Okay, quick question for people who know more about cars than I do.

[apocalypsos]

Which isn't hard to do, honestly.

Anyway, I stopped at the car before I made a run to the minimart to try to start it again. No luck this time, but when I tried to start it, the radio wouldn't even light up.

So, new battery, yis? Please tell me that probably just means a new battery. Just buying new parts is a hell of a lot better than, "You need to take it to a mechanic."

***

In other news, I'm currently downloading all of Battlestar Galactica up to the beginning of season three. Yeah, because what I need is another fandom. On the other hand, I can put it on the Zen and then go for walks while watching the episodes. See? I'll get exercise AND catch up on fannish pursuits. :)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/__tiana__/]

What exactly happens when you turn the key? Does the engine try to turn over does it just go click-click/NOTHING when you turn the key? *knows a little bit about cars*

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

The engine doesn't do anything. The last thing it did was when I tried to start it this afternoon. It went rur-rur-rur three times and then stopped.

Then, the lights on the dash and the radio turned on. This time when I tried, it was just the lights on the dash.

[http://users.livejournal.com/__tiana__/]

Hmmmm. Well, I'm no expert, but I've been coached by my Dad on many occasions when I am trying to diagnose a car problem. It sounds most likely that your battery is dead. Were you able to figure out if you left anything on that might have drained it? I once left an interior light on overnight and that did it. If you didn't, it might be totally dead/need replacing. Which isn't AWFUL, in the scheme of things. It also could be your alternator, which kind of controls how power gets to things in your car. Once it goes, the power is a no go and it will also drain your battery.

You could take the battery to a place like Advance AutoParts (which you might have in Pa? I live in Va.) I think they will test your battery for free to see if it's dead. If you are able to remove the battery yourself, etc. Have you tried jumping the car yet to see if the battery will charge back up?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried jumping it yet, but that's mostly because my dad's the only one I know who can do it and he was working most of today. He should be able to tomorrow, hopefully.

And yeah, we've got an Advanced Auto Parts in the next town over, so that's helpful.

[http://users.livejournal.com/__tiana__/]

Hopefully, it just needs a jump. That would be ideal. I'd try that, then taking the battery to Advance. They check it for free, which I think I forgot to mention! Definitely don't worry about other issues unti you try those things I'd say. I am a veteran of cars that need a little TLC, so I feel your pain. :)

good luck!

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, if you've got a car that needs regular TLC, especially if this kind (or you're just a dork who regularly leaves a radio or lights on in the parking lot, like my mom) -- buy a few jumpleads[1] and keep them in the car. Getting a jump from a random passing stranger is a lot easier when you've got the equipment for it. If possible also learn how to do it -- it's not rocket science.

[1] Spring for the slightly thicker ones rather than those really thin ones, especially if you've got an engine that's bigger than a 2 liter fourbanger and/or a diesel.

[http://users.livejournal.com/__tiana__/]

Oh, and BSG is SUCH a good show. A bit rough emotionally sometimes, but so engaging. Just don't go to it for laughs. :) Hope you like it!

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

Definitely sounds like the battery to me. If it was a bad alternator -- something that's happened to me -- the entire thing just seems pretty dead. It wouldn't even turn over.

Stick shift or automatic? If it's a stick, you could possibly get it running with a pop-start. I had to do that with the aforementioned defective-alternator-car for the better part of several months.

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the battery is dead. Start by jumpstarting the car[1], and see what happens. If it goes dead again tomorrow, you need a new one (if the battery is more than say 5-7 years old it could be a good idea to do so anyway -- drained flat is bad for a car battery's capacity, and so is old age).

If the car won't keep running well after you jumpstart it, ie it dies when or soon after you remove the jumpleads, then your alternator or something in that circuit is bad and your engine simply doesn't generate any current to recharge the battery, so you're using the electrons up simply by running the engine. That isn't really a car-phobe DIY job. However, that's a fairly remote possibility, especially if you happen to know you left your lights on somewhere.


