Possibly bad Starter?

B

bsmith_tsu

Member
I was able to crank my car at lunch but many lights on the dash lit up one of them being the power steering. I shut the car off then attempted to crank it again but all that happens is quick clicking- and all of the lights click as well. I don't think it's the battery- perhaps the starter?
 
Probably a flat battery, or because the alternator isn't charging the battery.The starter draws alot of amps this is why your dash warning lights came on.
 
battery or alternator. jump the car, drive it around for like 10-15 minutes (to charge the battery) and then park in your driveway. turn the car off wait another 10-15 minutes and see if it starts. if it doesnt, then your battery isn't charging. id probably rule out the alt just because its a newer car but you can always test that by starting the car and taking the battery terminals off. if the car shuts off, your alt is bad. if it stay son then you can rule out the alt.

definitely not the starter if you can jump start it. and the starter wouldnt make a continuous clicking noise if it was bad
 
You can test the battery quite easily with one of those battery condition testers.

If that looks good, then I'd say alternator or connection to it. I've seen one go about 6 months ago on a late 2003 model with only 20,000 miles, probably from under use.

A good test is to start the car, then while it is operating turn on the headlights or put a large drain on the battery and if the engine revs dip then the alternator is taking the load via the battery. If the engine revs don't dip then there is likely a fault on the alternator/circuit.

PS, only downside with driving around to see if it's charging, is that if it isn't it might leave you stranded.

Good luck with it :)

Dave
 
I was told never disconnect the battery when the engine is running as damage might be done to the electronics. Disconnecting the battery was a test years ago for the old dynamo system, if it cut out it wasn't working. Don't disconnect an alternator on a modern car whilst running.
 
nickpapa said:
battery or alternator. jump the car, drive it around for like 10-15 minutes (to charge the battery) and then park in your driveway. turn the car off wait another 10-15 minutes and see if it starts. if it doesnt, then your battery isn't charging. id probably rule out the alt just because its a newer car but you can always test that by starting the car and taking the battery terminals off. if the car shuts off, your alt is bad. if it stay son then you can rule out the alt.

definitely not the starter if you can jump start it. and the starter wouldnt make a continuous clicking noise if it was bad
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Disconnecting the battery leads while the car is running has a high chance of blowing the diode pack in the altenator. I would not do that under any circumstances.

EDIT - Sorry Al - missed your post - you are of course spot on.
 
*AL* said:
I was told never disconnect the battery when the engine is running as damage might be done to the electronics. Disconnecting the battery was a test years ago for the old dynamo system, if it cut out it wasn't working. Don't disconnect an alternator on a modern car whilst running.
Click to expand...

you can do it. have done it plenty of times to test without any issues (i used to be a mechanic). there really is no difference because when the car is on, the battery is not in use, all it does is recharge so there would be nothing different happening if you take off the battery leads.

pop starting a manual car with a dead battery is the same exact thing. :thumbsup:
 
nickpapa said:
*AL* said:
I was told never disconnect the battery when the engine is running as damage might be done to the electronics. Disconnecting the battery was a test years ago for the old dynamo system, if it cut out it wasn't working. Don't disconnect an alternator on a modern car whilst running.
Click to expand...

you can do it. have done it plenty of times to test without any issues (i used to be a mechanic). there really is no difference because when the car is on, the battery is not in use, all it does is recharge so there would be nothing different happening if you take off the battery leads.

pop starting a manual car with a dead battery is the same exact thing. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I'll have to agree to disagree...........i personally wouldn't try it. Even jump starting some cars can cause electrical 'spikes' and cause damage. If it's good for you then fine.
 
Mechanic or not you are missing some of the principles of how an altenator and battery combination work, but I'm not going to get into that here. Disconnected as I said has a high risk of blowing the diode pack. I also agree with Al that even jump starting modern cars is not advisable, although circumstances sometimes force the risk to be taken.

Bitter experience from the sheer number of times we mess with jumping Jeeps, starting engines and recovering them from flat batteries resulting from winching to excess leads us to carry diode packs and alternatives to keep vehicles going
 
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