Hey y'all!

Let me start by saying that I know very little about cars in general. It was for this very reason that my girlfriend's dad (who has a fair bit of knowledge about cars under his belt) and I were working under the hood. He taught me the basics like changing the oil, where my power steering fluid was, and replaced a fuse or two that had gone bad. I can't remember which fuses they were, but I am sure they weren't relevant for this story as they had nothing to do with the ignition system, just cabin lights and such. One problem I had been having was that my negative battery cable had been popping off at random intervals, which I'd fix by simply putting back on. He got a wrench out and tightened the nut to make sure the cable stayed in place. All seemed well as my lights worked now (hadn't tried to start the car yet mind you) and I was happy to go. Later that night when I (tried) to leave my car simply wouldn't start. Lights came on when I opened the door, the red light around the ignition was on, but the second I turned the key everything went dead. We were able to jump it to get me to a gas station, only to have to have it jumped again to reach my final destination. I got the battery tested and it's in excellent shape (installed in January). Battery cables seem slightly corroded (a little rust here and there), but not excessively. I can hear a distinct, repeated clicking sound when I try to start the car but it never turns over and starts. Also, I dont know how pertinent it is but the cars only seems to jump successfully if the negative booster cable is attached to my engine block (as opposed to the frame or negative terminal). A couple people I've talked to said it was most likely a starter problem. Just wanted to see if you guys had any input on this, or had a recommendation on how to further diagnose the problem. Thanks for your time!

PS: I don't really have any tools to gauge electricity flow, I've read a few posts regarding voltage drops between various connections.

 

When ever the starter just clicks over and over like that it is becasue it is not getting enough power.
Replace your bad battery cable and you should be good to go.

 

Next time when you have a one sentence question, make it a one sentence question, it is so much easier for us.
As Spike mentioned, your starter is not getting enough voltage.
What was the voltage on the battery when tested, are your cables now clean and tight???

 

Thanks for quick responses. And as for the story I've been around enough forums to know that information is often left out and makes problems hard to diagnose. Just wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out. Unfortunately I'm at a job where I can only use my car a day or two during the week (its a summer camp) so I won't be able to put this advice to use for a few days, but I'll replace the cable as soon as I can and let y'all know.

 

Make sure your connections are clean and tight before buying a new cable.