[mustangracer2g]

i know that ive come on here a few times askin for help about my car, but this time, i dont understand why its just not starting...

So i turned it on this morn, goin to look for a new job, and then i went to the gas station, and i tried to turn the car back on, it doesnt start, try and jump it, wont start. i wait, and have someone come by and try to help charge the battery, for like 15-20 mins, and then it doesnt start again... so i have it towed home. I put my mom's battery in my car, and it turns the lights on and everything, then i crank, everything off and dead again... i dont know why, i put the battery back in her car, and her car works fine. im just not sure what kinda electrical stuff i should look at b4 tryin to get a mechanic to come look at it. Any help would be great. I appreciate it, thanks in advance.

edit: so i put my batter back in and the lights inside turn on again... i dont know why... i didnt try to use my battery to start my mom's car tho... would that have any relevance? i think as soon as i crank it again all the power will die again... when i try to crank, it doesnt actually crank, it just makes a little click and then everything powers off

[c-zar]

Make sure your terminals and battery cables are good, you can use a voltmeter to check the volt drop on your cable to the starter.

[ColdSteel]

+1 on terminals and also check the cables themselves, make sure they are going where they are supposed to and making good contact as well.

[mustangracer2g]

im pretty noob at this, but where do i check the starter voltage? where is the starter? ill clen the terminals again. how will i know if its the starter? or alternator and not just a loose wire/bad connection?

[ColdSteel]

even if the alternator is bad the car would turn over. thats not the problem.

seriously im positive there is a loose/bad connection on the positive or negative battery cables. make sure the negative cable is making a good solid connection somewhere on the chassis and the positive cable is making a good connection on the fuse box post right next to the battery.

lemme make sure i got the symptoms right
you turn the key to the on position, gauges come on radio is on headlights work etc
you turn the key to the start position, its goes CLICK and nothing works

correct?

this is potentially stupid but its what i did whenever i had a bad terminal but had to make it work.

i turned my headlights on (key not on) and wedged the terminal to a spot on the post where the headlights would stay on and the terminal was on pretty snug and started the car. i had to do that every time i started the car because when that starter engages everything under the hood shifts around, including that terminal, which would kick that connection loose again.

if you can provide pictures of your terminals, battery posts, and a video of attempting to start your car.

['97'Cobra]

man if your terms. are clean then you might be lookin at a new starter. Its 9 out of 10 your terms tho. Starters are easy replacements tho so no swet.

[Drtbkercr5]

in jeopardy form:

umm, hmm, jee, what is the starter?

Ding ding ding, starter FTW

[4.6LMadness]

thts ur terminals buddy, had a fox tht did it. bad ground is wat causes it.

[mustangracer2g]

thanks guys, im gonna go buy a post cleaner today, and then clean everything up nice and then check to make sure the connections are all good again before i think about replacing anything.

yeah those symptoms are right, it doesnt crank or anything, just clicks and everything dies ftl... ok gonna go work on it now, thanks

i dont have a camera sorry guys... damn.. my sister's digi cam should be here today tho haha.. hopefully it shows up while im tryin to figure things out so i can try and upload and show whats goin on, thanks

[mustangracer2g]

so as i was cleanin stuff... and checkin to see where the neg wire goes under the car, and the positive too.. everything seemed ok, i just removed the terminals and cleaned them as best i could without a terminal cleaner thing, it started raining... so whack, so ill have to wait for the next few days to wait and see... cuz the forecast says rain for the next three days or so... so whack dude... my inside lights turn on when open the doors still so yeah.. it bugs me cuz im soo confused haha, thanks for the help so far guys, ill try to check again tomorrow b4 it starts raining hard again

[mustangracer2g]

so yeah, i cranked it today, and the car worked! sweet, thanks a lot guys, im actually gonna go see if i can find a diff neg cable or something, and adapt it, cuz the one i got, i peeled back the black rubber part a bit, and its REALLY corroded, i cleaned the end of it that was sticking out enough to make it work, but yeah, its crankin WAY easier than b4, so thats good, thanks a lot guys, much appreciated

[mustangracer2g]

ok im trippin now, i went to buy one of those wire brush terminal cleaner things, and i cleaned the posts with baking soda like the guy at the auto parts store told me too.. i cleaned off the corrosion on the ground wire under the black part pretty well, i put some battery protector stuff they told me to use on it, and then cranked the car, it was strugglin to start again... i just dont get it... im soo confused... i purposely cranked it like 2 more times, then drove it around a few blocks, noticed the battery gauge would drain whenever i even hit the brakes. parked it at home again, turned it off.. then cranked it twice more, and the third time it wouldnt start... so yeah, i think my battery aint gettin charged for some weird reason... i applied that gel battery protector stuff all over the terminals and posts on the battery like it said to also. i think im having the mechanic come over tomorrow to look at it, thanks again for everything guys!

[ColdSteel]

the corosion is up inside the negative cable. replace the whole cable. mine was the same way.

[tommyt411]

Originally Posted by ColdSteel the corosion is up inside the negative cable. replace the whole cable. mine was the same way.

+1 on the entire cable replacement!