Hey guys, first off thanks for looking at the thread - on to my problem!

Basically, the car has been having battery issues due to me not having the time between work and school to go start it up, it required jump starts to get it started, but then it became too much of a struggle to crank the car over - I thought the battery needed to be replaced, so I went to Pepboys and bought a Duralast battery just to get it started in the meantime.

So here I am, I bought the battery, removed the old one, and attached the power and ground - and tighten everything up, I get into the car, the first thing I realize was the interior lights were still just as dim as they were with the dead battery, but I attempted to crank the car over, and nothing. Being that I was stumped by why it wasn't turning over, I went back to the engine bay, and I heard the set of relays on the passenger side of the car clicking non-stop and the ground cable to the battery was getting warmer and warmer - I removed the ground, and reattached it a few minutes later, and still the same thing, the car (starter) was clicking very lightly and would not crank over.

Prior to the weak battery, the car was in phenominal shape and ran like a champ, what could be the problem I am having right now?

There is alittle over 1/4 tank of gas, could it be a fuseable link issue? If so, where should I start looking to solve the problem? And did I finally destroy my starter by trying to crank it over too many times in recent time with a weak battery?

Thanks again guys - and please pardon my English, I'm rushing with this post at work and trying to avoid my boss from seeing me not doing any work =D.

 

might be a dead alternator

 

something is short under the hood.

 

"passengers side"

alternator. you probably lost your battery in the first place because the alternator wasnt charging it properly.

 

Did you happen to have your brake/air bag lights flashing before this happened? My car just went through the same symptoms but by then I knew my alternator was gone...

 

If it is possible take you're alternator out and have it tested at an autoparts store.

 

check you grounds...all of them, especially those @ the altenator and straight off the battery to chassis/powertrain!

 

even if its your alternator that gave out, the car should have started just fine with the new battery. I would recomend geting a jump start just to rule out a dead battery (the one you bought might be dead). Also, before you do anything, check ALL fuses, underhood and inside cabin. when you reinstall battery, clean the battery terminals of oxidation.

 

You might have a cable problem and not a battery problem. Or you got a new, but dead battery.

 

check terminals, clean as necessary. also check under your battery tray for corrossion on negative battery cable that runs on the frame rail, more than likely bad contact, clean or replace with new negative battery cable.

Use multimeter to check battery voltage should be 11.5-12.0, if you can get your car started check at terminals for alternator output should be 13.1-14.0, maybe 14.1, anything above that and your alternator is overcharging, which is just as bad as undercharging if under 12.0 V.

Good luck.

 

Hey guys, thanks alot - all your suggestions make sense, I'm going to give them a try later today - the more I read, the more I'm beginning to believing it is a cable-contact issue. Hopefully the alternator is fine. Thanks again guys - you'll back from me soon!