Car wont start, makes clickng noise

[xWuko]

Hey guys, after doing a few searches and reading posts I found nothing that could really help me I didnt think. My car wont start, when I turn the key all the way to start it, the gauges go down like always, and car does nothing, then when I let go of turning the key, it makes a click, or like something is dropping.

The only thing out of the ordinary I did, was the night before it started happening I was driving with fog lights on, and I didn't turn them off, but they turned off when i shut down the car. I had a friend come over and jump my car, but that proved to be no help. if anyone can think of anything, please tell me.

I tried washing my key off, completely drying it, that did nothing. Im not sure how to measure Ohms of my key, so I cant go get a resistor. Don't know how to measure fuel pressure or anything like that.


Thanks in advance for the help guys.

[CAMAROWIDBASS]

i think its your battery.

[TopHatJimmy]

If it was your key, the security light would come on. If it just won't crank, could be a dead battery, or your starter died.

[xWuko]

Well the security light is flashing when I try to start it up. Where is the starter located? A friend told me tapping on it lightly might jolt it to start up.

Thanks much guys

[hurleydude1021]

its your starter, it happened to me and my 4runner, it sux, ur starter is prolly going out. Tapping it would get it to start and will do for a while but start look for a new one soon.

[xWuko]

Where can I find the starter on this car?

[96RS Alex]

Now would be a good time to change your oil if you really have to.
Depending on the year of your vehicle which you havent specified, this procedure is from my 1996 Camaro 3800 Series II motor. I am not sure if you have a particular V6 or V8 so here it goes.
1~ Park the front end of your car onto Rhino Ramps, this is due to the low front end ground clearance in some instances.
2~ Disconnect the negative battery cable.
3~ From under the vehicle on the lower drivers side of the motor, there is a metal shield w/ 3 bolts protecting the starter assembly. Remove them and begin to disconnect the solenoid wire and battery cable from the terminals of the starter solenoid. Take detailed notes on each wire where you specifically removed them from.
4~ Remove the starter bolts.
5~ Remove the starter motor slowly. If you have metal shims equipped then take extra caution as to where they are located, you will be reusing them upon reinstallation of the starter motor.
6~ Clean the starter bolt holes internally & area with a clean rag. Sometimes this is the dirtiest area you'll get your hands on.
7~ Reinstall the new starter motor with the shims if equipped and its wire connections you took notes on. Do the job right the first time and you wont have any problems.
8~ Reconnect the negative battery cable & start the car for further testing.

Hope this helps!

[BobbyZ72]

check your battery first

[Razzer]

Try to jump start it from a larger vechile, odds are its a battery, then check solenoid, then the starter. Check in that order. The starters on our cars are a little bit of a pain to take out and put back it, a lift works great to get at them.

[ma4life]

"Well the security light is flashing when I try to start it up. Where is the starter located? A friend told me tapping on it lightly might jolt it to start up."

It's not your starter ... if your security lights keeps flashing ... your key or your ignition switch is bad ... check the bottom of the column for the Pass-II wires and read accress the two ... check out this link for better info ...
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#pass_key

[vanbibber]

try a new battery first. the clicking sound is from the starter solenoid trying to turn the engine over. i seriously doubt its the key. that is pretty rare. and if youre hearing the clicking sound its probably not going to be the starter either becuase that means its not getting enough power. start with the simple stuff first ALWAYS start simple, 9 times out of 10 on this board this question comes up and it always comes back as being the battery. try that first and we can go from there.

[ma4life]

The only time the security light will flash while trying to start it, is when there's an issue with the Pass-II system.

[slick-metal]

Does your car crank, like turns over - but wont start?? Does your fuel tank guage read empty? Does your fuel pump sound like its not turning on?

try the procedure here:

http://www.bsecorp.com/files/techtips/BDTECB300.pdf