Nine times out of ten a car that will not start is the battery, the starter motor or the alternator, and from the driver seat all three feel about the same. The clues are in what happens when you turn the key: a rapid clicking usually means a flat battery, a single loud click with nothing else points at the starter, and a car that starts fine with a jump but is dead again the next morning is usually the alternator or a drain, not the battery.
Three parts, one symptom
The battery stores the power, the starter motor uses a big burst of it to turn the engine over, and the alternator puts the power back once the engine is running. If any one of the three is out, the car will not start, and the temptation is to replace the battery because it is the easiest part to buy. Sometimes that is right. Often it is a new battery on a car that is going to flatten it again within a week.
What the clues usually mean
- Rapid clicking when you turn the key, dash lights dim or flicker: usually a flat or weak battery. The starter is trying to engage but there is not enough power to turn the engine.
- One loud click, then nothing, with the dash lights staying bright: usually the starter motor or its solenoid. The battery has the power, the starter is not doing its job.
- Engine turns over slowly but never catches: could be a tired battery, a poor earth or a starter drawing too much current. This is the one that needs testing rather than guessing.
- Starts with a jump, drives fine, dead again the next morning: usually the alternator is not charging, or something is drawing power with the car switched off. A new battery on its own just resets the clock.
- Battery warning light on while driving, headlights dimming at idle, electrics acting up: the alternator, and it is worth getting it looked at before it leaves you stranded.
- Nothing at all, no lights, no click: a dead battery, a corroded or loose terminal, or a main fuse or cable fault.
Why we test all three before replacing anything
A battery test on its own only tells you the state of the battery today, not why it got there. So the check we do is the whole circuit: battery load test, the terminals and earth straps, the starter current draw, and the alternator output with the engine running and the lights and air con on. It takes a few minutes and it means you are not paying for a part that was never the problem.
On the Tablelands there are two extra things we look for. Heat is hard on batteries, and a battery that was fine in winter can give up in the first hot week of spring. And on farm vehicles and 4WDs with accessories, a fridge, a winch, a light bar or a second battery wired in, a slow drain that flattens the main battery overnight is common and easy to miss without a proper test.
What you can check yourself before you call
- Look at the terminals. White or green crust, or a clamp you can wiggle by hand, is a fix in itself.
- Check the battery age. Most have a date stamp or a sticker. Past four or five years in this climate, it is on borrowed time regardless of the test.
- Notice what the dash does when you turn the key. Bright lights with a single click is a different fault from dim lights with fast clicking, and telling us which one saves time on the phone.
- If it started with a jump, do not assume it is fixed. Get the charging system tested before it does it again somewhere less convenient.
Mobile across the Tablelands, or bring it in
If the car is not going anywhere, we come to it. Atherton, Mareeba, Malanda, Yungaburra, Herberton, Ravenshoe and the farms and stations in between. If it will start with a jump, bring it into the workshop and we will test the whole system while you wait. Either way the job starts with a test, not a parts order.
Workshop in Atherton and mobile across the Atherton Tablelands. If you want it looked at properly rather than guessed at, give us a ring.