When I try to start my car it just clicks rapidly?

+1 vote
asked Apr 17, 2019 in Repairs/Maintenance by Dalelobimsomp (480 points)
When I try to start my car it just clicks rapidly?

Why would my car just click rapidly and the gauges are moving as well when trying to start the car?

1 Answer

0 votes
answered Apr 17, 2019 by Mechanic21 (29,150 points)
When a vehicle makes a clicking sound rapidly and the gauges are moving it's an indication of a low voltage supply to the starter solenoid.

Sometimes the battery could simply be too low to supply enough amperage or volts to the starter or it could be caused by loose or dirty battery connections.

First check to make sure that the battery is fully charged up.

If you have a battery charger hook the battery charger up to the battery and let it charge for an hour or 2 and then try again to start it.

If the battery is fully charged but the vehicle still makes a rapid clicking noise then check the battery cable connections for corrosion or loose connections.

If all that is good then it could be a bad starter motor that needs replaced or could be some other thing in your vehicle draining the battery so that it doesn't get enough power to give to the starter when it needs to start.

Usually it's just a low battery or bad connections to the battery that causes the  rapid clicking noise so I would first get the vehicle jumped or charge the battery first and clean the battery cable connections.

You can use baking soda and water to clean the corrosion off the battery cable connections and then just wash it off with a garden hose.

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