Won't start but clicks. battery?
 

Guys car won't start.

doors open interior lights come on all dash warning lights come on as normal but when turn key to start just get a series of clicks.

does this sound like a battery that just does not have enough juice to turn over?

I have attached an optimate 3 battery charger and will leave it a few hours.

correct course of action?

cheers

Phil,
An optimate will take a long time to fully charge a battery - do you know what voltage you have at the terminals? A fully charged battery should show ~12.5 volts. The only really reliable test for a battery is to put a drop tester on it after you've tried charging it and see if it will hold it's charge. Also, check the battery terminals are clean - it doesn't take much electrical resistance to start dropping volts when you only have 12 to start with (pun intended!)
Barry

Yep, sounds like a dead battery to me. Be careful when charging it though - I had a battery die on me & got the same symptoms as you. After charging, the battery promptly decided to leak acid all over the place! An expensive fix!

Barry is right about the only real way of checking a battery is to have it properly tested. Most places that sell them will be able to check the health of yours for no charge. Normally, once they've lost their charge, they're very unrealiable, so with an forecasted colder than average winter approaching, you may want to consider replacing it anyway to be on the safe side. Should be a 74 amp/hr in a C4.

Andy

thanks guys. it started :) will leave it charging all day tomorrow then get it checked out. sten your right about the optmates they take ages to charge a battery.

The tried and tested way to check this situation is to put your headlights on before cranking.
Lights go very dim and no crank - flat battery
Lights stay good but no crank-starter.
Taught this by my Dad toooooooooooooo many years ago.

Geoff

Oh, you are very wise sir. :bowdown:

Marc :)

Yup, Sten makes a good point. You should load test the battery after charge just to see if it will hold the charge. The load should be applied for no more than ten seconds. If after that time the battery shows more than a 10percent drop in charge you may have a bad cell or low fluid level. However, if the fliud level is really low or you have a dead cell there will be an excessive amount of heat being stored during the charge time. In that case you will need to add distilled water or in the caes of the dead cell, discard the battery in exchange for a new one.

But, before all that, check the battery posts and clamps for corrosion and cleanliness. Make sure that the starter wires are in good standing as well.

Duncan

Make sure you clean the terminal posts and clamps THOROUGHLY. The battery has drained but it will charge better and get current across much better if you clean everything first!

Another place to look, if your battery is good, is the connection to the starter solenoid. Sometimes the connection gets corroded or have come loose.

:cheers:

Mine did the same after 3 weeks of non use (flat battery),i thought your car was a daily driver ?
Good luck m8.

It is.

My car is doing same thing; clicks, but no cranking. I did the "headlight test"; when I switch the ignition ON, the lights go dead (whole car goes dead) and just a "click" at starter. Battery is fully charged (it stays on a trickle charger) at 12.6V. Battery terminals/cables look clean. Not checked starter cables yet...

Get your battery tested. It could show 12-13 volts but have no staypower.

I just went thru the same thing with a new 3 month old battery. I took it back and it had a dead cell when they tested it with a load. It was reading over 12 volts. They gave me a new one and all is well again.

OK, now I'm starting to think: the PO mentioned battery problems - he'd gone through several over the years. So, he eventually left the car on a trickle charger. The battery always shows "charged" at 12.6 volts - and the alternator is new and is working fine. But it looks like maybe there is a current draw or ground leak or something causing the battery to slowly become "bad". In other words, it will charge to 12 volts, BUT it gradually has no amperage/cranking capacity. And there's a big diffrence between the two, as we know.

Thus, the big mystery: something in the car is causing the battery to go dead - even though it will stay "charged". I suppose the starter motor could still be the culprit, if it is slowly killing the battery with every time it cranks? But there could be any number of other things, too...