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Car refuses to start, ticking noise.

11K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Philborobo 
#1 ·
The Up! has been sitting for nearly a week and this morning it would not start. On turning the key there is a ticking noise, the rev counter and speedo needles flicker, but no sign of the car starting. I tried jump leads, but no difference. Any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
Sounds like a dead/flat battery.

Do you have a multimeter? A fully charged car battery should have something like 12,6 volts on more when the engine is off. If you don't have a multimeter at hand, are the headlights dim when the ignition is on? If they are bright and the car doesn't even try to start, maybe something else is going on. A fuse maybe?

I'd remove the battery, recharge it for a day in a warm place and try again. For this you would naturally need a car battery recharger. The car should start once more, but at times the batteries simply go bad and can't maintain the charge for long. In this case you need to get the battery replaced.

I wish I could help more. Good luck!
 
#3 ·
About 4 months ago, we went on holiday and I set the dash cam to record if the car was knocked. It flattened the battery completely, as it turned out it switched on just from me closing the door and then recorded for the rest of the week! I used jump leads to get it going and no issues since and this time using jump leads did not work.

Home start breakdown are now booked for after the New Year, since I do not need the car for now.
 
#4 ·
Let's hope that the battery isn't damaged (ie. has dead cells) so it can be recharged.

Please post the findings on this thread for educational purposes for the forumites. Thanks!
 
#5 ·
It was the battery. Got the car jump started from a diesel stop start car with a new battery, so more juice than the first car that tried. There was so little power left that I had to use the key to get into the car, the battery was that flat. Took it to a garage, quick test and then a new battery fitted.

A few months ago when we went on holiday for a week, I set the dash cam to record of the car was bumped. When we got back, I found that it has flattened the battery as it had switched on just from me closing the door and it had been recording everything for a week till the battery gave up. Looks like that ruined it so it was not holding a charge for very long.
 
#6 ·
I have a similar issue. Car used regularly, no previous issues or battery warning light or any other warning lights for that matter. Car only 5 and a half yrs old. The other day it wouldn't start, strange ticking noise from under the bonnet. I have now fully charged the battery and checked it. It is putting out 14.2 V fully charged so it's not the battery . Tried to start with full battery and same ticking noise from under bonnet and message on dash states " SAFE LOCK ". What does this mean ?? Could it be an immobiliser or starter motor issue ??. Nobody seems to be able to give me a solution and the AA home-start man connected his computer and could find no faults, he checked battery and remarked it was the fullest he had seen ( Obviously as i had just charged it ). At a loss what to do next ?? Help urgently needed !!
 
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