[1] Take two jumpleads and park the two cars with their engine bays close enough together. Keep the other car running. Then connect the black wire to the negative side of both batteries. Connect the red wire first to the positive terminal on the car to be jumped, then to the positive terminal on the good car. If possible, have someone in the drivers seat very gently touching the gas or there's a remote possibility the good car may stall. Keep them like this for a minute or two. Try to start the car to be jumped. Usually if all else is good and you just left your lights or radio or whatever on, you're now good. Then take the to be jumped car for a ride of at least half an hour, preferably at highway speeds. That should charge the dead battery enough again that it will hopefully turn over next time, at least if you don't wait too long.

[chaneen.livejournal.com]

It sounds very similar to the problems I had when I last (accidentally) drained the battery on my car. If you know someone who has jumper cables, you should try and get a jump to see if the battery is just dead, or if you actually need a new one. I know there is also some type of machine that will tell you if the battery has any juice (they typically come with those kits you can get anymore for your car with the jumper cables, the tire pressure gauge/air machine, etc.), so maybe see if you know someone who has one of those. I feel like there are some places that will check that for you, too. You can actually take the battery out and take it to Auto Zone (or someplace similar) and they can tell you if it's working properly or if you need a charge/new one.

I hope some of this helps.

[conuly]

Don't watch it all in one sitting. Really, don't do more than two or three episodes a week.

I made that mistake (as I've said a zillion times by now) with B5 and it really screwed with my brain. And BSG is one seriously dark expletive profanity. It's exhausting to watch.

[myniamh.livejournal.com]

It's exhausting to watch.
I'll second that.
I just got the second season on DVD and I think I might wait till I'm feeling a little less delicate to start watching it. Although I'm dying to.

[conuly]

On the plus side about the second season, it gets a bit weird in the end (though now it's back on track, I think), so it's less of a mindfuck in that respect.

On the downside, the less-weird episodes are even worse for "dark" than the first season! I'd explain, but, y'know, spoilers.

[florahart]

Okay, so here's what you want to do. Jump start it, or get a burly neighbor to help you push start it if it's a stick. Run it a while.

The reason to run it a while is that the battery only provides start power. After that, the alternator recharges the battery from the moving of the engine parts. So, if you turn it right back off,the battery will still be dead.

Now, if it won't keep running (dies again in a few minutes), you have an alternator problem. If it will keep running, but then after you run it a while and turn it off, won't start again, you have a battery that won't hold a charge/is dead. If it's drained but will hold a charge, then after it runs a while, it'll be startable again.

[florahart]

Also,whether you can remove the battery on your own depends on the make of the car. Some manufacturers generally make it easier than others to do shit for yourself.

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

Batteries tend to be fairly well accessible on most of even the tight-engine-bay japanese econoboxes, though I have seen an expensive german car or two with engine bay covers across everything and most of the battery that you'd have to take off before doing pretty much anything with the engine.

(incidentally, I see my comment above was mostly superfluous. Drat.)

[satoyan]

I'm pretty excited to hear your thoughts on BSG. It's amazing.

[fadagaski.livejournal.com]

The engine charges the battery; the battery charges the engine (kind of ... my mum explained it once, but I didn't really get the details). Basically, if the engine doesn't run for an extended length of time, then the battery dies. If the battery dies, you need to jumpstart it (with cables connecting to someone else's running motor) before the engine will run. It could be a battery leaking power ...

BTW, I don't drive. LOL.

[coiledsoul.livejournal.com]

possible problems:

1. your battery is dead. if you aren't getting any power anywhere and when you turn the key, you don't hear a clicking sound or the car doesn't eaven try to turn over than that's probably what it is.

2. your alternator died. when an alternator dies, the first thing it does is kill the battery. so you'll have all the symptoms above and put a new battery in only to have it drain 2 days later. a mechanic needs to test your alternator unless you know someone with a multimeter and how to do it.


the good news is that a decent mechanic shouldn't charge you more than 20 bucks to test it. all he's gonna do is pull out a little device that looks alot like Dean's EMF meter and touch a metal point to the alternator to see if it's getting a charge. depending on what kind of car you have, it should cost somewhere between $70 and $120 or so, unless you're driving a really fancy car. Tell your mechanic that you want him to use a rebuilt alternator if possible to save a little money. rebuilt alternators are used all the time and are just as fine as new ones.

there. i hope that helps. i know you don't know me very well, but i was a mechanic while in the army for 6 years, and i'm no genius, but I'm 99 percent positive this is the case. if you were still getting power to the radio and lights and stuff, i'd say your starter and or the starter solenoid needed to be replaced, but that doesn't seem to be the case. if you'd like any more advice, feel free to email me and i'll send you my tel #. good luck!

