Help Please...Car wont start..
 

Well I was driiving to the store and all was normal, I pulled into the parking lot and parked and shut off the car and went into a store. About 15 min later I came out and when I turned the key ......nothing. No idiot lights, no buzzer, no power whatsoever..It was completely dead. I have a new alternator( < 1 year old) and a fairly new battery. When I put jumper cables on it, I got power, but as soon as I turned the key to the start position, something clicks and everything goes completely dead again. The battery also sparked from the + terminal. My stepdad thinks that it may be the starter silinoid (sp?), and that when it shorts it drains all power. Do you think this is the problem?? Any info is welcome, thanks...:(

i would say wire connection somewhere, if thew solinoid shorts it could drain the power, but not all of the batts power in that short of time with out over heating the battery terribly. Anyone else wanna help me out?

Check fuses if there is a fuse that has something to do with that but I'm sure there is!!! Try the fuses in the engine compartment first then inside. Not sure but it couldn't hurt to check.

kleach

I checked all fuses in engine compartment, all were OK. Im getting it towed back to my house later today, Ill check it out and look over everything,,....it seems really strange just quitting like that. Thanks for the responses....more please!!

Battery Terminals.

I'd cosider looking at the Ignition Switch.

Could you elaborate a little more please??

Make sure the clamps are on all the way and tighened. I forgot I once had that problem. The battery post was messed up.

kleach

Elaborate?? Uhm, ok,

Think about it...what can go wrong with battery terminals?

Corrosion and loose connection. Take them of and clean them up and reinstall them tightly. IN a pinch like yours, you can often twist them around to make a quick connection to get you home or whatever.

OK, thats what I thought you meant. Yes I tried that, but they were on good and it didnt help. I thought you may have meant that the + battery terminal was not attached the the starter properly or something, just wanted to make sure. Sorry if I is stupid ;)

How old is the battery?

I bet your battery terminals are corroded. The same thing happened to me quite a bit before I cleaned them. Get a 5 dollar brush from a hardware store (specifically to clean battery terminals) and scrape all the corrosion off. Both terminals probably need to be cleaned. It sounds so simple, but it happens :|

WHy get a 5 dollar brush? WHen you can get 2 new terminals for $4? :D

Here is what you need to do...this is how I would troubleshoot eh car were it in front of me. Youll need a voltmeter to do these simple tests.

1) start at the source, the battery. Check the *battery posts* themselves, you want to see 12vdc with everything off.
2) have someone try to crank the car, to put it under load. Observe the battery post voltage...does it drop below 10? IF so, the battery is shitty.
3) if these tests go ok, go on. Check the battery terminals now, to see that poower is getting transfered ok from the posts tot he terminals, and wires.
4) get under the car, and check the power to the starter...use the starter frame/body for ground, and the big wire for positive.

By now you should have located your problem. IF you show good voltage across the board to all connections, then test the starter. Take it off, apply ground, positive, and a trigger positive to the small terminal, and watch the wheel/gear..it should spin rapidly and pop out at the same time.

IF the starter appears good, check to see that the engine turns over by hand...pull on one of the belts clockwise, or use a 19mm socket on teh main pulley.