I have am 1999 Infiniti i30t. My car will not crank/start up. When I turn the key there is only a clicking sound. But the car lights & hazard lights do work. What I think I’m hearing is the alternator when I try to start it. We have tried to jump start it, no success. jump starting the battery got it going but it would only last about 5 minutes before it was dead again. When I turn the key there is just a clicking sound. Help please? I have no experience on cars.
The battery may be to low to take a quick charge. How old is the battery? Is the battery post connections clean? It’s either new battery time at least an overnight charge.
The clicking you hear is the starter selinoid trying to engauge the starter. A very low charged battery, or bad battery or connections are the most likely.
Remove the battery and many auto parts stores will test them and many will put them on their heavy duty charger which can give a much better charge.
Battery connections are the first place to begin when you have a “No start” situation. Even
if you have a new battery, if the connections are loose, dirty or corroded, you will not be
allowing the full flow of current to pass thru the connections. The connection may be
enough to turn on the lights, but not enough for the huge flow that is needed to operate the
starter. This is where many people say that they know the battery is good….”because the
lights come on”. This is no more a battery test than licking a 9volt battery. It only tells you that there is electricity…not how many volts or the amperage that flows from the battery.
Jump starting may have wiggled the terminal just enough to allow the current to pass and start the engine, but tomorrow you have the same problem.
First remove the cables from the battery and use a wire brush to remove any corrosion and dirt from the battery posts and the cable terminals. There is a tool with a round wire brush for this purpose, found at any auto parts store for less than $10 http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/kd-tools-terminal-battery-brush-kdt201/25980576-P?searchTerm=terminal+brush.
Before connecting the cables, apply a coating of di-electric grease to the battery posts this will keep oxygen away from the connection so that it will not corrode as fast.
It is just as important that the other end of the cables also have a clean connection. Remove the positive cable from the battery again so that you do not short anything out. Follow both cables to their far ends, remove this connection and wire brush the connection and the cable terminal clean and retighten these connections.
If there was work done recently, there may have been an “engine to body” ground that was not installed following the work. These grounds normally run from the rear of the engine to the firewall and are uninsulated and most are a braided wire. If any of these are found unattached…reattach them.
Remember….this is not a “Sherman Tank” don’t over tighten the connections.
Tight…tight………………too tight…broke!!!
Yosemite