VW Passat

Car would not start, no nothing, dash lites all seem bright enough, battery wont take a charge, but when i open the door the interior lights blink on about every 5 seconds. Put a meter on the battery and it reads 12.87v. Car will not start with a jump either…any suggestions, i feel like the int lites blinking should be some kind of indicator

You need to check out the ENTIRE starter circuit; the cables, solenoid, starter switch, starter motor. We had a similar problem with my wife’s old Nissan last year. It turned out to be the starter, and a few hundred dollars later the car was OK again.

If you poke the starter hard with a hockey stick or broom handle, and it starts then, you will need a rebuilt unit. Trying to fix an erratic starter is not worth the hassle.

The battery is only one of the starter system components.