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+--- Thread: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? (/showthread.php?tid=3084)
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OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - Dennis S - 01-25-2006
My Mom called from my sister's and said her '97 Avalon wouldn't start. She turned it off to go in the house, but left the key in and didn't turn it off all the way. The lights were on when she came back out.
She tried to start it as I listened over the phone. At first, it made the "wrrr, wrrr wrrr" sound, but it didn't slow down and get draggy. Then it made a high-pitched machine gun clicky sound. She said the interior lights were not dimming.
She had the started rebuilt a couple or 3 years ago. I'm wondering whether to get a new battery (she's had the car 5 years without a new one) or check into getting another starter.
It seems it's done this before and I don't recall if I jumped it or tapped on the battery terminals or tapped the starter with a hammer.
It's several miles to where she she is and she can wait awhile, but I want an idea of what to do and whether to swing by Wal-mart and get a battery.
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - Ken Sp. - 01-25-2006
Battery-that is the starter selenoid not getting enough juice
The way to test it is--Turn on the jeadlights--try to start it--if the headlights dim--not enough juice=Battery
If the lights do not dim--Ignition/starter problems
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - hal - 01-25-2006
That sounds like when my timing belt broke - don't think that's a problem with that model...
If she's in sacramento, I've got a grade A toyota guy here...
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - JJ - 01-25-2006
I second the battery.
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - Dennis S - 01-25-2006
Yikes! I was going to try to get the timing belt changed next week. It has 185,000 miles onit.
I'm on my way to look at it now.
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - BigGuynRusty - 01-25-2006
Dennis S Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yikes! I was going to try to get the timing belt
> changed next week. It has 185,000 miles onit.
>
> I'm on my way to look at it now.
If it is the timing belt it will crank at hyperspeed.
Sounds like the battery.
BGnR
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - Racer X - 01-25-2006
poor connections on the battery will let enough current through to light the lights just fine, but when you need to pull 5x that to spin the engine over, too much resistance, and the solenoid on the starter can chatter. (not enough voltage and current to hold the solenoid closed. It is essentially an elecromagnet and plunger)
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - Fred_Also - 01-25-2006
Sound like the connections on the battery may be corroded.
If it was the battery, the lights would dim as you craked it.
If you have corroded connections, you get enough current to burn the lights but the high current of the starter drops the voltage going to it so it doesn't crank at high speed.
Fred Also
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - spearmint - 01-25-2006
I had a heck of a time for months on my old car. I constantly had to beg people to jump my battery. One of the maintenance guys here solved by just tightened the bolt on the cable attachment. It is the first and cheapest thing to check. Then a gas station can check the battery for capacity with a simple gizmo before getting involved with something as expensive as starters.
Good luck.
Re: OT: Car won't start. Battery? Starter? - Dennis S - 01-25-2006
I got it started. It wouldn't try to start until I moved the negative clamp to the body itself. Before, it was on part of a frame bolted to the body and would spark, but didn't try to start, even after being hooked up to my running truck for several minutes. I then got the negative clamp directly on the body and it kicked right off.
She says she's never bought a battery for it since she bought it in 2000 with 27,000 miles on it, but I can't imagine the previous owner putting on a Die Hard with that few miles on it, although they must have had it about 4 years.
Anyway, I guess the battery is old enough to change, even if she bought one early on and doesn't remember it.
Does anyone have an opinion between Sears, Sam's and Wal-Mart? It doesn't get very cold very long here (close to texarkana).
Thanks for all the help.