Crap, Car Wont Run

[gbizzle27]

Went to leave the parking lot today, nothing out of the usual car started and ran fine. Then i stalled it in the snow. Went to restart the car and it wouldn't start. I thought it might be a bad connection at the battery so i wiggled the wires and no change. Got a jump and it started fine, but as soon as the cables were taken off it would miss badly and not run well. I was thinking it might be the alternator but i am confused because it ran so great before the call stalled. There is also a clicking when the key is off coming from behind the rear seat. Idea's a.s.a.p. would be great.

 

[bubba]

Does the batt light come on? Seems to me you need a alt.

 

[gbizzle27]

i dont believe the battery light come on. It barly gets any power, however just before that i had lots of power. Also the tach isn't working correctly. When the car was idleing badly after i got it started with a jump it told me i was tuning 5k rpm which i know is incorrect.

 

[stangeater]

Is the clicking comming from under the back seat, or behind the back seat? Could be the fuel pump clicking trying to pump fuel, but doesn't have enough power. I would go with the alternator. Your battery may have had enough juice to get you started the first time, but after the stall it couldn't do it since the alt was not recharging it. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Kens1992mtxSHO]

I had the exact same problem. Car would only start with a jump, and when disconnected it would act funky, crazy tach, bucking you name it. Have your battery tested. If bad replace it. My problem ended up being my cables. After my battery tested good I replaced the cables and I was back in business. Could also be your DIS.

 

[sho'd]

in reading this post i would lean toward checking and cleaning your body to dis ground. then go from there, it's simple and it could just be the problem. good luck

 

[itwonder]

If the car does not crank with vigor when you turn the key, then the problem is either the battery, cables, or charging system. You can have your battery tested and charged if it's good. The car should then start and get you home. I suspect your alternator may have failed and you were running on battery power. The car will run fine like that until the voltage drops to around 10.5 volts. Then it will quit, there is insufficient energy to run the fuel pump, ignition system, and fuel injection.

 

[gbizzle27]

Ding Ding, Problem Fixed! Kens1992mtxSHO you were right on the money.

 

[Kens1992mtxSHO]

Glad I could help. I was so worried when this happened to me. My car was acting so crazy. I went with the cheapest fix first, not necessarily the easiest, but it worked.