[jordon]

Alright, I got in my car and drove to work this morning. No problem. Worked for a couple of hours before taking off for the day...got in the car....turned the key....one click and then nothin. No lights were left on or anything....but whatever. Hooked up jumper cables, light under the hood came on...I thought ok good sign. Turned the key.....one click and then nothin. The light under the hood started pulsing. I readjusted the jumper cables, and the light came back on solid....I tried to start it again and more of the same. WITHOUT jumper cables, if I turn the key forward, nothing happens. No radio or anything. Leads me to believe battery or grounds....right?

Before I go throw a new battery in it, could it be anything else?

[jordon]

Threw a new battery in....fired right up. I've never had a battery just die like that. Its always been dim lights or a really weak turn...Anyway, good to go.

[ReverendDexter]

In the future, you can test that by placing the negative jumper cable on a ground in the receiving car rather than on the negative battery terminal. This makes it so the receiving car is using the donor's charge, where in a standard jumper cable setup, the donor car is charging the receiving car's battery, which the receiving car then tries to use to start.

It's a good trick for getting a car jumped in a hurry, as if it's just a dead battery, you can get the receiving car started immediately, then it can charge itself via the alternator as it drives away. Of course, it doesn't work if the battery was dead because the alternator is shot, hahaha.