Jaywill315

This is my first car, I bought it in may of this year I remember the owner telling me there was a new starter in the car though I’m not completely sure. Fast forward to last week, I noticed that when I closed my door my signal on the dash still read that it was open I thought someone was trying to break into my car and I brushed it off as a fix when I get paid, however today my car would not start all lights came on, radio worked, windows work but it would not turn on. I tried to get a jump from a friend and the only thing I got after 15min was a clicking noise. A friend suggested it was a spark plug shortage by help?

gtsnake

clicking usually means dead battery. Im assuming it doesn't crank over. Then that's a sure sign of a dead battery. Never heard of a spark plug short. The only way a spark plug can short is if it's not completely screwed down into the head and even then it can start with just 5 plugs. You would get a CEL (check engine light) that says plug fault.

If there's weird lights coming on I would start with the battery. Put a voltage meter on the battery and see what it says. Also put a battery charger on for a few hours and see if that helps. Jumping a car is only to give it a boost. If the battery is really dead it would take hours of charging before it will start. If the battery won't hold a charge and dies again you will need to replace it.

numbafree

^ what he said. Your battery if you are lucky is on it's last legs. Better just to get a new one. Pepboys or any auto parts store will check the voltage of the battery for free if you don't have a way to DIY. Check the battery first.
Do you drive it every day? if so how far? It is possible it could be the alternator, but you always start with the battery.

good luck.

DennisMik

The engine should have cranked over with jumper cables on it. I think the starter (probably the solenoid) is bad. If the starter was replaced as the previous owner said, with a rebuilt one, this is totally possible. Rebuilt starters are a headache.

tomr51

if the jumper leads are bad quality, or the battery is really stuffed, jumper leads will not crank it over.