Car wont start but a clicking noise
Discussion
The lights and stereo draw a lot less power than the starter. I suspect your battery has had it if it was fully charged a week ago... either that or the alarm got itself into a strange state where it was drawing too much power.
ETA: although on a car that new, it does seem a bit odd.
ETA: although on a car that new, it does seem a bit odd.
Edited by kambites on Monday 10th December 08:52
kambites said:
The lights and stereo draw a lot less power than the starter. I suspect your battery has had it if it was fully charged a week ago... either that or the alarm got itself into a strange state where it was drawing too much power.
ETA: although on a car that new, it does seem a bit odd.
The good thing is that the car is so bloody light i have just pushed it out of my garage and up the sloping drive all by myself without even having my shredded wheat. ETA: although on a car that new, it does seem a bit odd.
Edited by kambites on Monday 10th December 08:52
Now waiting for the dealer to open so i can bollock them for not registering it with the AA.
Skyman said:
The battery can be drained fairly quickly by the alarm, I have found. But a week does seem rather short. Get yourself a battery charger/conditioner, then no more worries.
It was a flat battery which was caused by something draining it. The AA man told me that something is draining it but doesnt know what and that it will go flat again very quickly. He did suggest it may be the stereo and that i should remove the security panel if im planning not to drive it for a while.
The car is now on an AA flat bed truck on its way to my nearest Lotus dealer.
Bloody typical, first nice day for ages and i cant even drive it.
Had a similar thing with the misses TF (K series VVC) which I assume is the same/similar.
I had visions of new starter motor etc, turns out they are quite well known (by the RAC who came out) for the terminal on main power cable to the starter coming loose, tightened it up, jobs a good un
.
Hope its as simple as that.
I had visions of new starter motor etc, turns out they are quite well known (by the RAC who came out) for the terminal on main power cable to the starter coming loose, tightened it up, jobs a good un
.Hope its as simple as that.
^^^^ What Harry says.
If all you're getting is a 'chattering' noise and the engine isn't turning over, then it's the solenoid on your starter motor trying to work with a poor connection somewhere. Make sure your main connections between starter motor and battery (both live and earth) are clean and tight.
Obviously, make sure your battery is fully charged, too.
If all you're getting is a 'chattering' noise and the engine isn't turning over, then it's the solenoid on your starter motor trying to work with a poor connection somewhere. Make sure your main connections between starter motor and battery (both live and earth) are clean and tight.
Obviously, make sure your battery is fully charged, too.
Sam_68 said:
^^^^ What Harry says.
If all you're getting is a 'chattering' noise and the engine isn't turning over, then it's the solenoid on your starter motor trying to work with a poor connection somewhere. Make sure your main connections between starter motor and battery (both live and earth) are clean and tight.
Obviously, make sure your battery is fully charged, too.
The car is only 2 months old so it has gone back to a dealer. Thanks for the advice.If all you're getting is a 'chattering' noise and the engine isn't turning over, then it's the solenoid on your starter motor trying to work with a poor connection somewhere. Make sure your main connections between starter motor and battery (both live and earth) are clean and tight.
Obviously, make sure your battery is fully charged, too.
hueandcry71 said:
It was a flat battery which was caused by something draining it.
The AA man told me that something is draining it but doesnt know what and that it will go flat again very quickly. He did suggest it may be the stereo and that i should remove the security panel if im planning not to drive it for a while.
The car is now on an AA flat bed truck on its way to my nearest Lotus dealer.
Bloody typical, first nice day for ages and i cant even drive it.
Why didn't he just jump it so you could drive round there? Sounds like much less hassle and the alternator should get things back up to an acceptable level pretty quick.The AA man told me that something is draining it but doesnt know what and that it will go flat again very quickly. He did suggest it may be the stereo and that i should remove the security panel if im planning not to drive it for a while.
The car is now on an AA flat bed truck on its way to my nearest Lotus dealer.
Bloody typical, first nice day for ages and i cant even drive it.
Cuzza said:
hueandcry71 said:
It was a flat battery which was caused by something draining it.
The AA man told me that something is draining it but doesnt know what and that it will go flat again very quickly. He did suggest it may be the stereo and that i should remove the security panel if im planning not to drive it for a while.
The car is now on an AA flat bed truck on its way to my nearest Lotus dealer.
Bloody typical, first nice day for ages and i cant even drive it.
