Out of the blue, yesterday I couldn't start my camaro. I got a "Ru.... ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka" tried it a few times with the same result. I tried to jump my car with my friends truck, and nothing changed.

I don't think it's my bettery, when I turn the key to the first click, the fans come on, and they sound like they are spinning at the same RPM as they usualy do. my electric guage reads kind of low (just above the red), but it always reads that low untill I get moving, then it's back up to 13 till I shut the car off again. (is that normal?)

The "ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka" sound is fast and a bit quiet

Is this my starter? or what is it?

Thanks!

 

check the battery and see what you really have, not guessing. if the battery is charged my guess would be the starter, but you can't rule out bad connections or grounds untill you check.

 

its your battery.

mine is on the way out, and if i have to crank my car over alot in the morning to start it, it will run out of juice, and all i get is a fast paced click, click click sound. when you go to jump it, have your friend hold the rpms of his truck at about 2 thousand for about 5 minutes, then try to start your car

 

Hm... It's my battery then? I guess that would explain the low voltage in the mornings :-)

The battery is relativly new (a few months)... I don't think my alternator is bad, I get good voltage (13 or so) once I get moving.

Could something be draining my battery? Where should I start looking?



I'll walk the battery down to checker Auto (where I got it from) and have them charge it back up, or replace it. it's not but only a few months old. Good thing I only live about 2 blocks from checker

 

yeah. your battery may not nessicarly be dead, but it didn't have enough juice to turn the motor over, so all your getting is the starter soleniod to click. make sure your alternator belt is good and tight, if you have V-belts, really crank it on there. and assuming your engine starts after you get the battery charged, check the voltage coming off the back of the alternator.

charging voltage should be around 13.8V or more.

don't trust your factory gauge for accuracy, its not bad for ballpark, but its not dead on.

but it just sounds like the battery isn't getting charged up enough while the engine is running.

 

MY car was doing the same thing on the side of I40... with new battery my car jumps right up to 13...



Wendell

 

I walked the battery down to checker (whew! it got heavy!) and it needed to be charged. I'll pick it up in about 45 minutes.

What do you mean by "check the voltage on the back of the alternator"? do you mean have Checker do that? I don't have any electrical "readers" or anything like that.

I have a standard pully system, not a serpintine. How tight should the alternator belt be? we did take it off for a cam swap about a month ago.

 

The alternator belt should be preety tight, make sure its about the same tightness (thats not a real word i dont think) as the other belts. Mine is as tight as i could hold it, and my friend could bolt it (which rymes.....kinda) You can take your alternator to any car place (Schucks, NAPA ) and get it checked for free, dont know about a home tool, but there might be one.... (take another car when you go... less to cary ! ) Another car that i used to have (LeBaron) always clicked in the morning. In the morning You had to turn (try to) turn the engine 3 times, then it would start, i have no idea what its problem was, too crappy to work on. But it always started up after that. I dont think any of this is any help, but i say what i know, and i dont know too much.

 

if you don't have a multi-meter its ok. but they are pretty useful, you can pick one up at arbor frieght for like 3 dollars or something like that. and it will check voltage among other things. and you check the voltage off of the bolt on the back of the alternator.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30756

cheap, but it would be accurate enough.

as for the belt adjustment. get a long long flathead screw driver, and use it to pry on the alternator to put tension on the belt.

push as hard as you can to pull the belt tight, then tighten the adjustment screw.

that should eliminate any belt slip

 

we got the alternator on their good and snug, and the belt is about as tight as the others are.

I put the battery back in the car and it started INSTANTLY when I turned the key. I didn't even hear the starter, it made me jump lol!

anyway, so I know it's not the starter, here we go again... I had this problem when I first got the car, I got a new battery, checked the alternator (both in, and out of the car), and nothing seems to be the problem.

I got the car in February of last year, there is something about the cold weather that is triggering something to drain my battery.

My door locks DO twitch at night when it's cold out, they keep trying to lock themselves... at least they arn't trying to UNlock themselves Would that right there be enough to drain the battery?

I'm going to tackle my door lock and door handle problems when I get back from christmas. I'll be away for 3 weeks, and I think I'm just gonna disconnect my battery for that time while I'm gone, so it doesn't drain. Is that a good idea?

Thanks again! Damn my arms hurt from lugging that battery to checker and back