Hello. Sorry for your troubles but at this point if the car was working OK the prior day or time without any warning lights or icons indicating alternator failure (your car owner's manual covers the icons and what they mean) the best guess would be the battery. Lights are low voltage and do work even with a low battery condition. The good news is that batteries are really low cost and high performing these days. The bad new is that when a battery is this low attempting to jump it will not work. This is because due to aging, damage, low acid condition, etc. it will not accumulate a charge in the typical short time needed to jump a car. So, you may need to remove the battery and replace it or call AAA or similar shops to bring and install a battery in your car. THE best option is to have the car checked out by a shop or mechanic which means a tow. In the shop the mechanic can check the battery and test it. Some batteries do have openings to service the cells with distilled water, if the cells are low in water, test the solution for proper acid/water levels, then replace it if necessary, then test the alternator for proper operations. Batteries are 12 volts. Alternators will put out about 14 to 14.5 volts. This type of car trouble is very common due to one major reason: owners do not know enough about cars batteries, how they work, how to take care of them (adding distilled water, when and how and if possible; keeping terminals clear of corrosion; meaning of dashboard icons or messages; the aging processes and life cycle; or even that after the second or third year it is best to have the battery tested and checked prior to winter. Cold, besides aging, is the enemy of batteries. So, regardless of what is the problem with your car start with the battery. Go on from there. But whatever the issue will be do read the owner's manual and become acquainted with the icons, what they mean, etc. Learn about batteries and common problems with them, their life cycle, etc. I found one of the better sources is a mechanic or shop. They normally will answer all questions about cars. It is their business. Best of luck.
Battery, Starter or Alternator..? Plz Help):?
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The first thing you must try is jumping the vehicle with another. Few tips after you get it start:
1) Make sure that the serpentine or belts are on place and therefore moving the alternator.
2) Test the horn and lights with the engine running. If the lights and horn are OK.
3) Carefully disconnect the negative cable from the battery while the engine is running. If engine keeps running, the vehicle alternator is charging. If engine shuts off, the alternator needs replacement.
4) Assuming that the vehicle is charging as per # 3, have the battery tested on a local auto part store. Most auto parts test the alternator and battery free of charge.
5) Other things that can drain the battery are a tripped brake switch (located on brake pedal), a tripped hood or trunk light switch or interior dome lights that are not properly deactivated.
NOTE: If neither these tips work for you, then you must drive that vehicle to one of those money hungry mechanics in your town to figure it out for you…! Good luck…!
This seems to be the #1 question on this answer forum. 1st thing to look at i will presume the car ran fine a day earlier with no problems, so look at the battery terminal connections to be sure they are clean and tight. if not clean and tighten them for proper connection. Remove the battery terminals and clean with a wire brush and reinstall the battery terminal ends. Try to start the car, if it clicks or turns over, you now know that the battery connections or the battery itself is your problem. If you can jump start the engine, well you now eliminated the starter as your problem. Once starter, get the car to any reliable auto repair shop to have the electrical system tested, otherwise you will be guessing what your problem is and wasting your money. You may but a starter for no reason only to learn you have the very same problem and it could have been the battery or alternator that gave you the low state of charge in your battery. So get it to the shop and diagnosed the 1st time correctly. If the battery is about 4 years old or older, then i would suspect that the battery may have seen better days. Now if you still get no clicking or the engine does not turn over, your starter may be hung up, try tapping on the starter lightly with a small hammer, sometimes this will free up the starter enough to crank over and start, if this is the case, then you have a bad starter and this will happen again to you.
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It takes approximately 9.5 volts to start a car. If you hear a clicking sound, your battery is not putting out enough voltage. 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.
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.
sounds like the starter if the lights inside the dash and your headlights come on.
It is not the alternator, it is not used for starting. If your lights are bright and don't dim when you turn the key I'd say it isn't the battery. So that leaves us with things like the starter or dirty cables or a theft device bad relay or a bad solenoid. Get checking or just go out and start buying things, your choice.
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