P.O.S. car wont start

[jgarcia9102 10+ year member]

so lately i have been having problems startng my car. I wasnt 100% sure what it was, but at first i thought it couldnt be the battery beause it was purchased just 1.5 years ago. but now im thinking it is in fact the battery, and heres why......

- Yesterday i couldnt start my car if i had the blower, radio, lights, or any other electronics on and drawing power at the same time.

- last night i threw a charger on it and let it go over night, and this morning i cant get even my dome light to turn on when i open my door.

but that dosent explain why yesterday morning it started after about 10 tries, and not untill it finally started did i even get a click, but my radio and lights would power up, so that made me think it was the starter.

basically, i need a new battery but i have litterally 30$ to my name right now, so im screwed......

Click to read more...

 

[negativezeroz 5,000+ posts]

Check your posts. I got a new battery and used my old terminals. They were corroded which caused the battery posts and terminal contact area to be very small causing my car not to start either. Clean the posts and the terminals.

 

[Jordantyler 10+ year member]

i agree happened my car before..

 

[jgarcia9102 10+ year member]

hmm, its a newer battery, so id be very surprised, but hey, its worth a shot.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Easy way to determine if it's the battery...check your voltage after the car's been sitting overnight.

 

[jgarcia9102 10+ year member]

i dont have a DMM, and i have a feeling its the connection somewhere because its totally dead even with the trickel charger on it. i would think the dome light would at least power up with the trickel charger. im gonna go check all my wires, if im lucky thats the problem. ooh, and i really hope it is, because im BROKE!

 

[jgarcia9102 10+ year member]

wow, i love you guys! that was it. i had a feeling, but every one kept telling me that its just the battery and its only 80$.

wow, im so glad they were wrong here!

thanks again guys.

 

[negativezeroz 5,000+ posts]

so it was the terminal and post contact area? My battery was ~1month old and did that and wouldn't start. So age of battery doesn't really matter. Next time I buy a new battery I will be sure to get new terminals with it.