Dead Car Battery Symptoms

My husband was a mechanic and took care of everything, but in August 2006 was killed by a hit and run driver. So after 33 years I am on my own – still reeling on that one – but he would have been pleased to see i did absorb a little – but very little

Chevy Camero – less than 70,000 miles – had been starting it once a week, but then didn’t

When I tried to start after 3 weeks all I got was clicks – charged it myself to no avail – took to auto parts place they charged and tested it battery ok

Put back in car – tightened up cables – turned key and got all my panel lights again (before the battery was charged – no lights at all) door open dings working fine

As soon as I turned key all the way to turn over engine – heard a quick bleep and lost everything

no panel lights, nothing, engine never made the first whir – tried to start again nothing – not 1 light zip

????? what do you think????

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

Sorry to hear about your husband…that must really be tough, I’m saying a prayer for you right now.

On your car, it really sounds like you have a bad battery and or a bad battery cable connection at the battery. You should NOT be able to wiggle the terminal cable connections on the battery with your bare hands.

Turn on the headlights.

If the headlights are dim or not working all together – you probably have a bad/weak battery – regardless of charging or testing – just replace it. You might also hear repeated clicking noises under the hood due to lack of a full 12 volts from the battery needed to operate the starter motor.

If the headlights are on good and bright but go OUT when you turn the key to start, you have a loose or dirty connection at the battery. Remove the cables, clean the battery bolts inside the cable end and reattach.

If the headlights are good and bright, try starting the engine while someone watches the headlights. If the headlights DIM when you turn the key to START…you probably have a faulty starter motor or a weak battery. You can sometimes hear a single “click” from under the passenger side of the vehicle if you have a bad starter motor.

If the head lights come on bright, and they stay on bright as you turn the key, you might have an alarm problem, a wiring or a grounding problem or an ignition switch type of problem. You might want to try another ignition key, and also try starting in neutral which would indicate a faulty neutral safety switch on the transmission.

Please share this with your friends,

Austin Davis