Okay, car was working fine and dandy this morning...last time it was driven was on the way home from Circuit City at 6.45 this morning.

Now, I go to drive my car, it turns to the on position fine, but once you get past that point and start to crank it...it doesn't make a single noise like it's trying to turn over, just all the interior lights start to flash and make clicking noises. I have no idea what could be wrong. It honestly feels like my car is possessed.

What could be wrong with it?

Side note, nothing was acting funny or weird for as long as I can remember. This really came out of no where. It probably happened because I just dropped 800 bucks today on stuff that I needed but wasn't essential. Blah! Ce la vie.

11/25/2006 12:14:42 AM

what kind of car? and need some more details. could be a wide array of things to do with.

11/25/2006 12:31:57 AM

99 VW Beetle.

11/25/2006 12:34:05 AM

I'd start with the most obvious, and easiest to fix and check.

Have a friend jump you off. If it starts, excellent. If not, make positive you have gas. If you are out of gas, it should probably chuga chuga and not click. If you have gas and it still won't start, explore the possibility of a bad starter.

Now, if it does start, and you are positive you didn't leave a light on or something, drive it around a few minutes to charge the battery with your friend in tow. Then turn it off. Try to start it again. If it won't start again, could be the battery or the alternator. Easy way to tell is, have your friend jump you again, then unhook the battery while the car is running. If the alternator is running appropriatly, the car should in theory run on just the alternator and not need the battery. If it keeps running when you disconnect the battery, then its probably the battery, go to Autozone, theyll put it in for you. If the car dies when you unhook the battery, its the alternator, gonna probably need a mechanic.

11/25/2006 1:00:54 AM

Quote :

"If not, make positive you have gas."

it would be turning over if it was just out of gas.

Quote :

"explore the possibility of a bad starter"

uh, how is that starting with the most obvious/easy to fix? besides, a bad starter isn't going to be clicking or make the lights flicker.

Quote :

"If the car dies when you unhook the battery, its the alternator, "

not neccesarily. many vehicles, even modern ones requiring extra juice for fuel injection, etc. can operate at voltages less than 12-14v. quite commonly, "bad" alternators still exert 8-10v which in alot of cases is enough to operate the vehicle systems, but not enough to properly maintain a battery.

has the battery ever been replaced? if not, it's well overdue and the likely culprit. from your description, here's the possibilities:

1. you simply left something on, and the battery was drained. jump start it and drive at least 10 miles to rebuild a good charge.
2. bad battery (the recent cold weather will zap older batteries that were otherwise working fine)
3. bad alternator

get it jump started and take it to advance or somewhere. they'll test the battery/alternator free. i'mm betting on it being #1 or #2.

11/25/2006 1:35:15 AM

SLA battery + cold weather = dead

11/25/2006 1:43:33 AM

I have gas, I filled it up Wednesday night and have driven no where...and the last time I went to get it fixed for the transmission, they told me that my starter was dying...I didn't believe them because it was the dealer and I hadn't had any problems.

Any idea on how much a new starter might be?

Thanks for you input guys!

11/25/2006 2:11:39 AM

I've witnessed this same out-of-the-blue demonic possession of the instument panel many times. Your battery has died, but it's spirit dwells in your dash.

11/25/2006 2:24:37 AM

It absolutely sounds like you just need a jump, and possibly a battery, but I would be suprised if it needed anything beyond that. Good luck w/it. Let me know if I can help.
Ahmet

11/25/2006 2:48:08 AM

Quote :

" Easy way to tell is, have your friend jump you again, then unhook the battery while the car is running. "

Bad call. This is not good for a car.

11/25/2006 10:29:16 AM

It also clicks and the radio works and what not....does that mean that the starter is gone?

Because if it was the battery the radio should not work right?

Thanks for your time and attention!



[Edited on November 25, 2006 at 12:04 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2006 12:02:29 PM

instead of coming up with theorys, go change the battery. its 7 years old anyways.

11/25/2006 12:56:49 PM

it takes alot more power to turn the engine over than it does to work the radio... try jump starting it- sounds like a battery issue to me

11/25/2006 12:58:10 PM

IT IS THE GOD DAMN BATTERY

11/25/2006 1:00:55 PM

pay attention

Quote :

"has the battery ever been replaced? if not, it's well overdue and the likely culprit. from your description, here's the possibilities: 1. you simply left something on, and the battery was drained. jump start it and drive at least 10 miles to rebuild a good charge. 2. bad battery (the recent cold weather will zap older batteries that were otherwise working fine) 3. bad alternator get it jump started and take it to advance or somewhere. they'll test the battery/alternator free. i'mm betting on it being #1 or #2."

11/25/2006 1:19:17 PM

Quote :

" Have a friend jump you off. "

now that's a good friend

11/25/2006 1:27:50 PM

You guys are right!

It's the god damn battery!!!

Thanks car smart people!

11/25/2006 3:45:36 PM

haha i read the friend jump u off thing and i wasnt really sure what i wanted to post to that but i knew i had to post here

11/25/2006 3:56:34 PM

i expect something free the next time i'm at EV.

11/25/2006 4:10:09 PM

I was gonna say make sure it's in park. (if auto)

11/25/2006 5:28:40 PM

you should be able to start in park or neutral

11/25/2006 6:02:57 PM

Park or neutral. hahahaaa

11/25/2006 6:19:03 PM

YAY, I WON! I'M MASTER MECHANIC

11/25/2006 6:55:26 PM

I peed in your pool, yayyyyy!!!

11/25/2006 7:25:09 PM

i came in late on this one, but the symptoms were definately battery related, could have been either corroded connections or a bad battery, just fyi for next time, put a volt meter across the battery terminals, if it reads more than 12v and 10.5v cranking, and above problems exist, you have a corroded cable and need to proceed testing to find it, if it drops to damn near nothing, get a new battery

11/26/2006 9:43:46 PM