Dead car

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:44

Just went out to go shoppin, tried to start my car nothin, no sound no movement nothing. I drove back to Leeds from Manchester last night and the battery light was flashin every now and then but I thought with me doing 40 miles or so on the motorway it would give it a bit of a charge but evidently not.

Just left it where it is for the time being as got no jump cables or anythin and I live on quite a short but very narrow street with a dead end so dont wanna be tryin to bump it down there.

If anyone know anythin I can do then I'd be very grateful, I have Green Flag cover but dont really wanna be spendin more money on it fixin it as its on its last legs and I should be gettin a new one in the next couple of weeks.

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:48

kaiowas said:
The light being on was telling you that the battery wasn't being charged. If you're lucky it'll just be the alternator drivebelt has snapped but some sort of alternator fault is most likely.

is any of this stuff that Green Flag will fix at the roadside? Or will I have to get it towed. Cant really afford that

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:51

[TW]Fox said:
All Green Flag can really fix at the roadside is replacing the battery. As kaiowas says, it sounds alternator related.

It's part of owning a car. If you can't afford to repair simple faults, reconsider whether you can afford to own a car.

na its that my car is worth about 150 quid max and I've spent over 400 on it in the past year tryin to keep it on the road.

If Green Flag replace the battery wont I have to pay for that?

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:51

I dont get how I can charge the battery when I cant start the car.

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:53

so is the general consensus ring Green Flag then?

Dont mind doin that but dont want them turnin up and towin it some garage for another 150 quid job.

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 15:53

FakeSnake said:
almost certainly you will have to pay for the battery.
perhaps bangernomics tells you its time to ditch this one and get another?

its only gotta last another couple of weeks

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 16:02

yeah you're all probably right and no I dont have the knowledge to fix it, rang Green Flag, hopefully it'll just be somethin quick and simple, no idea really though.

Will update this once they've gone.

Cheers for your help

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 17:48

Ok, Green Flag came, jumped it, checked it was charging (it was) and topped the battery up with water cos he said it had none. He said leave it running for half an hour or go for a drive.

So I sat in it for aboiut half an hour, turned it off, tried turnin it back on, nothin. Gave it another few goes and it started, thought I better take it for a drive so me and my mate have just come bakc from a small cruise around rush hour leeds, about 20 minutes. Got back, turned it off, tried turnin it back on again, nothin.

So still in the same position I was 2 hours ago now pretty much, is this usual, i.e. does it take a bit for the water he put in the batter to mix with the acid or somethin? Or is it just screwed?

anksta · 23 Apr 2007 at 22:24

Corasik said:
Just wondering, when you say nothing... do any of the electrical systems work when the car is 'dead' like the headlights etc.

And when its dead, does it make any sounds when you try to start, or just nothing at all?

All the electrics work, the radio hasnt for about a year but the lights, wipers, fans etc. all work fine.

When I turn the ignition theres a click and a weird noise that sounds like a laser from a cd player realigning and thats it, dead.

anksta · 24 Apr 2007 at 10:52

Lopéz said:
Sounds like the battery has juice but not quite enough crank the starter. Do you have a multimeter?

no but the guy from greenflag did and he confirmed that it was chargin when he jumped it, it had like an hour to charge but it still sounded dead.

Gonna give it another go this morning I think.

anksta · 24 Apr 2007 at 12:37

As I said before, the lights work as do the rest of the electrics, cant tell if they dim because I've only tried it in daylight.

If its a connection problem, is it gonna be a case of a wire I can just plug in or somethin? Or somethin that noones gonna find unless they stumbled on it?

anksta · 24 Apr 2007 at 17:37

Dogbreath said:
Sounds to me more like a connection problem or a duff starter motor. It's unlikely that any wires need plugging in, the starter motor cables carry a LOT of current (several hundred amps), and use ring terminations that are bolted onto the solenoid. If any of these connections are loose or corroded it could cause the problem you are seeing.

are any of these problems your suggesting stuff that would take someone who knew what they were doin 5 minutes to fix or is it a take it to bits and test it bit by bit kind of thing?

Also I was thinkin, the guy that came from green flag jumped it with somethin, dont think it was a battery although I didnt see it properly, I might just get one of them so I can use it to jump it a couple of times while I can get it to a garage.