When I tried to start my car today I heard a pop/click and the dashboard indicator lights just went off. No crank.

I took the keys out and tried again, but now the indicators don't even light up. No indicators, no sound.

When I take the keys out, I hear a constant repeating clicking noise coming from under the steering wheel somewhere. When I open the door and close it, the clicking stops and the dashboard lights show up again when I turn the key. But when I try to start, all the indicators dim again and the clicking sound comes back when I remove the key.

I installed a new battery about a week ago, and replaced the front brake pads a couple of days ago. The only odd thing I started noticing last week is that the BRAKE and BATTERY indicators are both coming on when I start driving. But they go away after a couple of minutes.

Could it be that my alternator is dying and that I slowly drained the new battery? Or could this be some other electrical problem?

Video of trying to start
http://sdrv.ms/1gCX6a1

Video of clicking noise when taking keys out of ignition
http://sdrv.ms/19j43sM

Any tips would be highly helpful! Thanks

 

The second part sounds like your alternator is on its way out. Jump your car and see if it starts. If it does, alternator may be your only problem.

 

I just realized that the car is not locking/unlocking anymore when I press the button on the keychain, which I guess indicates that the battery is completely dead... which in turn indicates that the alternator is not working?

 

I have never ran my battery that dead.

When my car doesn't start the first thing I do is try to jump it and then read the volts from the battery....go jump your car and report back.

 

Ok, I will try to start the car with jumper cables later today and see if that works. I don't have a voltmeter though.

 

Ok, I was able to start the car right away with jumper cables. The BRAKE and BATTERY indicators are still lighting up on the dashboard (indicating alternator problem).

My best guess is that the alternator is just not fully working and my battery keeps draining slowly.

I think I'm just going to replace the alternator and see if that fixes the problem, unless anybody has a better idea?
I don't really feel comfortable driving the car to Autozone (10 minute drive) to get the alternator tested because the engine can stall at any time if the alternator is not working properly and the battery is almost dead.

 

I'm pretty certain your alternator is going out, but if you want to have it tested, go ahead. I've replaced mine twice since i've had the car... which is a p.i.t.a. to do since you gotta drop the a/c compressor and scoot it out of your way to get to the alti. Also, spray down your belt tensioner with PB Blaster or another high quality lubricant spray. You don't want to break that tensioner.

First time I changed the alti, i went the cheap route because I had just lost my job I had for 12 years and was broke. I was actually on my way to a job interview when it decided to quit. The alty only came with a 1yr warranty, and it went out shortly after that. I then bought a quality one from O'Reilly Auto Parts, and so far, so good.

 

I have this issue too because I have a dashcams and other stuff running 24/7 in the car. So if I don't drive the car for 2 days straight, I can try starting the car all I want but it won't start.

I have to jumper cable the car and then drive around for a bit and everything goes back to normal.

If you already tried changing the battery, then alternator? Or get a car electrician to check if something is draining your battery