I need some help.

[Silver 10+ year member]

Well, my car fired up fine just like any other day today except for now.

I went out and the car will not start. When I turn the key to on position the volt guage is right on N(11-12volts) (how its always been). Well I tried to start it and the starter is tickin (selinoid).

The volt meter drops to 8 volts and my lights flicker on my dash. So I jumped it and it took awhile for that to even kick in.

I finally got it to start and the volt meter on my car went right to M (14.4volts) it didn't flicker, battery light didn't come on or anything for the drive I went out for (test to see if the battery just needed to be charged.)

I come home shut the car off and instantly try to start it. It does the same thing. Is my battery gone or is it my altrenator?

The alt was very hot to the touch, but like I said the voltmeter on my car didn't even flicker and everything seemed fine.

I have to leave to bay city tommrow and this was the wrong time for this to happen.

Alt or bat?

Click to read more...

 

[ravendarat 10+ year member]

Dead spot in the starter perhaps

 

[Silver 10+ year member]

I don't think so because when I jumped it the starter was slow. Plus all my dash lights were on and flickering when the key was in the on postion.

 

[millerscents 10+ year member]

batt is my bet

 

[IrTehL33T@DBeez 10+ year member]

i would check for a local shop that does batteries so they can do more than just a voltage test because you can also test for things like sulfated plates, specific gravity, that sorta thing

i'm a bit rusty on the specifics, sorry for that but there is more to it than just static voltage.

when i was at school, we had a standard "12 minute quick test" that was a series of quick tests that could almost pinpoint electrical system problems, if you'd like i could try to find the sheet and type out details but not right now because i'm about to go to bed.

 

[Chevillac 5,000+ posts]

Yeah take it to the shop. Also check your wires. I know that I had a car that there was not a good connection, and if I made a turn or hard brake, I would lose power, this was alt to batt though. Just an example.

 

[RandyJ 10+ year member]

Remember, your alternator is in the same enlcosed compartment as that big metal thing that contains multiple explosions per second //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif That may be why it is hot

cYour starter may be going out. What year/make/model is the vehicle?

 

[THUNDERBIRD 10+ year member]

i had that problem and my battery terminals were just coroded to ****, so check those. other than that it could be ur alt. check ur cables going to the start and to that fuse box where it is fused those could be coroded.

 

[9512ds 5,000+ posts]

my jeep used to do that after i replaced a dead starter, and it was because the negative terminal would fail. I had to replace it once with a new one... which still caused the problem.

i had to get one that seperated my two stock ground wires... even thouhg they ahd been like that since 98, they wouldnt allow the car to start if they were touching each other for some reason

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

take a hammer and knock on the starter a little bit. seriously. it works.

 

[LoudCrownVic 5,000+ posts]

*the post that might help you*

It's not your alternator. If it goes straight to 14.4 after startup the alt is working fine.

It's your battery terminals, wires, or your batt istself.

Open up the vents on the battery, (pop off with screw driver) and check to see if they are full of water/acid. I suggest wearing saftey goggles. If any of the cells are dry or low, the plates inside the battery cannot send current to the battery posts and therefore it cannot charge or discharge = dead battery. If the batt is maintence free or sealed vents, check your terminals next, because if it's dry or fried in there theres nothing you can do for it anyway.

Wear saftey goggles---

Battery terminals can be a *****. Loosen the nut on the terminal, and pop it up and off the post with a screw driver or a pry bar. Do this to the negative terminal first, then the positive. You want to inspect the terminals for corrosion (white, powdery residue) or something else which still ****s the whole thing up (black, hard residue) A qyuality terminal and post cleaner will make short work of either problem. Also, you want to inspect and see no physical damage such as excessive wear from cleaning has made it impossble for the terminal to clamp down on the post and to hang loose. Once the terminals are clean, put a little oil on the inside of the terminals. At this point, you can put them on the batt posts or leave them off the batt.

Now grab a standard 10 amp charger, and put it on the battery. With the inspection vents open, and the charger on the posts and running, you should see bubbles rising from the plates inside the battery- hydrogen gas. It will take about 15 miutes before you notice this. all 6 cells shoul have bubbes rising. Bubbles will rise until the battery is completely charged. If there is no bubbles coming out of one of the cells, the battery is shot.

Also check critical connections like starter/battery and grounding points...

Hope that helped.

 

[Silver 10+ year member]

I was the battery. I forgot this batt wasn't maintenance free. I unpluged the battery when the car was running. It kept running.

So I tried to fill the cells water, took it out for a drive for awhile. It did the same thing. Got it tested at murrays since i dont have a fluke87. It was dead.

I was kinda of in a quick thing because I had to leave to bay city for college. I fixed it though.

 

[RandyJ 10+ year member]

oh gee check out captain smartass over here, well champ, what is it in this compartment that contains multiple Explosions? hmm? what? whats that? oh no, you're not about to say the engine are you, oops sorry chief, but if you're gonna try to be a little clever fvck you should probably get your facts straight.
heres some big words and complicated thoughts for ya, lietenant fvcko:

the combustion process is not an explosion, it is a controlled burn that is typically seperated into 3 specific stages. dont get lost now, but there is propagation, nucleus of flame, and hatching out. its not an explosion. dont discuss things you are obviously clueless about.

Does Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus need to get thier facts straight as well?

http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=combustion

Main Entry: combustion

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: exploding

Synonyms: agitation, candescence, disturbance, flaming, ignition, kindling, on fire, oxidization, thermogenesis, tumult, turmoil

Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1)

Copyright © 2006 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

[pitbull12888]

check your battery terminals..if they are loose or corroded it can sometimes cause that

 

[IrTehL33T@DBeez 10+ year member]

Does Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus need to get thier facts straight as well?

http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=combustion

Main Entry: combustion

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: exploding

Synonyms: agitation, candescence, disturbance, flaming, ignition, kindling, on fire, oxidization, thermogenesis, tumult, turmoil

Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1)

Copyright © 2006 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

just because a thesaurus lists it at a synonym doesnt mean that you should always interchange the words in every single situation... sure on many occasions you could say yeah this is a combustible material, it is explosive. however, an internal combustion engine is not such a case as it is Not an internal 'explosion' engine.

com‧bus‧tion  /kəmˈbʌstʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuhm-buhs-chuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun 1. the act or process of burning.

2. Chemistry. a. rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and, usually, light.

b. chemical combination attended by production of heat and light.

c. slow oxidation not accompanied by high temperature and light.

3. violent excitement; tumult.

__________

ex‧plo‧sion  /ɪkˈsploʊʒən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ik-sploh-zhuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun 1. an act or instance of exploding; a violent expansion or bursting with noise, as of gunpowder or a boiler (opposed to implosion).

2. the noise itself: The loud explosion woke them.

___________

what i'm pointing out is the fact that in this case and this case only am i sure that explosion is not a proper word to be using