Car won't start..need help! (clicking sound from dash)

[douchbagd]

Earlier this morning I went to warm up my car before work and when i turned the key it didn't crank at all. Voltage gauge was real low and the pretty much everything that lights up in the car was dim. So I figured..maybe it was the battery and called my sister over to jump start the car. After hooking up the cables, first try...the voltage gauge was a little pass the center and was looking pretty normal. I heard the engine crank but it seem'd like there wasn't enough power..so I waited. Second try, i turn'd the key but no crank...and i hear this clicking sound coming from the dash near the fuses. Also, I tried to disconnect the battery and hook the jumper cables directly to the car and she still wouldn't start. Voltage gauge was still on low with the jumper wires attach'd. What can this be?

[Dynamite]

what was the car you were jumping with? if it was a shit box an you didnt have any revs on it then it might just have not had enough to start it, or if you wernt using proper jumper cables then it might have not been able to draw enough current. It really sounds like a dead battery to me. try getting a battery you know is good and fully charged and put it in and try to start it. The clicking sound you hear is a relay that lives inside the dash, there are quite a few of them so cant say what one it is.

[Liv4Psi]

Earlier this morning I went to warm up my car before work and when i turned the key it didn't crank at all. Voltage gauge was real low and the pretty much everything that lights up in the car was dim. So I figured..maybe it was the battery and called my sister over to jump start the car. After hooking up the cables, first try...the voltage gauge was a little pass the center and was looking pretty normal. I heard the engine crank but it seem'd like there wasn't enough power..so I waited. Second try, i turn'd the key but no crank...and i hear this clicking sound coming from the dash near the fuses. Also, I tried to disconnect the battery and hook the jumper cables directly to the car and she still wouldn't start. Voltage gauge was still on low with the jumper wires attach'd. What can this be?

cables weren't connected on all points... batteries most likely shot. How old is it?

[walky_talky20]

Get the battery charged with an actual battery charger and try again. Even if it did start, it would be very stressful on the alternator to bring back a battery that is so dead. Other option is to just replace the battery.

The clicking noise from the dash is just the starter relay kicking on and off. Reason: it has *just* enough voltage to close (with the normal audible click), but during cranking, the voltage falls too low and it opens (audible click). With the relay now open, the starter motor stops trying to crank, and voltage goes back up. The cycle continues rapidly.

If you want to try just jumping it again, try the following;

- Have a good, heavy set of jumper cables. Not a cheap chinese set.
- Hook up jumper cables. Have the donor car's engine running. Hold it's rev's at 3,000 rpms or so for a few minutes. This will help to "charge" up your dead battery. 5 minutes ought to do it.
- Continue to hold donor car revs high while you attempt to start your Audi. You may try even higher revs (~4k+) on the donor car to get some more power. If you battery isn't completely junk, your Audi should start now.

[douchbagd]

what was the car you were jumping with? if it was a shit box an you didnt have any revs on it then it might just have not had enough to start it, or if you wernt using proper jumper cables then it might have not been able to draw enough current. It really sounds like a dead battery to me. try getting a battery you know is good and fully charged and put it in and try to start it. The clicking sound you hear is a relay that lives inside the dash, there are quite a few of them so cant say what one it is.

The car was a 2005 Honda S2000. When I was jumping it.. I didn't rev the donor car but I'll try that later on today. One other thing I tried was to take out the S2000 battery and place it in my car...the weird thing is that the voltage gauge was still on low. My sister bought the battery a few months ago..so I know for sure it's good.

[douchbagd]

Get the battery charged with an actual battery charger and try again. Even if it did start, it would be very stressful on the alternator to bring back a battery that is so dead. Other option is to just replace the battery.

The clicking noise from the dash is just the starter relay kicking on and off. Reason: it has *just* enough voltage to close (with the normal audible click), but during cranking, the voltage falls too low and it opens (audible click). With the relay now open, the starter motor stops trying to crank, and voltage goes back up. The cycle continues rapidly.

If you want to try just jumping it again, try the following;

- Have a good, heavy set of jumper cables. Not a cheap chinese set.
- Hook up jumper cables. Have the donor car's engine running. Hold it's rev's at 3,000 rpms or so for a few minutes. This will help to "charge" up your dead battery. 5 minutes ought to do it.
- Continue to hold donor car revs high while you attempt to start your Audi. You may try even higher revs (~4k+) on the donor car to get some more power. If you battery isn't completely junk, your Audi should start now.

@Liv4psi- It was connected on all points correctly and the battery is only a couple of months old.

@Walky_Talky- I think my jumper wires are junk but it still doesn't explain why the donor car battery won't start mines. And afterwards, I place'd my original battery in the S2000 and it fired right up.

[97B518TQM]

You might have a bad ground somewhere. I was struggling with my car still not starting after I put a brand new battery and alternator in it. Turned out the starter had a bad ground. I ran a whole new separate ground wire to the starter and the car starts every time now. It started acting up all of a sudden too with the same symptoms you have. In your case it might be just the battery. Maybe the Honda S2000 was too weak to start your car, not all batteries are the same, you know? If it has the same cold cranking amps rating then it might be good enough for starting your car but I am assuming that particular honda, just like most hondas, has weak batteries that don't have much cranking power in them. Just get a brand new battery that is specifically for your car and you should be fine.

[douchbagd]

@97b518tqm- If it's a bad ground.. how would I find it? where do I start looking? thanks!

[revbjeff]

If the voltage isn't at 14 at the battery then it's probably your alternator

[walky_talky20]

@97b518tqm- If it's a bad ground.. how would I find it? where do I start looking? thanks!

You can start by using a multi-meter and checking the ground at the starter during cranking. Put your meters (+) lead on the starter's case/ground and the (-) lead on battery negative post. Obviously both points should be ground, so the meter *should* read zero volts. During cranking (high current), if the ground to the battery is not good enough, you will be able to measure a voltage drop here - meaning the ground connection to the engine is insufficient. That's a start anyway. Another way would be to simply inspect all of the engine/battery/chassis ground wires.