Car won't start - clicking sound

[burningskulls]

Hello-

I went out to start my car today and got nothing. Figuring I left my dome light on or something, I jumped it with my friend's suburban. It took two tries but it fired up. I let it run for a couple minutes and then turned it off and tried to start it again. This time I got a click-click-click. This happened for the first couple times I tried to start it after this. After that I would either get one click or nothing. Tee electrical still worked but when I left the car to go home the automatic door lock on the passenger side seemed like it almost didnt want to go. I figure its my starter or alternator, but I was just wondering if anyone knew they exact diagnosis. Thanks for any help,

micah

[lbrowne]

Sounds like you car is not charging the battery. I had this exact problem in my 89, just replaced the aging battery.

You can try taking the battery out and charging it with a actual car battery charger.

Boosting a dead battery from another car is not the optimal way to bring a battery back to life.... works fine if the battery is newer though

[Meantime]

Dumb question: how old is your battery in the car?

They only last a certain # of years, usually twixt 3-4 depending on the grade.

If the battery's old and dead, it won't hold a charge even if the alternator is functioning properly.

[burningskulls]

It hasnt been changed since I bought the car little over a year ago, but it does appear that it is a bit old. I'll probably pull it out and have it load tested tonight, and see what happens.

[lbrowne]

get a new one, chuck that old sucker!

[burningskulls]

Well I replaced my battery (needed a new one anyways), got home, hooked it up and it still wont start. The electrical works fine when I first turn the key, and when I try to turn it over I get one click and the dashboard lights fade. Also, when I hooked up the negative terminal, I got a buzzing noise from the EGR fuse. If I jiggled the cable or the fuse, it would stop. Now I figure it is my starter but i anyone knows anything about the EGR thing let me know,

thanks,micah