminals good, put them on again.
When starting, leave all the lights and the AC off for the first minute.
Ok. I had made sure that the clamp was fully down on the post but I couldn't check to see if it was snug. I'm hoping it's just a matter of tightening the contacts since that's the cheapest option.
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So for the past ~two weeks I've dealt with the clamp that goes around my negative post had been slipping off of the post. Today before work(seems to be only when you have somewhere to be) I went to crank my car, to hear a single click but no start.
Now, the lights come on, AC goes full blast, and the headlights and radio work. I jumped the battery from my wife's car with no luck.
Based on this, could you give me some ideas/options/advice on how or what to fix/check? I have minimal tools and virtually no mechanical knowledge.
Any and all help is appreciated. Even if it's just a "damn. That sucks."
Video update. Yes I knowy car is dirty.
Didn't know this community existed but in case someone else needs it later: https://lemmy.world/c/mechanicadvice
wrote on last edited by [email protected]With power and no start (confirmed by that other car connected in parallell, presuming that you had good connection), I would think it's the starter itself, or something as simple as a fuse.
That click you hear, where does it come from? Can it be the starter relay?
Grab a voltmeter and measure for the starter - Does it get power when someone else turns the key?
Obligatory: I'm not a mechanic. But I drove a 1995 car until March this year, and I did most of the maintenance and fixes on it myself. And I troubleshoot other electromechanical contraptions for a living.
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Have you tightened the clamp?
Is there anything on the battery post? Do you see any build up on battery post?
How old is the battery?
Not yet, had to wake up the wife to give me a ride into work(we work at the same place I just have an earlier shift) but once I get off I'll be doing that first.
During the jump I let it sit for about 5 minutes and revved the wife's car twice.
I don't think the battery is older than 5 years. But I could be wrong, as I didn't check.
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Not yet, had to wake up the wife to give me a ride into work(we work at the same place I just have an earlier shift) but once I get off I'll be doing that first.
During the jump I let it sit for about 5 minutes and revved the wife's car twice.
I don't think the battery is older than 5 years. But I could be wrong, as I didn't check.
To clarify, when you jumped the car the negative battery cable was connected and the car would not start.
Trace the battery cables and make sure they are both cables are properly attached at both ends.
Batteries last 3-5 years.
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I'm going to guess the battery. It's also the easiest place to start investigating. Everything else can still come on even if it doesn't have enough power to start the car.
How long are you leaving your jumper cables attached before trying to start it? Jumping can take at least a few minutes to build up enough charge.
How old is the battery? There's usually a month/year of manufacture sticker on it. If it's 5+ years old, there's a good chance it's due for replacement.
Is the negative post connection tight? There isn't any good reason the cable should be slipping off the post. Loose connection could also cause the car not to start.
While jumping in left it for around five minutes and revved the wife's car twice during that. The same symptoms persisted.
I'm not sure about the actual age of the battery but I don't believe it's more than 5 years yet.
I'm almost positive the contact is loose. My solution after it had been slipping off was to push it back down the post with a hard rubber keychain I have. I'm hoping that's it and I just need to tighten it as that's the cheapest fix.
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I'm going to guess the battery. It's also the easiest place to start investigating. Everything else can still come on even if it doesn't have enough power to start the car.
How long are you leaving your jumper cables attached before trying to start it? Jumping can take at least a few minutes to build up enough charge.
How old is the battery? There's usually a month/year of manufacture sticker on it. If it's 5+ years old, there's a good chance it's due for replacement.
Is the negative post connection tight? There isn't any good reason the cable should be slipping off the post. Loose connection could also cause the car not to start.
I'd like to add that batteries might only last 3 years if you live in a cold climate.
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With power and no start (confirmed by that other car connected in parallell, presuming that you had good connection), I would think it's the starter itself, or something as simple as a fuse.
That click you hear, where does it come from? Can it be the starter relay?
Grab a voltmeter and measure for the starter - Does it get power when someone else turns the key?
Obligatory: I'm not a mechanic. But I drove a 1995 car until March this year, and I did most of the maintenance and fixes on it myself. And I troubleshoot other electromechanical contraptions for a living.
Feel like traveling to the middle of no where woods of SC, USA?
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Feel like traveling to the middle of no where woods of SC, USA?
wrote on last edited by [email protected]If you're paying, sure.
NB: I don't cross the Atlantic on economy class. I'm sure your local Diesel denizen is cheaper.
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To clarify, when you jumped the car the negative battery cable was connected and the car would not start.
Trace the battery cables and make sure they are both cables are properly attached at both ends.
Batteries last 3-5 years.
For the jump the pos and neg were connected on the good battery and the pos was connected but the neg was attached to a bolt on the "bad" battery, as per this video: https://youtu.be/iI1o2hNy2hE
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If you're paying, sure.
NB: I don't cross the Atlantic on economy class. I'm sure your local Diesel denizen is cheaper.
Damn. I left my platinum visa in my other pants.
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I'd like to add that batteries might only last 3 years if you live in a cold climate.
I live on the back of the devil's nuts in SC, USA.
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While jumping in left it for around five minutes and revved the wife's car twice during that. The same symptoms persisted.
I'm not sure about the actual age of the battery but I don't believe it's more than 5 years yet.
I'm almost positive the contact is loose. My solution after it had been slipping off was to push it back down the post with a hard rubber keychain I have. I'm hoping that's it and I just need to tighten it as that's the cheapest fix.
The battery needs to be able to deliver 100+ amps in an instant.
A battery can fail in a manner where it’s not longer jumpable, cannot deliver the necessary amperage to start the motor, but still run accessory systems.
I would check the battery’s voltage with a multimeter.
I doubt this is a loose terminal connection. If the click you’ve described is coming from the engine compartment, that’s the starter relay switching. Wouldn’t be able to do that if there weren’t a complete battery circuit.
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For the jump the pos and neg were connected on the good battery and the pos was connected but the neg was attached to a bolt on the "bad" battery, as per this video: https://youtu.be/iI1o2hNy2hE
Sorry if I am not being clear.
I am talking about the cables that lead from your battery to your car, not the jumper cables.Your positive cable is red and connects your battery to your starter motor and other electrical equipment.
Your negative cable is black and it connects you battery to a ground point on your car’s engine or chassis.
I assummed in your original post that you were asking about the battery connection to your car.
If you are asking about getting the jumper connections to stay attached that is just a matter of getting them to clamp on.
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IIRC I had it replaced a few years ago due to corrosion.
I'm hoping that it's just a matter of needing to tighten the contact around post since that'll just cost me some of my time.
Even if you have to replace the connector, its a five dollar part and 2 bolts, if your comfortable tightening it, replacing it isn't much more. Hopefully tightening it gets it.
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While jumping in left it for around five minutes and revved the wife's car twice during that. The same symptoms persisted.
I'm not sure about the actual age of the battery but I don't believe it's more than 5 years yet.
I'm almost positive the contact is loose. My solution after it had been slipping off was to push it back down the post with a hard rubber keychain I have. I'm hoping that's it and I just need to tighten it as that's the cheapest fix.
Take both the battery terminals off, if there are crusty white or blue gunk on them you can use a little vinegar to clean it off. Clean the contacting parts of both terminals and where they connect to the battery with a wire brush till the metal looks at least vaguely shiny. Put the terminals back on and tighten them down with a wrench, if its an american car its usually a 1/2" if its an import its almost certainly a 10mm. If it doesn't work after that try jumping it again, if it still doesn't work its probably the starter or starter solenoid. You can try tapping on the starter solenoid with a hammer to unstick it as a temporary fix to get you going, but if you have to do that then it needs replaced sooner rather than later anyways.
