What are the different things that could be wrong when this happens?
Car always starts like a champ. However, twice now within a span of two weeks I went out to my car for the first start of the day and turned the key and nothing happened but a click. I waited about a minute, turned it again and it started like usual, no hesitation. I just tested the battery and it’s fine. The alternator is only a year old. I think a tune-up is a little overdue, if that matters. Also, it’s not after a hard rain or anything and it’s not cold either, it being summer and all here in Central Florida.
My car is a '93 Caprice Classic Wagon with 145k miles, a damn good car I must say.
What are all the possible problems? Should I just wait until it becomes a bigger problem, or should I get it fixed ASAP to avoid some sort of permanent damage?
I once had a car where the main starter wire (battery to starter) had rubbed against the wheelwell. This created a bald spot on the back side of the wire I couldn’t see, but it would short. Since it only shorted when I turned the ignition it did not weaken the battery. But it would click. That was a spark, which presumably shifted the wire away from the wheelwell and then it would start. Until the next time it settled against the wheelwell. The solution (after changing batteries a couple of times) was to tape the wire at the bare spot.
The test for whether it was the battery was that the headlights never failed, as they were on a different circuit.
It sounds like a starter solenoid problem. That was the first thing I thought of. Clearly the starter motor itself is ok. As you may know, the starter solenoid engages a gear between the starter motor pinion and the flywheel, then completes a circuit to allow the starter to crank. My guess is the switch that accomplishes this last task is dirty or corroded.
Could be as simple as a loose battery cable. Or corrosion on the terminals. Check 'em to see if they’re tight/clean. If so, I’m with QED on the solenoid.
Yeah, solenoids do that click noise, but hitting the starter with a hammer were that the case would free it up. I also bet the battery contacts are corroded, as mentioned above. So I’d do them first & SOON.
If the click occurs when the key is turned to the start position, that would indicate that the ignition switch is doing its job. If the click is faint (like a relay engaging) and/or inside the cab rather than under the hood, it’s possible that the neutral safety switch is failing.
Assuming that the click is in the starter itself, it’s most likely that the starter is the problem. Nevertheless, it certainly makes sense to first make sure that the battery cable connections are in good order (clean and tight, no corrosion). If the problem is indeed in the starter, I recommend replacing the entire starter with a rebuilt unit rather than replacing just the solenoid. Less time, trouble, and money in the long run.
I have checked the terminals before and everything looked fine. Then, upon closer examination just now, I saw that the positive terminal has it’s rubber cover broken off and the terminal is covered in a thin coat of light brown rust, not the kind of whitish, fluffy corrosion I was looking for.
Also, when I tried to test the battery with a plug-in charger, I noticed that when I hooked it up, it said the battery was at about 75% and when I took it off about 10 minutes later, it said the battery was at about 60%, which I thought was weird (battery is supposed to gain power right?). Doesn’t a charge drain a battery if it is only plugged into the negative terminal? If so, then the negative terminal is bad and that’s most likely my problem, correct?
A little surface rust is not necessarily a concern. The tricky thing about side post batteries is that there can be significant corrosion between the battery terminal and the part of the cable end that touches it without any externally visible problem. The thing to do is to disconnect both battery cables and make sure that the contact surfaces are clean.
That does seem odd. It suggests a faulty indicator in the charger, a faulty battery, or a bad connection (corrosion as mentioned above).
Huh? This question doesn’t make sense to me. A charging process cannot drain a battery. If there is only connection to one terminal (by anything–a charging source or a load) there is no circuit and nothing happens.
Not impossible that the battery has a faulty terminal, but the evidence we have so far doesn’t suggest it’s very likely.
The click is probably the starter solenoid. I bet it is the starter.
If the problem gets worse, and it eventually won’t start, try the hitting the starter while the key is turned to the start position - if it starts then - just a simple starter change should be it.
One other thing when you start it look at your dash lights do they stay bright? If its the battery then those dash lights usually dim completely. how old is the battery? They are cheap, get another one just in case if you want.