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Help Unusual Car not starting

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Old 08-26-2007, 05:35 PM
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close but no cigar
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Help Unusual Car not starting

i know there has been a thread about this many times but heres what i need help with.. the car started to not want to start after i installed my short ram intake and after a while it just wouldnt crank so i went to autozone got my battery tested then replaced the battery after about a week same thing happened so i go back and they say my alternator is bad so i replaced the alternator today so when i roll started it to start the car i rode for about 15 minutes and let the car sit for about 10 minutes with the lights off at first... then i took it on the road for that 15 minutes and had the lights on so i arrived at home and turn the car off and it didnt do anything the interior lights work the sunroof/windows work the lights work while the car is off but on ACC. when i go to start it it doesnt even click? what is the problem
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Old 08-26-2007, 05:59 PM
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Have you checked the Starter?
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Old 08-26-2007, 06:06 PM
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Also check your new battery. Running even a new battery all the way down can hurt it.
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Old 08-26-2007, 06:13 PM
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i went outside just now and it has been sitting on the charger for the last 45 minutes i took a fuse tester...Tool with ground wire and then the other end that lights up if it is completing a circuit and checked my fuses now i dont know if i checked the right fuses but anyway then i was like hey let me stick this down there to the starter and see so i had it grounded and put it on the nut of the starter and it lit up.then i thought hey maybe if i touch these to nuts together it will start but it just made sparks it still wont make the clicking sound like it used to.. and all the lights work inside and out. UGGHHHHH
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Old 08-26-2007, 06:14 PM
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but how do you check the starter?
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Old 08-26-2007, 06:36 PM
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just take it to auto zone i think they can check it there
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Old 08-26-2007, 06:54 PM
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good point ONE LAST FINAL THOUGHT...


I just dont get that it didnt start last week before i got my new battery and then i took it to autozone got a new battery then it started fine up till today and then it stopped.. the weird thing is that the battery has plenty of charge and the alternator is good
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Old 08-26-2007, 07:06 PM
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Try hitting the starter with the handle part of a screwdriver. If it starts after that then you need a new starter.. That sounds like what happened to my 96.. I was at a store came out turned the key and nothing not even a click from the starter...
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Old 08-26-2007, 07:07 PM
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yea i took a hammer to it lightly and it didnt click at all still..
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Old 09-07-2007, 08:04 AM
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I personally would not put to much faith in the people working for Auto Zone or Advanced Auto Parts. I think they may get a commission in selling parts. I had a battery that kept going dead every few days. Advanced Auto Parts checked my battery and they sold me a new battery. A few days later it did the very same thing. They checked my car again and said that I needed a new alternator. They sold me a new alternator. The very same thing happened again within a few days. This made me started to think that it was still a bad battery that kept going dead. I should have been aware of this as when I checked the battery (with the first alternator on) with my VOM and reeved up the engine it would show a charging rate of approx. 14.5 volts. I knew at this time that even the old alternator was not bad even though they told me it was. I went to Wal-Mart and bought one of their batteries for around $55.00 and I did not have any further trouble with my battery going dead. It took care of my problem. If they tell you you have a bad part be sure and back it up on your own or with another tech that you can trust.
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Old 09-07-2007, 08:13 AM
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One more thing you could do is to get an ampmeter, the one that clamps around the wire from Auto Zone an some other parts store. You would place the clamp around the battery wire that goes to the starter. Have someone try to start the engine while you watch the ampmeter to see how many amps the starter is drawing. You can then compare it with the amps the starter is supposed to be drawing. The starter would draw some where in the vicinity of 70 to 80 amps would be my guess. Some one else on here may know the approxmately amps it would draw. At times the starter will short out and draw to many amps and shorts the battery.
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Old 09-07-2007, 08:27 AM
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I had a start prob like this my self and my car went through many a starters, the last time i changed the starter i also took out the ignition switch and cleaned the terminals on it. I later turned on my car and it was fine, give it a shot it takes like 30 minutes
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