what does it mean when my car simply makes a repeated clicking noise when i try to start it? (note: it was rather cold last night)
I’d guess that the battery doesn’t heve enough charge to turn the starter motor (the clicking is the starter relay engaging and disengaing)
Brian
Most likely a dead battery. There’s enough juice to tell the starter motor to try & engage, but not enough to make it turn the engine over.
Could be dead because of the cold & being old.
Could be dead because your alternator is dead/dying.
If repeated attempts to start result in the click click click, but sometimes it does turn over like normal, then your starter ist kaput.
Battry could be dead, cables could be dirty or loose, starter solenoid coild be faulty, cable to the starter could be dirty or loose.
Start by cleaning the battery cables, as that’s easiest and free. next check the charge on the battery, then check the starter.
Good luck!
Dead battery.
Another possibility is a cable has come loose from a plug and you’ve got a spark arcing across the gap.
Thanx everyone!
::Grumbles, pops hood, pops open can of beer, mutters “I used to be able to fix these things, but now with computers and all…”
True, but changing a battery should still be pretty easy.
This is an area where the electronic control system/computer is probably not a factor – UNLESS the battery is low because the alternator wasn’t charging it AND your alternator is controlled by the computer (some are, some aren’t) AND the fault is in the computer portion of the system. But probability-wise, it’s most likely a faulty battery, a poor conncetion, or a faulty alternator.
A crucial distinction is whether the battery itself is in good shape and fully charged, or not. If it is, the problem is a poor connection, which could be on either end of either battery cable (negative at battery, negative at engine ground, positive at battery, positive at starter), or a faulty starter.
If the battery is weak/low on charge (in which case it should start normally with a good battery or jumper cables), then it’s a faulty battery or the battery isn’t getting charged, which is usually a faulty alternator.
oh come on, i was just making a general statement about my lack of car knowledge and my methods of hiding it. that’s what i always do when my car breaks down, i look under the hood, pretend to look around, ask someone in the car to “try her again” and then resort to the beer and muttering.
First thing I thought of was the starter. I’ve never had a car with a dead battery click for me, it just sits there.
Another vote for dead battery.*
*I’m only submitting an answer so I can say that I was sure this was a thread about Boomhauer and the internet.
Get a jump start. If that works, then get a battery charge or a new battery. Have the starting circuit checked out by a auto electric shop to be sure all is well.
I’ve had both happen to me. You have to catch the battery when it’s dead enough that it doesn’t have enough power to do anything more than make the solenoid click, but not so dead that it can’t push the solenoid out any more either.
More often than not though, clicking for me has ended up being a bad starter solenoid. YMMV