Car will not crank or start

Hi guys,

Here is what happened yesterday:

Normally, the battery gauge needle is in the upper part of the normal range. On my drive home from work, my tachometer started going wild, went to zero for awhile, then returned to normal. The car started to hesitate just a bit on acceleration. The ABS light came on. The battery gauge needle was now at the lower end of the normal range. I parked the car in my garage and turned it off. I came back about 15 minutes later and the car will not start. I can hear the starter trying to engage, but the engine barely turns and the starter makes a buzzing or clicking noise. The engine fails to crank or start. I've got 12 volts across the battery terminals, so it seems the battery is charged. I haven't done a thing to the car recently, just driving it daily. Any ideas?

Thanks for your help!

Fixed: Car will not crank or start

94-302-vert said:

Sounds like you have either a bad abttery, bad alternator, or wiring issue (loose connection or bad ground).

Try a couple of things...

1. look for a loose battery terminal.
2. check voltage in the car at rest and when trying to start. See if it drops a LOT (like below 9 volts or so).
3. try to jumpstart the car. If you can get the car started what is the voltage while it is running?

Just a few thoughts to help guide you...

Click to expand...

UPDATE: Replacing the battery fixed this problem. Engine cranked and started immediately. Voltage across terminals with the engine off reads 12.4 and with the engine running 14.2.

Thanks!