My car wont start, just clicks. I have power to everything

[paulbunyan]

All,
My 97 Galant wont start. I can turn the key and get power to everything, the battery has 12.5 volts but when I turn the key it just clicks. Now in the past few months I have noticed that white powdery stuff building up on the positive battery terminal. I think I read somewhere that means there is something on that circuit that is giving a lot of resistance.

Guess my next step is to check the cable where it connects to the starter. Since its raining outside I couldnt crawl up under the car to locate the starter. I cant see it from the top of the engine either. Is there some trick im missing here?

bunyan

[gtx]

Sounds like a starter problem to me

[Shadow19]

I had a similar problem and i replaced the battery terminals and it went away. Try that its only like 5 bucks for both the pos and neg terminals.

[gtx]

yeah, cleaning the terminals doesn't hurt either. Baking soda is your friend

[Strahan]

Having lights/radio/etc on doesn't mean the battery isn't the problem. Doesn't take much current to run the accessories, but a helluva lot to start the car.

[stopfakn]

I tried the baking soda and a battery change, it would fix it for a while but the the problem would start all over again. Finally I wa son my way to my wife's job and the car stopped deadin the middle of the road. It was the IAC. If you're over 100k you might want to have that checked out. Cost 500 at mitsu. to replace it. Also check if the needle(screw like thing) is broken off in the TB. And oh yea clean out the TB too. Good luck

[98ACR]

This is a common problem, usually on Fords, namely the Explorer. But it crops up in pretty much every make from time to time, especially in vehicles from the northern parts of the U.S.

It takes a LOT of power to turn a starter. Not so much to light up the little bulbs behind your dash. Start by trying to wiggle both terminal ends, they should be tight enough that they won't move without some serious motivation. Second make sure they're clean inside and out. It does NO good to clean the outside of the terminal ends so they're nice and pretty but leave the corrosion on the inside of the ends. Once the ends are clean and tight, if there's still a problem examine the positive and negative cables themselves. If there's any corrosion cut the insulation back about 1" from the terminal ends and see how far back it goes. Once enough corrosion builds up in the cables and upps the resistance, not enough power will go to the starter to turn it over. I recently had an Explorer that had 13.4 volts at the battery, but only 1.6 volts at the positive lug on the starter! Also any time you have an electrical problem, take a moment to check your fuses. Light-up continuity checkers can be had for $5 and makes checking every fuse in the vehicle a 10 min job at most. Nothing is more irritating than replacing an expensive and hard to change part only to find a $0.10 fuse was the culprit.

It's also a good idea to practive basic preventative maintnance. If you're reading these forums, it's pretty likely you're under your hood at least once a month. While you're under there, check for corrosion of the terminal ends. Get rid of it early and it won't be a bigger problem later. A good corrosion inhibitor is a good idea if you have a repeated problem with corrosion. They sell spray-on products in most auto parts stores (ZAP makes the best IMO) Or a light coating of "no oxide" grease will also do the trick. Some people even use plain household spray paint...though I don't recommend it.

[mapid145]

do this.. it worked for me on my old corolla.. if u see the white residue on ur terminals.. take some soda and pour it on there.. or just get a batter terminal cleaner..

for ur starter get a hammer.. find ur started and on the opposite side of ur pulley,, tap with some decent force for a while.. maybe 5 good taps.. try it turn it on.. if i does.. LEAVE IT ON.. if it doesnt keep trying it.. if it takes u a while like 15mins.. or after 4 or 5 times of taping and ignition.. ur starter is basically dead..

either way.. get a new starter.. or get one rebuild but i would suggest a new one..

my uncle whose a mechanic for 30 years.. told me about it..and i was like wtf. .but it worked and i loved it.. try it out and let me know wat happend.

[paulbunyan]

OK,
I had cleaned the therminals with a can of Coke and a toothbrush. That cleaned all the white powder off but apparently it didnt clean things enough because it didnt make my car start.

THEN I got some sandpaper and sanded all around my battery terminalas as well as inside the clamps holding the cables to the posts. Once I sanded all that stuff my car started up fine.

I also located my starter (On the BACKSIDE) of the motor. WhenI looked at it I didnt see any loose wires which wopuld make corrosion buildup on the battery. All the connections were solild and tight. I think my connection at the battery may have been loose and thats what kept causing the corrosion to buildup.

Last time I cleaned all the corrosion off it only took like 2 days to come back. I sanded it off Saturday so by now there should be a lot of corrosion built up. If not Im going to assume that I fixed it.

[gtx]

Don't waste no more time on the terminals, it helps temporary, but a starter problem is like this: comes and goes, then one day it craps out on you. Believe me, been there, done that. Fix or replace the starter till you don't get stuck somewhere because it doesn't start anymore at all. just my .02

[bronxbombr]

Don't waste no more time on the terminals, it helps temporary, but a starter problem is like this: comes and goes, then one day it craps out on you. Believe me, been there, done that. Fix or replace the starter till you don't get stuck somewhere because it doesn't start anymore at all. just my .02

I guess you wont be driving to far off places for awhile.

[paulbunyan]

:smt071 Bronxbomber lol...

All,.
This danged problem has come back with a vengeance. I cleaned off my terminals 3 days ago and they already have corrosion built back up on them. I have to clean them off in order for the car to start. Once I do that, about 3 days later the corrosion is back. I checked the cable to the starter again and it still is connected fine.

So corrosion builds up, then when I clean it off the car cranks fine. But 3 days later the corrosion is back.

Anyone have any other suggs? Im no master mechanic but I learn pretty good :-)

bunyan

[Fishboy55]

PB: Corrosion is commonly caused by the gas escaping from the battery and mixing with the air and other crap under the hood. Everytime you sand them down, you create a new spot for the corrosion to grab on to. When it builds up enough, it will decrease the cold cranking amps (CCA) so your car won't have enough amps to turn over. Try cleaning the terminals completely again, then put the cables back on and tighten them down. Then coat the exposed metallic parts with vaseline. This should help cut down on the corrosion. Make sure you do this AFTER you connect and tighten the cables, as vaseline doesn't conduct electricity too well.

[paulbunyan]

FB,
Thanks! I did some digging around underhood today and I discovered that the cable to the starter has corrosion all through it as well. Im thinking Ill have to replace that cable (In the meantime I just put a new battery cable clamp on the end) this weekend.

Anyone know any special tricks to get to the starter end of the cable? I havent crawled up under the car yet to look at it but from the top side it looks like it might be a lil hard getting to it. I was thinking Id have to lay up under the engine and get to it from the bottom