# Battery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** jetta, volkswagen\ **Created:** [September 17, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery/36762 "2009-09-17T13:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![katect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@katect](https://community.cartalk.com/u/katect)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery/36762/1 "2009-09-17T13:09:18Z")
hi, my 2002 vw jetta wouldn’t start this morning. the inside and outside lights worked still. could it possibly be the battery or no? it wouldn’t take a charge (from another car) ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery/36762/2 "2009-09-17T13:39:18Z")
The lights draw much less electrical current than the starter, which draws a huge amount of current in order to start the car. Based on your description, it certainly sounds like the battery has come to the end of its life. If this is the original battery, you can be sure that the battery needs to be replaced at this point, as 7 years is at the outer limits of a battery’s effective lifespan. In fact, you could have caused damage to the alternator by having to “work overtime” in order to keep an old, weak battery charged. ---
**Author:** ![katect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@katect](https://community.cartalk.com/u/katect)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery/36762/3 "2009-09-17T14:04:23Z")
thnk you ---
**Author:** ![bennyandthejets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@bennyandthejets](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bennyandthejets)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery/36762/4 "2009-09-17T17:58:20Z")
If it won’t take a charge from another car, it could be low quality jumper cables or poor connections to the battary from the cables or the battary terminals, or the battary itself could be so bad it just needs replacing. If it is in fact 7 years old like VDC suggested, it’s time to replace the battery regardless of anything else. It had a good life, it’s time to let it go… ---
**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery/36762/5 "2009-09-17T19:46:55Z")
It would help to know if the inside and outside lights continued to work when you tried to start the car and exactly what happened when you tried (what did you feel and hear? Is it the original Battery. If so I would expect it to be the problem.