My car won't crank but its not due to lack of gas?

Question

My car won't crank but its not due to lack of gas?

Answer 1

It takes approximately 9.5 volts to start a car. If you hear a clicking sound, your battery is not putting out enough voltage. The clicking sound you are hearing is the starter solenoid in your starter. It is not receiving sufficient power from your battery to engage your flywheel to start your car. Your radio, headlights, etc., will all work, so you will think that your problem is your starter. NOT SO. Either you have a weak battery which need charging, or the most likely culprit are your battery cables. Most people will look at their cables and if they LOOK clean, and don't see any white corrosion build up on the terminals, they believe the battery terminals are making a good contact. Once again - NOT SO. Those terminals and cables are lead. Lead is a shiny metal. Scrap the top of a battery terminal and it will shine. That darkness on the terminal you scraped off is also present between you battery terminal and cable, and will prevent a good contact. All it needs is to cause a drop in voltage to your starter and you will hear a clicking sound from the starter. The clicking noise is the solenoid in your starter, so most people believe you need a new starter. In my 55 years of working on cars, about 80% of the time the problem is your battery cables. They may look clean, but it doesn't take much to drop the voltage going to your starter, which will also cause the clicking noise. So before you run out and purchase a starter, clean those terminals.

Get a good battery terminal and cable cleaner at your auto parts store. The type with the wires inside that will really make those terminals and cables shine. Once you have cleaned them, your battery will put out max voltage. If you still hear the clicking sound, take your battery to an auto parts store and they will check it. It may not be holding a charge or you may have a dead cell. However, DO NOT try and clean your battery terminals with Baking Soda or Coca Cola. I've worked on cars for over 55 years and all that does is clean the OUTSIDE of the terminals - NOT the connection between the cable and terminal.

So many people run out and buy a new starter or battery when it is really the connection itself.

Answer 2

Check the voltage in your battery. If you've got a couple of bad cells the bendix won't engage or the started won't have enough oomph to turn the motor over. Easiest check is to try jumpstarting it. If that works, its the battery or your alternator has gone bad. If the battery takes and holds a charge and will start the car, the alternator or the wiring is bad. There are other possible problems but that is the most likely. Read up on jumpstarting before doing it or get help from someone who has done it. It has some risks that are not to be ignored.

Answer 3

If the dashboard lights dim when you try and crank it then you have a weak battery.



If the battery is good then your starter motor has jammed or the starter solenoid has failed. These are the most common causes of the fault that you have described.



Try putting petrol in instead of gas. The heat you describe will evapourate gas.

Answer 4

It could be the starter is bad or the ignition is going out. There are a few ways to check these but if you don't have any knowledge with cars then you best bet would be to find a friend or family member who does or take it to a shop.

Answer 5

its the bendix, change your starter....

Answer 6

Has nothing to do with fuel. It's either the battery or the starter. BUT WAIT! It could be a bad alternator - not charging the battery. BUT WAIT YET AGAIN! It could even be a worn or loose fan belt.



Here's how it works: When the engine is running the belt turns the alternator. If the belt is loose the alternator can slip and not charge the battery. If the belt is tight and the battery is not charging then it could be a bad alternator. If the alternator isn't charging the battery then when you try to start it the battery will not have sufficient power to turn the starter over, thus turning the engine over.



But if the alternator is good then either the battery is bad (not taking a charge) or it could be the battery terminals are loose or dirty. You may even have a bad ground somewhere.



BUT WAIT! I also mentioned the starter. If the belt, alternator, battery and terminals are all good and clean and working then the problem is with the starter. It could be a loose wire on the starter or it could be a bad starter itself. Knowing what sort of car you're talking about would be helpful, but most systems are basically the same.



Since you mention a clicking noise - that clues me into a weak battery. For whatever reason it's weak, that's where I'd start checking things.



I'd get a jump start so I could then test to see if the battery voltage is going up or down. If the engine is running the voltage should go up to 13.5 volts or more. If the voltage is 12.2 or lower and the voltage is dropping then the alternator is not working. Don't try to test it with everything on first. Just get the car started, THEN test it. If the voltage is going up THEN switch everything electrical on that you can. AC, Defrosters, Radio, lights (high beams too). Check the voltage again. If it's not going up then the belt is slipping.



There's just a little bit of logic in decyphering what's going on, but if you can get it running and drive it to an auto parts store, most of them do free battery and alternator checks right there in the parking lot. They'll be able to tell you if you have a bad alternator or a bad battery. Just make sure they check the belt tension too (with the motor off of course, you don't want to reach into a running engine).



Hope this helps.



'av'a g'day mate.



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