Just curious if thats possible. if the battery is reading 12.xx volts but it still wouldnt be able to start the car?

 

i thought it was over 14v's

Rich

 

If the car is running it should be over 14v, from the alternator. If it is off, just putting a multimeter may indicate 12.5 or whatever, but when a huge load like the starter is applied, it may drop to 8. A system check will determine if the battery is bad by measuring the cold cranking amps it can supply, monitoring the voltage during cranking, and checking for alternator charging.

 

good info thanks.
ive got a battery thats been sitting for over a year..out of the car it holds 12.5 ish volts..i put it in the car..the lights work but the car wont crank(turn over...)...but it may not be the battery since i just dropped the motor in...

 

If it's the battery's fault, your lights should dim when you try the starter. Or you get some serious chattering as the starter solenoid pulls in & out rapidly.

If you try the starter & it doesn't crank, yet the lights stay bright, then look for dirty/loose/corroded connections in ALL of the big power cables. Battery (+) & (-), as well as the big engine-body ground cable.

 

good call...i was just re checking stuff and I forgot a ground on the neg side.
it still wouldnt crank BUT at least it made some noise..(that click click click sound).

I stop and tried again and it seemed to maybe turn like 5deg then started clicking.

when its clicking volts drop to about 11.3ish. i would think that would be enough but probably not.

lik ei said , its been sitting unused for just over a year now. (and it was already a couple years old to begin with).

so sounds like I need a new battery.
thansk for the help!

interesting that it can still show 12 volts though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRkid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when its clicking volts drop to about 11.3ish. i would think that would be enough but probably not.</TD></TR></TABLE>Probably a bad battery. If your meter was fast enough (oscilloscope!), you'd see the voltage drop to below 8 during each click.

Still, it's easy enough to search for loose power cables.

 

battery voltage does not start you car......your battery has no CCA "cold cranking amp".......Sometimes you can bring these battery's back to life by putting them on a charger....but, a year is a long time....i would replace your battery

" i bet you can jump start your car and it will run fine but, as soon as you turn it off it will not start back up "

 

good info. thanks again for the help!

 

Remember that it is not open circuit (no-load) voltage that is important when it comes to starting. A bad battery could very well produce 12+volts without a load. Rather it is voltage under a load that is important. If the battery is bad, then you would notice the lights going REALLY dim when you try to start the car. If this does not happen, then check the starter (by jumping the starter signal from the battery) and ignition switch. Also, if the lights DO go dim, check the batter connections and cables, as these can cause problems similar to a bad battery.