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havent used car in while. wont turn on. what to check

Aharami

Aharami

Lifer
I have an old beater that I don't drive much. last time it was turned on was back in Oct/Nov. Tried turning it on and saw that the battery is dead. Replaced battery. Now it is making that noise like it's about to turn on, but never does. What should I check? someone I know mentioned check the electrical contact points. Battery terminals seem ok. Something on the starter?
 
What is that noise like it's about to turn on? Clickclickclickclickclick? RrrrRRRrrrRRRrrrRRR? RRrrrRRcoughCOUGHrrrRRcough?
 
what happend to the "we need this info do help you" sticky....

anyway... make/model/year would be a good start.

check the 3 things you need for an explosion. spark, fuel, air.

how old is the gas?
 
does the dash light up?

if so, does the engine turn over but not catch, or do you just get a click click noise?
 
I'll take a video tonight. Not a clickclickclick. That was when the battery died. Now it sounds like any other car when ignition is turned, except the engine doesnt turn on.

Car is 2000 GTI VR6. Gas is from Oct/Nov.
 
Make sure the battery terminals are tight. Sounds like a poor connection at the battery.

Edit: Ignore this post of mine, I misunderstood what you said.
 
Last edited:
Aharami said:
I'll take a video tonight. Not a clickclickclick. That was when the battery died. Now it sounds like any other car when ignition is turned, except the engine doesnt turn on.

Car is 2000 GTI VR6. Gas is from Oct/Nov.
Click to expand...

sounds like a fuel or spark issue then. what was the fuel level in the tank? may have a lot of condensation built up in the tank...although i'm not sure that would be sufficient to not allow the car to start.
 
The CEL may be on anyway with key-on. You could try to pull codes, but a static vehicle "shouldn't" end up throwing a code between running and not running.
 
sorry for the lack of update. Tried to take a video, but the battery is dead again. Have to replace the battery again. Spoke with a mechanic friend of mine and he recommended trying to jump start it.
 
Uh, why not charge the battery? Shouldn't have to replace the battery twice in that short of a time frame unless it truly is bad.
 
You don't jumpstart a battery in a car that hasn't been used in several months. Instead you have to actually CHARGE it which can take hours. If you try to quick charge the battery, you'll likely end up with a dead battery (broken/welded plates). You can put a good battery in parallel with the battery needing to charge and watch carefully to make sure nothing gets out of control then put a battery charger on the weak battery for several hours, maybe even days with a trickle charger.

However if you think you can just put some jumper cables, wait 5 minutes then idle the car thinking that will charge the battery, you couldn't be more wrong.
 
So the replacement battery, was this new? You're sure it was fully charged when you put it in?

Because a new battery with full charge shouldn't go dead that fast, and if it did I would suggest there is a short in your starting/ignition system causing high drain and overheating the battery. Likely candidates are the starter motor and the ignition coils, either could have corroded while sitting.
 
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