Car trouble question

[acehistr8]

Up until a month ago when I had to replace the muffler, this car has been perfect. 96 Jetta 26K miles.

This weekend the car would not start, thought it was simply a dead battery. But it is not even trying to turn over, simply making a RATA-TAT-TAT-TAT sound. Horn/radio/interior lights all work.

Want to get an idea of what it might be and more importantly how much it might cost to fix before I call AAA. Is it maybe just a bad starter?

 

[TIME TO MAKE $$$]

could be your starter or alternator...

when you turn it over do you hear a "CLICK" sound, or does it just not crank?

 

[acehistr8]

No cranking at all, just a TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK sound.

Whats a starter and/or alternator replacement job go for?

 

[BahamaMama]

almost as car clueless as computer clueless ace.....sorry

but DID have a jetta i could tell you a heap of stories about

Tony......log on.......have a question for ya

 

[TIME TO MAKE $$$]

its the starter...

do you know where it is located in your engine compartment?

if you do get a hammer and give it a couple of bangs, should do the trick

replaced mine 3 weeks ago

$155 CDN for a rebuild
did the work myself


hope this helps

 

[yyz]

Does sound like the starter.

 

[flag]

ITS THE STARTER. JUST HAD ONE TO GO OUT COST AROUND $140.00 AT AUTO ZONE. TAKE THE OLD ONE BACK THEY WILL REFUND YOU $30 / $35

 

[neverteaseit]

not so fast mr. goodwrenchs

not so fast mr. goodwrenchs

Still could be battery. even though the lights, radio and horn work does not mean that the battery is good. a car needs 9.6 volts to crank the engine anything less will not supply enough voltage to crank the starter. also a bad ground is possible. my suggestion to you before you take it some goodyear, firestone or whoever may want to give you the good ole screw is to do this.


take battery cables off and look for corrosion, if present clean cables. also check to make sure the ground is fully secure to either the chassis or engine block. ground wire should be fasten tightly and corrosion free. also take battery out and have it fully charged and load tested. auto zone will do this for free but always better to find someone who has a battery charger then take it to them for a load test. if battery falls below 9.6 volts during 15 second load test it is no good.

if battery checks out to be good, ground and cables are also good then most likely you have a starter problem.

only time an alternator can cause this problem is if it is drawing a charge while car is sitting. bad diodes. very rare but possible.

simple rules to remember about your car. the batteries main purpose is supply voltage for starting it, starter is there to crank the engine, alternator is for once it is running, to supply enough voltage to keep car running via all the electronics involved. it is more complex then this of course but simple things to remember.

if problem is a battery. buy the correct one for your climate. live in cold weather area need more cranking amps. the more the better. engine needs the most cranking ability available during colder weather. live in warm weather area cranking amps not that important, buy what is the minimum for your car.


gl

 

[BahamaMama]

Re: not so fast mr. goodwrenchs

Re: not so fast mr. goodwrenchs

if problem is a battery. buy the correct one for your climate.

and along the same line.....while you are there, make sure they change the air in your tires to winter air

they did that for me last week for a measly $345 ......

 

[neverteaseit]

and along the same line.....while you are there, make sure they change the air in your tires to winter air

as funny as that may sound i used to work in a filling station in a small town and every winter a lil ole lady would come in, drop her car off and ask to have her air changed. of course we never did. just checked for proper inflation and wear and send her on her way. she was happing thinking we did and i guess that is waht counts. you may be surprised at how often though that is asked to be done.

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

You say lights come on and radio works but won't start.

1st Turn on lights THEN try to crank. Do lights get dim?

2nd if so charge battery 1st. If car starts then find out why battery was down.Bad battery or alternator. To determine without taking to shop. While car is running unhook one battery cable. If car stops running it is your alternator as it should keep car running on its own if working correctly. If continues to run its bad battery.
If it were I,I would purchase new battery (your most likely and cheapest cure) 1st. If that does not do the trick it is your starter,however I doubt that it is as starters rarely go out with prior indication (dragging when attempting to start)

Batteries will go bad without warning,starters very rarely do.

 

[acehistr8]

Is this stuff the AAA guy can determine when he comes out to take a look at it? I figure I pay for the membership I can have him do this kind of thing in my garage when he comes out.

Thanks for all the help, at least I have an idea of what to look for.

 

[Brick]

Totally agree with teaseit Ace. Tick-tick-tick almost always indicates battery or connection problems. It takes very few amps to run accessories so you can not judge battery condition by that. Will it jump start or start with a charger on it? If so certainly battery is the first choice. If a good battery is installed and the problem persists then an alternator is next in line. Starter or celenoid problem would be last and fairly uncommon with what you describe.

 

[PaTsJaMM]

When I leave my lights on and the battery wears down I'll try to start it and it'll crank for probably 3 or 4 tries, but if continue to try to start it I'll eventually hear the click-click-click. It's the battery is all. Crank-crank-crank means it's on it's death bed. Click-click-click means it won't be down for breakfast LoL.

Just crank out the cables and have someone jump you. Works for me every time

 

[Morris]

Put cables on it, if it starts its probaby your battery or the alt is not properly charging. Did the battery or alternator lite come on? Usually a good indication. If its older than 5 years a new battery is recommended anyway.



Bob