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YAC(ar)T: Car wouldnt' start this morning

L

LordSnailz

Diamond Member
Total car noob here so bear with me. Went out to the car this morning, threw the key in there and turned but all I could here was a "dik dik dik" sound.

When I have the keys in there, the lights on the dash comes on and the radio works but after trying a few times, I realize the clocked was reseted to 1:00. Forgot to check if the radio presets were still there or not.

Not sure if the weather had anything to do with it ... is was COLD! The car is a 2000 v6 le camry.

Any suggestions what it could be?
 
Dead battery. Maybe you left dome lights on or somethings. Get it jumped, and it doesn't keep the charge, get the battery tested to see if its still good or not.

At least you could get in your car this morning. My doors were frozen shut, and I spend 30 minutes getting them open, which made me late for work.
 
thanks guys, that was quick!

nah, didn't try the jump, was already late for work so I had to take off.
What's the best way to clean the battery terminals? I'll try that first and if that doesn't work, I guess I can switch the battery.

Anything I need to know about changing the car battery execpt what type to get, guessing that's in the car's manual.

 
Originally posted by: MogulMonster
Dead battery. Maybe you left dome lights on or somethings. Get it jumped, and it doesn't keep the charge, get the battery tested to see if its still good or not.

At least you could get in your car this morning. My doors were frozen shut, and I spend 30 minutes getting them open, which made me late for work.
Click to expand...

dang that's bad ... whatcha do to get them open, pour cold water through it?
 
I just used sandpaper and sand the terminal & connectors until they're free from corrosion. 🙂 works for me.
 
Sandpaper promotes further corrosion 😉

Remember, REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION BEFORE REMOVING THE BATTERY TERMINALS
 
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
Click to expand...

When would you use the battery charger, every week?

One follow up question was how come the battery light did not come up? Anything else I should look out for if it's not the battery?
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
Click to expand...

What are you talking about?!?

I think you left off the precursor which is "if you are a dumbass and are constantly leaving your lights on and draining your battery overnight, THEN...."

Otherwise your comment makes no sense at all.
 
Originally posted by: flot
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
Click to expand...

What are you talking about?!?

I think you left off the precursor which is "if you are a dumbass and are constantly leaving your lights on and draining your battery overnight, THEN...."

Otherwise your comment makes no sense at all.
Click to expand...

my dad and I swear on ours. It's some heavy duty old school one but we use it to condition our marine batteries 🙂

it's so leet
 
Originally posted by: LordSnailz
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
Click to expand...

When would you use the battery charger, every week?

One follow up question was how come the battery light did not come up? Anything else I should look out for if it's not the battery?
Click to expand...

I have never "needed" a battery charger since i have like 4,000 jumper cables, I'm not sure how I collected them all, though. 😕 I would doubt you would need it more than once a year, unless you have many vehicles or help friends a lot.

The battery light usually means voltage coming off of the alternator.
 
Originally posted by: MogulMonster
Dead battery. Maybe you left dome lights on or somethings. Get it jumped, and it doesn't keep the charge, get the battery tested to see if its still good or not.

At least you could get in your car this morning. My doors were frozen shut, and I spend 30 minutes getting them open, which made me late for work.
Click to expand...
I couldn't get into my car. The handle wouldn't even lift. I had to get a ride from my roommate so that I could make it to my exam on time.
 
Also, measure the voltage on the battery while you try to start. My battery died the other day and it dropped to 6V when I tried to crank the motor.
 
Originally posted by: LordSnailz
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
Click to expand...

When would you use the battery charger, every week?

One follow up question was how come the battery light did not come up? Anything else I should look out for if it's not the battery?
Click to expand...
The battery light only comes on if the system voltage drops below 12 volts while the vehicle is running. If often does not indicate a weak or dead battery but is design to alert the driving if the charging system is not functioning correctly.
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
If you don't have one, go buy a battery charger from Sears or wherever. I have one and have used it over and over. It's far better for the battery to charge it up with a charger than to charge it by letting the alternator charge it while it's running...
Click to expand...

your battery has to charge anyway, from the power used during the start. 😕 i'm sure a charger is handy, but when batteries last 10 years anyway, how would you know what you're doing is really "better?"
 
those battery chargers from sears and whatnot are pretty nifty, don't doubt them. They hold their charge pretty well, my friend's swear by them. Don't discount them so quickly.
 
Got it to work, it was the darn battery. Got a jumped and it worked. Switched out the battery with a duralast $49.99. Not sure if I got the best deal but blah it's running now 🙂

Thanks for the help guys!
 
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