Why didn't he just jump it so you could drive round there? Sounds like much less hassle and the alternator should get things back up to an acceptable level pretty quick.The AA man told me that something is draining it but doesnt know what and that it will go flat again very quickly. He did suggest it may be the stereo and that i should remove the security panel if im planning not to drive it for a while.
The car is now on an AA flat bed truck on its way to my nearest Lotus dealer.
Bloody typical, first nice day for ages and i cant even drive it.
Kind of regretting letting it go the dealers as i am sure a good drive would have sorted it. Not sure when i will get it back either as there is no-one in the Service Department today cos they are all sick.
The problem is many sporadically used cars have batteries in a permanent state of near discharge, and it is being kicked from low charge to high charge ( when the alternator kicks in and charges quickly, or you run a boost charger ) which kills a battery.
This time of year then yes, alarm on and a week can be enough - not least because you have a weak battery.
The complete package for you is to fit a new one, clean all the terminals and leads while doing so, go for a long spin, connect to an Optimate or Accumate.
100% sorted. You can leave the car connected to the conditioners above for as lonmg as you like.
This time of year then yes, alarm on and a week can be enough - not least because you have a weak battery.
The complete package for you is to fit a new one, clean all the terminals and leads while doing so, go for a long spin, connect to an Optimate or Accumate.
100% sorted. You can leave the car connected to the conditioners above for as lonmg as you like.
jondude said:
The problem is many sporadically used cars have batteries in a permanent state of near discharge, and it is being kicked from low charge to high charge ( when the alternator kicks in and charges quickly, or you run a boost charger ) which kills a battery.
This time of year then yes, alarm on and a week can be enough - not least because you have a weak battery.
The complete package for you is to fit a new one, clean all the terminals and leads while doing so, go for a long spin, connect to an Optimate or Accumate.
100% sorted. You can leave the car connected to the conditioners above for as lonmg as you like.
The thing that really annoys me is that the battery isnt covered by the warranty (remember the car is 2 months old and done only 300 miles)so if i want to replace the battery then its at my cost. Any new battery will come with 12 months warranty (i think)..........just doesnt make sense.This time of year then yes, alarm on and a week can be enough - not least because you have a weak battery.
The complete package for you is to fit a new one, clean all the terminals and leads while doing so, go for a long spin, connect to an Optimate or Accumate.
100% sorted. You can leave the car connected to the conditioners above for as lonmg as you like.
Anyway, im not buying a new battery as im going to see how the current one performs but i have promised not to leave the car standing for over a week ever again, its a confidence thing at the moment cos i dont want to drive it in the wet but if i dont drive it then i wont get confident. Chicken and egg scenario.
Had a cracking drive back from the dealers in it today and realised what i have missed by not driving it.
Edited by hueandcry71 on Tuesday 11th December 16:43
Get out in the wet, honestly it isn't scary mate - I was worried as well, but as long as you're sensible (like you should be in any car) it's pretty well planted, I was on the M1 the other week and it was bucketing it down and rivers of water in places and it felt okay - Okay, not as planted as a heavier car, but not scary either. I was out in mine at 6:30am this morning - took me 5 mins to fold my bloody cover as it was stiff as a board from the frost.
A week is a very short amount of time; I regularly left mine for weeks (3 perhaps) on end and it was fine. I would then plug a battery conditioner into it after that though.
My Exige is exactly the same; weeks of not using and it's fine.
So charge the battery up and get a conditioner anyway but, as Mr AA says, something is draining it and it shouldn't be; a week is way too short
My Exige is exactly the same; weeks of not using and it's fine.
So charge the battery up and get a conditioner anyway but, as Mr AA says, something is draining it and it shouldn't be; a week is way too short
TonyHetherington said:
A week is a very short amount of time; I regularly left mine for weeks (3 perhaps) on end and it was fine. I would then plug a battery conditioner into it after that though.
My Exige is exactly the same; weeks of not using and it's fine.
So charge the battery up and get a conditioner anyway but, as Mr AA says, something is draining it and it shouldn't be; a week is way too short
Im not sure if the AA man was right or not, the dealer checked it out thoroughly and said it was fine. I will play it by ear and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.My Exige is exactly the same; weeks of not using and it's fine.
So charge the battery up and get a conditioner anyway but, as Mr AA says, something is draining it and it shouldn't be; a week is way too short
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