I haven't driven my car in a week, it has been sitting in my garage. Today, when I went out to start it, it didn't start. Battery is good (12.35v), no check engine light, but when the key is in the start position, I hear the starter solenoid click each time I turn the key, so I guess my wiring and fuses are good, but the starter never kicks in. Has my engine seized?

Since this has never happened to me before, How do I verify if my motor has seized or if I just have a bad starter without yanking out the starter?

Can I put my car in gear, pupoo poo 10 feet and see if it "frees" the motor? Any suggestions apprecaited. Thanks


[Modified by hatchy, 9:50 PM 2/3/2002]


[Modified by hatchy, 9:51 PM 2/3/2002]

 

Take the starter out, and see if you can turn the engine by hand. You may just have a dead spot in the starter. Taking it off and turning the engine by hand will let you know if the motor itself is seized...


Jason

 

before u go crazy, Push start it and see before you get messy

 

12.35 volts is acctually considered a dead battery almost. fully charged it shoud read almost 12.8 volts.

 

If it was the battery, the starter would at least start clicking.. but that isn't happening. The starter makes no movement whatsoever.

 

Can I just push my car around in gear and see if the motor spins?

 

its easier to get a big socket and stick it on the crank pulley bolt and see if the motor turns. gotta give it a little force tho

 

I put the car in 1st and rocked the car back and forth and the cam gears seems to move back and forth... so I guess my motor isn't seized, right?

 

i wouldnt worry about your motor seizing. they dont just do that because they sat for a week.
check your starter, change your battery. and that clicking, are you sure its not the fuel pump turning on?

 

I think my motor may have seized because I suspect the rings on the motor are going out, and the motor isn't very healthy to begin with anyway...

Yeah, the clicking (it is one semi-loud click each time I turn the key to the start position) is from the starter solenoid. The fuel pump is fine.

 

I'd get a jump and see if that allows you to start it. In my year of employment at an auto dealership the only time I ever remembered hearing clicking noises was on cars with weak batteries. That's the first thing I'd recommend, then start looking at the more obscure causes.

 

Just jump start it

 

Weak battery or a bad connection... Clean your battery terminals, tighten them down TIGHT, and try again.

$20 says it's a bettery/connection issue.

 

omg a dead battery turns into a page-long tech post....

 

It is probably the starter. My mother in laws starter went out on her '94 Accord, and when she turned the key, all she heard was clicking, similar to what you are experiencing.

 

Yea my retarded *** friend drove his hatch through a 6" puddle like five times going 25mph. Then his died and did the same thing (when you try to start it it, the starter just made a lil clickin noise. His battery was reading 12.6v so i figured it was okay). I told him to try to pop start it but he said it wouldn't work so i went to his house and tried it. The second i let out the clutch the car screached to a halt. I just figured he seized his motor or something. But i don't really care cuz he's a freakin ***!

 

A fully charged battery is 13.6-13.8 volts
at 12.5 they are considered dead

 

You do know that there is a reason they call it a 12 volt battery, right?

 

It turned out to be a dead starter. Replaced it. Starts fine now.

 

Yes i do know that
And To tell you another thing the reason they say 12 volts is what they rate it at. Not the normal operating voltage.
Just like in a house voltage in outlets are 120 volts but they call it 110.
a 240 volt circut is also rated at 220
so if you want to get Technical I can get technical

 

Funny how a "dead battery" starts my car every morning. Technically, that is pretty cool, eh? Go to Radio Shack and buy a volt meter, and figure it out. I'll give you a hint: Take a reading with the car OFF.