Last Friday my 99 Hyundai Elantra refused to start after having been off for 5 minutes at a gas station. It would not jump, I had it towed and paid $300 for a new starter. Ran great for a week, and today (a week later) same thing happened. I drove to a restaurant, ate dinner and when I came out it wouldn’t start. When I turn the key nothing happens, although the dashboard lights come on and there is a soft clicking noise coming from around the engine. Did I get a bad starter job or is there something more serious going on here? Anyone had similar problems?
if it’s clicking it’s probably the starter again.i would suggest taking it back to the shop that did the work and have them check it out.
check your battery. Clicking is usually a dead battery
My son’s Mazda pickup wouldn’t start one day. It just clicked. So he went to Advance Auto, got a new starter, and installed it himself. When he turned the key he just got the clicking noise. That’s when he had to break down and finally give me a call.
So I came over, checked his connections. Everything looked okay. But all you got was the clicking. So I attached my jumper cables from my car to his. He turned the key and just got clicking.
So I started my engine and told him to wait a few minutes while we transferred some charge. About three minutes later he turned the key and… his pickup roared to life!
He drove to Advance Auto and bought a new battery. He has had no trouble since. He also now has a perfectly good starter sitting on a shelf in the garage.
A battery’s life is about 4, or 5, or 6 years. If your battery has a few years on it, it could be ready for retirement. Many auto parts stores will do a battery and alternator check for you IN THE CAR. Let them check those.