car won't start

[Flurgen]

was driving the car, everything was working fine, stop somewhere, go inside for about 5 minutes, go to leave. start the car and it seems as if the battery is dead. i didn't leave anything on, and guage lights turn on about half way, radar detector works, cd player doesn't turn on. try to start it, just get a slower clicking sound. tried jumping it with 2 different cars and 2 different wires. nothing is helping.

its a 1996 camaro rs with about 130k

anybody have an idea what the problem is?

[youngsc]

Re: car won't start

If you suspect the battery try replacing it. It may be beyond a jump helping it.

[nascar24jd]

Re: car won't start

Sounds like the battery. If you turn the lights on, how bright are they?

I will guess battery, but it could also be a starter or starter wiring issue.

If your lights look dim then it is the battery.

[Fireball27]

Re: car won't start

was driving the car, everything was working fine, stop somewhere, go inside for about 5 minutes, go to leave. start the car and it seems as if the battery is dead. i didn't leave anything on, and guage lights turn on about half way, radar detector works, cd player doesn't turn on. try to start it, just get a slower clicking sound. tried jumping it with 2 different cars and 2 different wires. nothing is helping.

its a 1996 camaro rs with about 130k

anybody have an idea what the problem is?

Wow, i'm stuck in Wendover, UT with the exact same problem... i thought it was the alternator.

[bah]

Re: car won't start

yeah, if a jump doesnt help its battery 99% of the time, because it wont charge, you have to hook it up to a battery charger that will crank to get it started, i just had to replace my battery a few days ago, $70 i didnt want to spend

[cybercide]

Re: car won't start

The slow clicking and dim lights are a dead giveaway that the battery is dead. But simply replacing the battery may not be the whole problem.

When was the last time you cleaned up the connections? Bad connections can cause the battery not to charge. The battery terminal bolts are removable from their rubber boots, and the boots can be slid back to access the ring connectors inside. Theres a ground wire on mine mounted to the wheel well right behind the battery. The alternator's connections aren't hard to get to either and are important to keep clean. I haven't looked at the starter on mine yet so I don't know where the wires are, but it wouldn't hurt to clean those too.

The alternator may be going south and not pumping out enough juice to charge the battery. Doesn't Autozone test alternators for free? Luckily they are easy to remove on the 3800 fbody.

Its possible there could be a circuit somewhere draining the battery, which can be a b1tch to find, but this is NOT likely your case since you stated you could be parked 5 minutes and be dead. If it was an overnight type problem than it would be more likely.

Car batteries can be damaged by running them down too much (thats why there exists "deep cycle" batteries for applications that need to run down the battery). So an alternator (or bad connection) not charging the battery properly could potentially cause the battery to fail.

I think I would just replace the battery and clean all the connections listed above, and then see what happens

[Flurgen]

Re: car won't start

i wish the car was at my house, but im gonna head back over and tighten up the bolts and see what happens

[Flurgen]

Re: car won't start

it was the bolts on the battery. thanks guys