Hi,

The other day, my engine sounded weird initially when I started my car up a few times throughout the day. At the end of the day however, I turned on my car and the air and radio came on, and then when I turned it to crank the engine, nothing happened. It was almost as if I hadn't turned the key at all. The dash lights in my car would dim when I tried to crank the engine, but absolutely nothing seemed to happen under the hood. I couldn't hear any sort of loud clicking or anything.

Then my friend jumped my battery, and it started up! But on the short drive home, it felt like the car was going to die if I came to a stop, and the tachometer needle was jumping around like crazy. I pulled into my driveway and turned off the car.

I tried to start it again maybe 10 seconds later, and the exact same thing happened as before - NOTHING. It would not start up.

Would anyone know what the issue is?

Thanks!

 

Sounds like it could be a few things. What I would do to start,

Pull that battery and take it to a parts store and have it tested/charged (free service at most locations). While the battery is out be sure to clean the connections - both ends of both cables. Install the battery (either the old one after testing or the new one).

Try to start the car. If it starts check the voltage on the battery while the car is running with a volt meter - should see something around 14.5v. Or go to the parts store and have them do a test (again free service at most stores).

Do this and let us know what you find.

 

sounds like the alternator or bad battery...the electrics will go all wonky when they receive less than the specified voltages they require, ...reason your tach needle was probably jumping around.

 

Thanks for the help so far!

Okay, I just drove my friend's car to Advance Auto Parts and brought my battery. They tested the battery as is, and it read 9.5 volts, so that's too low. They recharged the battery, and it ended up having a bad cell. So I just bought a new battery for $80.

They said I will need to try to drive the car back down there with the new battery installed so they can run some tests on the charging system as a whole.

They mentioned that it is possible for a bad battery to mess up the alternator and also that a bad alternator can mess up the battery. So yeah, it seems like it's possible I could end up having to get a new alternator too.

Any thoughts and/or recommendations?

 

Again, be sure to clean the cables and also be sure the ends are tight when connected.

Then have them check the charging system to be sure there are not any other issues.