My car keeps clicking when I try to start it

I drive a 2006 Saturn Ion; I can’t figure out how to attach a video, however, the car’s battery has been read for a while, It worked perfectly fine until one day it wouldn’t start, so I got out my speed charger and tried engine start, now every time I try to start it the car just clicks, the check engine light flashes on and off, and it just clicks until I take the key out. Sometimes even the key gets stuck, and I have to take the key out manually, I have no idea what this is and would appreciate any advice you could give.

Did you mean your car’s battery was 'dead" for some time? If that’s the case, it probably won’t take or hold a charge anymore. Put in a new battery and the car will probably start.

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No, my car was perfect for months, the battery just stopped out of nowhere, and nothing would work (my key to unlock the door without putting the key in) anything electrical wouldn’t turn on. Well, I let it sit for around two days and came back to it, and nothing changed. So I put my speed charger on the battery and tried auto starting it via engine start, and everything turned on like normal, but when I try actually to start the engine, it just keeps clicking. It did this before, but the clicking only lasted like 5 minutes and started working again. However, this time it won’t start at all as it keeps clicking no matter how many times I try with periods in between each try.

Remove the battery cables and see if the positive terminal is corroded.


Tester

I take it by this you mean you turned the key to on, and all the lights came on, but when you tried to start it wouldn’t?

Get a new battery. The clicking means there isn’t enough power to start the car.

With eye protection on your face :nerd_face:, You can try removing (negative cable-black wire, first)[-] the battery cables, cleaning the connections with the battery, and then reattaching them (positive cable-red wire, first)[+]
Pssst… The battery will probably need to charge a while before a starting attempt is made.

We need information…
How old is the car’s battery?

If it’s older than 5 years then buy one before trying all sorts of other things.

If you don’t know how old it is then buy one before trying all sorts of other things.

If you don’t know for sure what all of this means then quit working on it and seek professional help before you damage something or get hurt.
CSA
:palm_tree::sunglasses::palm_tree:

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A speed charger set to ‘engine start’ will help get you out of a jam, but will not charge a dead battery. It could potentially overheat the battery, depending on your charger.
Can you set it to just charge the battery?

either way, I think you are going to find what the others to say to be true: you need a new battery.

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And clean both ends of both battery cables.

The clicking is usually caused by a bad battery or high resistance connection between the battery and the starter motor. What happens is you turn the key to start, which causes current to flow to the starter motor solenoid, enough to engage the starter solenoid, which produces a “click”. But when that happens much more current is required to make the starter motor actually turn the engine, and this causes the voltage to drop so much the solenoid won’t stay in the on position, so it clicks back off again. etc etc. So check for a bad or discharged battery high resistance connection. If you just want to get it to work w/out a lot of testing, quite often replacing both the battery and starter motor will solve this problem.

Clean the post with a wire brush and the cables spray them both with battery protectant and if you can check water levels. Put it on a slow charge over night. Just to be thorough check the connection to the starter clean and tighten if need be.and if you still have problem take the battery in for testing as most auto part stores do this for and while your at it you may as well have test alternator. If everything still fhecks out good pull your starter and take it in for free testing. Do all these free check before spending a 100 plus on a battery.

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Right! Sometimes the starter solonoid contacts are worned to the point that they won’t produce enough juice to push out the starter gear.