My car had a slow cranking problem for a while, I figured it was due to the cold weather. Well the other day, I got gas and it wouldnt start at all. All it did was click and then sound like it was going to turn over, and then click some more. Then it just clicked and wouldnt even engage the starter. I came back later that night, it clicked a little more, but then it turned over and started. The battery seems to be dead now too. It had no juice at all, not even enough to get any lights on. I hooked my moms car up to it and everything went back to normal, but when I try to start it, all it does is click some more. I hammered on the starter a little bit, and the starter engaged but it didnt have enough power to turn the motor over, then it just clicked away again. Then when I unhook the jumper cables, no power again, the battery didnt charge at all.

Any ideas?

I was thinking a combination of the starter/alternator/battery.

 

It's your battery. If you want to prove it, just swap batteries with another car. Once a standard lead acid battery is deeply discharged, they never recover , even when you charge them. That's why the sell deep discharge marine batteries and Optima batteries.

 

It appears to be the battery that is the culprit, but to confirm that you need to charge the battery for the recommended time to bring it to a full state of charge and then perform a load test and/or check the specific gravity of each cell (if the battery allows you to gain acess to each cell). This will determine the overall condition of the battery. If the battery accepts a charge and passes the "load test" you should then check the positive and negative connections at the battery and engine/chassis to ensure there is no corrosion/poor connections. The best way to confirm that the connection and/or cable is "good" is to use a voltmeter to ensure there is not a significant voltage drop accross the cable/connection in question. You really need to start with a fully charged and "good condition" battery otherwise all of your diagnostic efforts will be incorrect. Once the car is able to start you should then check to see that the operating voltage of the system is at least 12.6 volts when running to ensure that the alternator is at least putting out some kind of charge. Alternator output should be checked by putting a load on the system and measuring the currect output of the alternator. If you suspect to starter is causing a problem then it too should be checked for excessive current draw and/or voltage drop. By doing these tests you should be able to properly diagnose the problem rather than just throwing a bunch of commom parts at the vehicle and hope one of them fixed it, not to mention that it will cost a lot less to replace/repair the failed part only. By the way, most any GOOD auto parts stores will probably check most if not all the the above mentioned parts either on or off your vehicle...GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Or you could do what OBE1 95Z28 suggests...

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, but one question. If it was only the battery, why when I have the cables hooked up, does it still only click and not start. Do you think that would cause the slow crank that I was having before? Or is the battery dying just coincidental with my starter biting it.

 

A really dead battery can cause the jumping process to be very ineffective. Most of the time when a car requires a jump start, the battery is only partially discharged only to the point that in needs a little assistance. The other problem is the fact that you are trying to push several amps of current thru the side post connections of at least one if not two batteries (very hard to make an acceptable connection). Additionally, most store bought jumper cables are marginal at best. Unless you spend some serious money for some serious jumper cables, the clamps are just not capable of delivering the necessary current to jump start a "DEAD" battery, not to mention the gauge of the actual cables in use being under-sized. If you are still uncertain about the battery, then do a quick swap of a known "good" battery from another vehicle and more than likely, the car will start right up.

 

I'll try that tomorrow, thanks for the help.