Recently when i go to start my car i just get a clicking sound. Sometimes it takes 10 to 20 times of turning the key ,sometimes it fires right up. The starter was the original so i replaced it thinking that might be the problem, didn't work. So the battery i had was a brand new stale battery that my friend gave me so i thought that might be the problem so i bought one of those optima gel batterys....Still no good, does the same damn thing. I don't think it's the nuetral safety switch cause i noticed when i look at my battery charge gauge the needle is all the way in the red at +18, If i remember right it the needle was always in the middle between -8 and +18. What's my problem here?.....Alternator maybe?

 

If it won't start then that takes the alternator out of the question. The battery is used to start the car and then once everything is running, the alternator recharges the battery and keeps the car running.

Can you hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the key on? It is possible that you are not getting enough or any fuel when you try to start it.

 

Bad battery cable

 

maybe it's the battery cable....definitly not anything related to the fuel pump, the car won't even crank over sometimes, it just makes a cliclking sound.......Why is the battery charge needle all the way down in the red though at 18?......i checked my wifes van and her needle is right in the middle.