so i get in my car to goto work.
i turn the key to start and i get a really fast clacking noise. then i let go of the key and it stops. so i try again..same deal. also, when i try to start it, all the lights in the car flicker (it seems to be with the noise too).
please help, i'm wicked late for work, is there anything i can do? my guess would be i fried my starter the other day when i tried to start the car too many times with a completely dead battery.
also, the last time it was running was yesterday, and since i've replaced the battery, i havent had any problems.

PLEASE HELP!

check the charge on the battery
or try to jump start it

I've had my battery low a couple times where accessories like lights and stuff would still work but not enough power in the battery left to start it and it would just click really fast like you're describing

yeah man..that sounds like your battery doesn't have enough power to do sh*t. Since you put on a new battery, i'm thinking that your alternator is the problem. You should get a jump start and go test out your battery and alternator.

good luck

well you guys are just too smart. all my problems have to do with the stupidest things.
the other day i bought a new battery (optima red top).
well, the posts are smaller than the ones on my previous die-hard. so i had to tighten them extra tight and actually snapped the positive bolt, so that was replaced.
well, i look under the hood wiggling stuff and what not, the bolt that holds the negative terminal on was overtightened and it fractured. the bolt broke in two pieces as i wiggled it. new bolt, 3 washers, its warming up as i type this.

thanks for the help guys, i was gonna cry if i needed a new starter, i'm so close to having tires for my 17s!

thanks again

I hate it when something so simple can drive you nuts...glad to see you fixed it!

Jay

Glad you got it up and running again. But you should replace your cable terminals if they don't give a nice snug fit onto the battery posts. They're pretty cheap like 2 bucks each. It's not necessary to replace it, but i think you should because you never know if have a bad connection and it might lead to the battery not getting charged good, and being drained quick, leaving you stranded. I have to replace my positive terminal tomorrow, i broke it. I replaced my negative one a while back with a nice gold one, dang thing is sweet, easy to bolt on and off and gives a tight fit.

glad you found the problem!