ryguy993

Hi guys,
So my car has been sitting in the garage on the trickle charger for the past few weeks. I went to drive it tonight and the car has power (all lights, radio, immobilizer, etc) work but when I go to crank the car over I just get a clicking sound like the car is trying to start with a dead battery but the car has power? Any ideas on what it could be? I bought a new battery and I'm going to replace it tonight, I hope it's not anything major. Any thoughts on what this could be?

IXLR8

Bad connections at the battery and/or starter.
Bad ground connections.
Bad starter solenoid.
Bad starter.

You should have load tested the old battery before assuming it was bad.

MarkD

Based on your description of the symptoms my guess is either a battery problem or the charger wasn't doing it's job.
It may have enough power to light stuff up and turn on the radio, just not enough to crank the engine.

The repetitive clicking sound (cycling of the solenoid) is a common symptom of a weak battery.

Good luck!

IXLR8

A simple open circuit voltage check of the battery can confirm that.

But that alone does not provide a full picture of a battery's state of health; only a load and capacity test will do that.

MarkD

of course

and thanks for your input

4X4SCHE

Mark D got it right... your battery is faulty or not sufficiently charged.

IXLR8

I usually test things before coming to conclusions.

ryguy993

Thanks guys! I replaced the battery with a new Bosch battery and all is good! Car fired right up and I took it for a ride, the fister stage 3's sound amazing after not hearing them for a few weeks :-)

IXLR8

A cockpit mounted voltmeter is a good idea because it tells you if your alternator is working and also what your battery is doing while parked or being charged.

FisterD

Excellent! Glad your back on the road. Also glad you are enjoying the Stage III's!

cpdjfd107

Blah blah blah, yeah you got fisters big deal!!! I miss them, my C4S sounds sooooo quiet. I am not used to it. Glad you got the battery situation figured out. If you ever get tired of them, you will have no problem getting me to buy them back from you!!!

4X4SCHE

Alex, you waste a lot of time then.

IXLR8

No, I save myself a lot of money by not guessing. If I wanted someone to guess, I'd take my vehicles to the average shop.

When you know what you are doing, those tests take a whole minute or two.