Glanza not starting. Please help.

[rb69]

Hope you guys can help me out. I drove round to family on Christmas day and the Glanza struggled to start but it did fire up first time, the idle would go very low when stopped at lights but didn't cut out at all. After 10 minutes of driving all seemed well on idle. On driving back home that night there were no issues either.

I tried to start the car up now and it wont start. Everything seems to light up well so i think the battery has good charge, but the car just clicks loudly when you try to turn the ignition. The battery is only a year old and the car is pretty standard.

I'm not sure what else to check, could it be the spark plugs or a fuse?

 

[WallaceGlanza]

Certainly sounds like a dead battery, try jumping it.

 

[rb69]

Would it be worth buying a charger for it? I thought it would be something else as all electrics seem to be powering ok?

 

[SupaStu]

Just check the cables on the battery are all tight and secure, and make sure all earths are clean, put some vasoline on them to keep them clean

Could be just this (happened on mine, same symptoms as above), if not, then possibly just need a new battery.

 

[dac69er]

i would say battery, but could be due to a bad alternator.

do as above, charge the battery. once the car has started and is running, put a voltmeter on the battery and see what voltage you get. that should give an indication of the condition of the alternator.

 

[Fizturbo]

If ur stuck for jump start let me knw dude.
Is the battery still under warranty then get them to test it,also check spark plugs,dizzy cap,rotor arm.

 

[rb69]

Yeah it should be. Its a Varta battery only bought about a year back. I'll check everything is ok with the battery connections and fuses. Thanks Fiz I will let you know how it goes

 

[rb69]

Well I've cleaned the battery connectors of any rubbish and tried again but no luck. Still clicking from the starter motor. The lights seem to be dimming a lot more than normal so will try it on a charger

 

[Fizturbo]

i would say battery, but could be due to a bad alternator.

do as above, charge the battery. once the car has started and is running, put a voltmeter on the battery and see what voltage you get. that should give an indication of the condition of the alternator.

^^^^
As above.

If not the battery then may be your alternator regulator is buggered an not chargin the battery,also check if the alternator belt is not slack

 

[rb69]

I took the battery off and charged it up, only took about 2 minutes for it to be fully charged. I checked alternator pulleys too but with the battery being almost fully charged anyway I guess alternator isn't a problem.

I bump started it and took it out for a good run, stopped car and fired it up again which it did 1st time. Left it for about 10 minutes as I went to by spark plugs in case it was that. Got back to the car and again fired up first time.

Im wondering if maybe some water could have got in anywhere and its now dried it out? Ive had water get into a spark plug before and it made it sound like an Impreza! At the moment it sounds perfect so I don't even think its that?

 

[dac69er]

Odd one. Could be a bad earth connection maybe?

 

[rb69]

Well, tried to start it this morning and nothing. Did the clicking of the starter motor and that's it. Tried spraying some wd40 onto the plugs just in case but it didn't make any difference. I will get some new ones and just take it to a garage I think. Thanks for your help guys

 

[rb69]

Realised I haven't checked the distributor cap yet? How do I remove this? Also where are the earthing points to check? Thanks in advance

 

[elison]

Battery is not holding charge or alternator is not charging properly. Its one of those two buddy. Dizzy cap has nothing to do with the clicking sound. Or you could have something which draws the battery empty overnight.

That clicking sound comes from the starter solenoid not having a strong enough current to drive it and to drive the starter motor. Try swapping a fresh and good battery and drive it normally and let it sit overnight so you could see. If you have the same problem in the morning than i would say its your alternator not charging properly and if not than it would be the other battery not holding the charge.

 

[rb69]

I bought a battery charger and plugged it into the battery, it took literally 2 minutes to fully charge the battery. Surely this would also mean that there isn't a problem with the alternator as the battery was nearly fully charged. All electrics work fine when the car is off.

 

[rb69]

When it makes the clicking noise its a fast repeated series of clicks if that makes a difference?

 

[elison]

In that case if you say its not your battery nor alternator than the only thing left to check is your starter motor. Take it out and put some current on the motor and on the selonoid to see what it does. Most of the time that repeated clicking sound comes from a dead battery.

 

[dac69er]

have you actually measured you battery voltage? those cheap chargers are ok, but they dont always tell you if you have a bad battery.

as above, if its not the alternator or battery, its the starter itself.

 

[rb69]

No I haven't checked its voltage, I will take it to a garage tomorrow and have them check it.

If water had got to the battery could that have possibly killed it?

 

[dac69er]

what normally kills them is excessive cold, physical shocks like dropping them or shorting them out. they do eventually give up over time, but if yours is only a year old it should be ok, but that is no guarantee.

do you have any friends with a voltmeter? would be good to see what the battery voltage is like when you have the problem. if you manage to get it to a garage, chances are it might be ok if you have got it running.