I don’t know much about car repairs, but I know a little about electrical works. Yesterday, while driving my car battery ran out and my friend and I replaced the battery, but didn’t help at all. I think there is no issue with the power, but the car doesn’t start at all. Am I missing something that can be solved by myself or should I go to a car mechanic? If it can be easily resolved, I prefer solving it myself. Any suggestions or help?
What type of car?
Do the dashboard warning lights illuminate when the key is in the RUN position?
Wild guessing with no info I might say a fusible link has given up or a battery cable end or junction terminal.
How do you know your battery “ran out”? What exactly happens when you try to start the car?
The battery is only one component to the starting / charging system. You also have an alternator, starter, and all the circuits that feed power inbetween and to each. The battery should not ‘run out’ on a healthy system. The battery is used the start the car, then the alternator replenishes the battery and feeds power to everything else while the car is running. It sounds like your alternator has failed, and that is killing your battery. Even a new battery will die an early death if you keep this up. Unless you have a battery charger and s multimeter, you need a mechanic.
The battery should connect to a fuse panel under the hood. Older vehicles can have a fusible link between the battery and the panel. Check to see if voltage is getting to the fuses inside that panel and also look for any bad fuses in there. That panel will have one leg going to the ignition switch and that ties to the dash fuse panel. Check for power getting to those fuses while the ignition switch is in the RUN position. Make sure the battery and ground connections are clean also.
Does the engine turn over? When you turn the ignition me, do you hear any noise? if so, describe it.
It sounds like you need to go to a shop for this. If you know how to work a volt meter, you could check to make sure the battery shows 12.5 volts or more, indicating it isn’t entirely dead. A battery showing 12.5 volts still might not be able to start the car though. And when the engine is running the voltage should be 14 volts or maybe a little more. But to get to the bottom of it’s best to ask a shop to do a battery and charging system test.
take time to read this article: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/troubleshooting-a-car-that-wont-start.html
it’s very useful. In fact when I had the same problem, I just followed the steps here and BOOM… got it