Car Trouble

[Jet-Lee]

I went to start my car this morning, and heard a weird clicking kinda noise. It sounded like my starter was skipping over the flywheel. Not grinding, but skipping, like it can't engage. Any ideas??? :dunno:

Thanks!

[chino]

dead battery cuz of the cold night we had.

[Don Juan]

Originally posted by Jimmy@Dec 23 2004, 09:14 AM
dead battery cuz of the cold night we had.
thats what i was thinking, my car started up really slow this morning, like if the battery was bout to die, you should look into that :thumbup:

if you see corrosion on the terminals, mix water and baking soda and clean it with a brush, also clean the surface too. If you need a new battery, make sure you get one with the most CCA (cold cranking amps) :2thumbsup:

[Jet-Lee]

hmm....never thought about that. But Amber's car has the same battery, has sat for about 2 months, and it fired right up.

*EDIT* - We got the Optima Red Top gel cell batteries.

[Don Juan]

Originally posted by Jet-Lee@Dec 23 2004, 09:21 AM
hmm....never thought about that. But Amber's car has the same battery, has sat for about 2 months, and it fired right up.
thats because she has an import and they last forever, and you have a FORD :headshake:



haha just messin lee, did you guys buy the battery at the same time??

[Jet-Lee]

yup

[Don Juan]

hhhhhmmm, then thats a good question now, unless your alternator isnt charging the battery correctly, other than that, i dont know what it could be :no:

[Maliwho97]

Battery is probably low, alternator isn't skipping the flywheel, that would be horrible. Its just the starter solenoid clicking.

[Jet-Lee]

should try swappin battery's when i get home?

[Don Juan]

try that, if it doesnt work, let us know for more troubleshooting :thumbup:

[Maliwho97]

Have someone jumpstart your car. Get it started. If it stays running, your good. Let it run for a few minutes, shut if off, start it back. If it starts, you're good, just had a low battery. If it doesn't start, you have a coroded connection somewhere. If your car dies after you take the jumper wires off from the other car or shortly there after, your alternator isn't charging and you have to replace the turd.

[Jet-Lee]

my jumper cables are in rogers....dammit. great place for 'em huh? guess I'll make a stop by there and get 'em.

[5.0_RAY]

On those really cold mornings, you can turn on the headlights for 5-10 minutes before trying to start the car. That will warm the battery a little, and it will have more juice for the starter.

[SleeperTec]

Na, just leave the headlights on all night so the batt stays primed all the time.. that should work great... But really.. I bet ya it's the starter solenoid due to the cold conditions.. from what I recall your car seemed to crank over great when I drove it that one time.. it's most likely not the battery or the ALT & if you think it is bring it over so I can test it.. & is that the stock OEM starter or a replacement?

[Jet-Lee]

put it in 5th and pushed it, to turn the engine a little. Then tried to start it. It turns over and over and over....and you can hear ice crunching....:headshake:

[5.0_RAY]

Ouch!!! Not enough antifreeze? :cold:

[Jet-Lee]

block froze....all the water inside....when i tried to start it and heard the crunching, i figured it was the water pump. It wouldn't start after that cause I had jumped time. My cam was 2 notches ahead of my crank. That's been fixed, car runs fine, 'cept i can't get a radiator hose back on :headshake: . Joe, I'll be bringin it by your shop sometime tomorrow after work, if I can, to get everything checked up on, make sure it's in okay condition and get fluids done :wallbash:

[Jet-Lee]

UPDATE - Got the lower radiator hose re-attached, poured a little over 1 1/2 gallons of 50/50 coolant from wal-mart into it. started it up, and coolant is spraying everywhere from the thermostat housing gasket. :wallbash: When do I get a friggin break?!

[Jet-Lee]

Fun day. Was out of work sick, again. But I finally got my hands on a 180 degree thermostat. Pulled off the housing, scraped all the old crap gasket off, then pulled out the broken thermostat and noticed that the 180 i had, was the wrong kind. :wallbash: Went to AutoZone, got the right one, but all they could get was a 192, oh well, wtf, I'll just change it again when I can find a 180. Finally got everything put back together, and it RUNS! Everything is kool, doesn't overheat, doesn't leak, doesn't make any funny noises, but it finally runs right! Now I just need an oil change and a new right cv-axel.