[rani23.livejournal.com]

You said everything that I was going to say. Good luck!!

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

If you're the kind of person who tends to sympathize with characters in TV series, you may want to postpone watching BSG until you're not feeling down in RL. Really. This is the show that starts with nearly wiping out the human species and gets steadily darker from there. Ron Moore and the gang tend to look to history when figuring out how people react in the worst possible circumstances, and it really isn't pretty.

The show's good, though. Easily the best SF series currently running and almost certainly the best of the last decade.

[swingangel.livejournal.com]

OMG watch Battlestar! It is seriously the best show...well, ever.

I <3 BSG muchly.

As for the battery thing. Yeah, um. I have no idea. I used to have a car that I did this with all the time. It wasn't that long ago, come to think of it. Every time something happened to it, I prayed it would just be the battery. Once it actually was though, so I was excited =)

[darcydodo]

Yay for you jumping on the BSG bandwagon! :)

Sounds like the battery, yes.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I've been dying to, but it's one of those things where I missed the miniseries, and then the first few episodes, and then the first season and then the second season, and it got SO COMPLEX that I was just like, "It's too far along for me to get in! WOE!"

But now I have a shiny new toy I can download the whole damn thing onto and watch the episodes whenever I get a chance, so YAY!

[velocityboy.livejournal.com]

you would notice the alternator/alternater problems after it started but failed to stay running/stalled at stops. Since yours wouldn't turn over at all and attempts to turn it on weren't met with a clicking (starter), I think the initial problem might be with your distributor, and the dead battery might just be the first casualty. I hope I'm wrong, as it's not a cheap repair, but I had the same problem with my old car, and off the description you gave the similarities are too close.

Good luck.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I've had the alternator problem before, and just for kicks it happened when I was driving across the state headed back to college. It first died at a Burger King in State College and proceeded to die at every stop sign between there and Indiana. After a while I just started rolling through stop signs for lack of other options.

[malhablada.livejournal.com]

That really sounds like "battery" to me. My car has a larger electrical problem that makes me run through alternators, and if it's the alternator, you'll notice the car stalling out and dying at first the occasional red light, then every red light, and finally for once and for all once you park it somewhere. Also, if you have a battery meter as one of your dash instruments, if it was the alternator, you might have noticed it tocking back and forth whenever you drained power for some reason, like putting the windows up or down or turning on the lights.

To paraphrase the Simpsons, may I ask what is plugged into your dash-hole? If you're running a cd player or ipod off your car's battery and you accidentally left it running while the car was off, that might be your culprit.

My advice would be to invest in one of these. They're a lifesaver AND have an air compressor, so you can air up your own tires when you're in a rush. If you get one of those and a battery, it should come to around a hundred dollars, which is kinda sucky this close to the holidays. On the other hand, you might be able to wangle it as an early Christmas present from someone.

*huggle* Been there, dearie. It always happens this time of year when it's facking cold outside, too. Good luck!

[loopychew.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, have you checked out How I Met Your Mother?

[shinga.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude. You're gonna love BSG. That show is... amazing. Dark, yes. But SO awesome. And it's one of the very few series that gets even better in the third season. 'Cause season 3, so far, KICKS SO MUCH ASS.

*raves for another hour or so*

XD

[storm-maven.livejournal.com]

Sorry so late but you are correct about your car. You need a new battery. Had the same problem a year ago. Car made noise at first but mine was a loud licking. After a day or so, no more clicking. No nothing. Since my brother's a mechanic, he diagnosed it over the phone.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

The lack of radio power is a clear sign of needing a battery