My Car Makes A Clicking Noise But Won't Start (Starter Motor Not Working)

[flashmark]

Hi,

Yesterday night I faced starting issue with my Suzuki Swift (Japanese ZSC71S).After traveled about 20 km I stopped the car and switch ON the headlight(Autolights) manually. After 2 mins time I OFF the auto light manualy and tried to start the Car.But it won't start.Starter motor not working at all. I heard some noise (short?) when trying to start the car.Light,CD player,power shutters ... didn't work properly (malfunctioning). But sometimes all the things working properly but not starter motor.

There are no sign in dash board for battery failure.Then used the jumper cable to start the engine.It started properly.After another 10-15 minitues drive I stopped the car for parking.After that again it not starting (starter motor not working)

I didn't drive this car regularly (once a week about 20-30Kms) and did the first service few days ago.

So what do you think about this issue? Is it sign of dead battery? Alternator issue or some problem in electronic system?

Please help me

thanks

[Crazy Life]

first change the battery first & see whether the problem still exist

[hatharasinghe]

It seems your battery terminals loosen so check it first and if you have multimeter check the voltage if it below 10.6v or something battery fully discharge normally battery should more than 12.5v .

[Davy]

The clicking is the sound of the solenoid switch which is within the starter motor. It feeds the armature of the starter motor onto the flywheel to turn the engine. The solenoid does not require as much power as the starter motor, so I’m guessing that your battery has a little bit of power to activate the solenoid, but not sufficient enough to crank the engine.

First thing to do is to get your battery and terminals checked from a battery shop or auto electrical workshop. If the battery is faulty, you might have to replace it. They should ideally check if the battery is being properly charged by the car as well.

Hope this helps, Good luck!

Edited July 9, 2012 by Davy

[maheshw]

  On 7/9/2012 at 6:49 AM, Davy said:

The clicking is the sound of the solenoid switch which is within the starter motor. It feeds the armature of the starter motor onto the flywheel to turn the engine. The solenoid does not require as much power as the starter motor, so I’m guessing that your battery has a little bit of power to activate the solenoid, but not sufficient enough to crank the engine.

First thing to do is to get your battery and terminals checked from a battery shop or auto electrical workshop. If the battery is faulty, you might have to replace it. They should ideally check if the battery is being properly charged by the car as well.

Hope this helps, Good luck!

+1 if the battery terminals are ok ( this is a DIY job) check your battery energy. you can get help for this from the nearest battery shop or electrician.

if battery is ok then check the alternator whether it's functioning well & check any faults in your stater motor as well. may be some brushes are worned. better if you can check these things with a auto electrician.

[flashmark]

Thanks all.

Any possibility to dead a well charged battery because of loose connection or something similar (short) ?

Why this issue occurred when manually turn ON and OFF the autolight switch? (I've done it before but the first time after the service.I've doubt whether this is service station fault)

If battery is faulty any possibility to use it after high charge using any other mechanism?

[flashmark]

  On 7/9/2012 at 7:02 AM, maheshw said:

+1 if the battery terminals are ok ( this is a DIY job) check your battery energy. you can get help for this from the nearest battery shop or electrician.

if battery is ok then check the alternator whether it's functioning well & check any faults in your stater motor as well. may be some brushes are worned. better if you can check these things with a auto electrician.

Thanks.

If it is a starter motor problem, how it started using other battery ?

Edited July 9, 2012 by flashmark

[razordj]

  On 7/9/2012 at 6:04 AM, flashmark said:

I didn't drive this car regularly (once a week about 20-30Kms)

I think this explains it. If you are a heavy driver the most common culprit is the terminals.

Since you are not using this vehicle much, chances are the battery is dead/ it's lifetime decreased. (so you have to recharge fully and check/ or replace the battery)

Both options won't cost you a cent, checking the termials is a DIY and checking the charge level is FOC at a battery shop.

I also recall in AL forums one guy said unsealed ones (like Exide) are bad when you are not using the vehicle. (lifetime gets decreased)

Edited July 9, 2012 by razordj

[flashmark]

One of the mechanic said that continuous trying to start may damage the sensor which price is 3 - 4 laks.Is that correct?

[The Don]

  On 7/9/2012 at 11:33 AM, flashmark said:

One of the mechanic said that continuous trying to start may damage the sensor which price is 3 - 4 laks.Is that correct?

Not sure what sensor this guy spoke of? I mean modern cars are full of sensors!

[flashmark]

Is there any way repair and use the battery temporally?

If I've to replace the battery what do you recomned for using a car rarely? Am*ron seal type one?

thanks

[The Don]

  On 7/10/2012 at 11:36 AM, flashmark said:

Is there any way repair and use the battery temporally?

If I've to replace the battery what do you recomned for using a car rarely? Am*ron seal type one?

thanks

If you use the car rarely I propose you use Excide. Basically occasional usage of the car will cause the battery to fail a little earlier than if the car was used on a regular basis. And this is unavoidable unless you utilise the method advised by Sylvi and a few others to use a battery trickle charger to keep the battery charged when not in use. He has even created a device himself.

So it makes more sense to make a smaller initial investment on the battery knowing it will need to be replaced in a couple of years. That is the logic I use as my car is the same.