Sounds like you have a bad battery. You could connect a 12v lantern battery to your car and it will read 12 volts. But in now way can it start a car or even turn on any accessories or lights. Connect your voltmeter to the battery and try to start the car. I expect the voltage to drop below 8 volts, maybe as low a 0 volts. on a battery that has little charge left. Buy yourself a battery charger ($20-$30) and charge the battery for about 4-6 hrs. Then try to start the car. If the car starts, then you had a low charge on the battery. If the car won't start the next day, your battery can't hold a charge. Replace it.
Clean every connection. it should have shiny bare metal on both parts of each connection.
You are dropping voltage through a resistance.
Resistance can be air gap, dirt, corrosion, sealer, or even a connection that has been arcing and burned.
You need some wire brushes for batteries, and the stainless wire kind.
Corroded cables should be replaced.
Those new flimsy cheapo style ones at the battery can have the ends redone. The new clamps are not expensive.
Be careful at the power distribution box if you have a cable going there. The fuse links and cable may attach to a small lug.
Some cables can have trouble where the wires go into the clamp at the battery. These kind, you can put a new end on, for sure, to fix them.
You can replace the DVOM's battery and perform voltage drop tests simply enough.
"The amps are normal"?!! So you took a load tester to the battery to see what the voltage dropped to when applying 300 amps to the battery for 30 seconds? You know squat! The battery has voltage but not enough amperage to run anything. Put a frickin battery charger on the battery set to 12 volts..10 amps..for 6 hours and then try starting the car. If you jumped it backwards you blew the main fusible link. That's the big "fuse" in the engine compartment fuse box.
Check the battery while you have someone try and start it.
A faulty battery can read ~12v when it's under light load, (Ignition, dash lights etc) but fail completely when you try and draw the 100+ amps that the starter motor needs. This is why a battery shop will "load test" a battery, where they hook a small electric heater element to it, and measure it under load.
The click is the starter solenoid pulling in. This supplies power to the started motor. If the battery can't supply enough power at that point, it's lights out.
If the battery voltage stays good, but the dash lights are going out when you try and start, then check the cables from the battery. Poor connections there can cause the same symptoms.
First off, how do you know the battery is good? It can show a good voltage on a volt meter but can be bad when put under a load. Based on what you are saying when you try to start your car points to a bad battery. A fully charged battery ranges between from 12.5 to 13.5 volts. What you need to do is when you are able to get it started, take it to a reputable mechanic and let him do a charging system test, he has a machine that he can perform a load test on the battery and check the alternator to see if it is producing proper amperage. If there is any problem at all, this test will tell the tale.
If you have the old fashioned top post battery, make sure that the terminals are clean and the clamps are tight. If you have the modern side post battery, make sure the bolts are tight. I would check the ground first. Typically the battery cable goes from the battery to the engine, and then there is a jumper wire from the engine to the chassis. Make sure all connections are tight and clean. Then check the positive wire. It typically goes from the battery to the solenoid. There may be additional wires coming from the clamp and going to the auxiliary loads. If not, the auxiliary load is connected to the solenoid. That should cover all of the possibilities of not have aux power to the vehicle.
It could be a wiring issue. Check the battery cable going to the starter from the positive battery terminal. I've had this happen on a 2000 Accord where the insulation was gone and the copper cable had heavy corrosion.
Although a fully charged battery is around 14 volts even with 12.7 volts the car should turn over. But, you said the solenoid "clicks" then every thing goes dead. Check the battery connection (especially ground lead), starter/solenoid connection. Also, cold weather can put quite a strain on a starter and battery, reducing the voltage/amps to the starter.
Battery at 12.7V when a new battery is closer to 14V? That is enough power to run the radio and that is it. What is normal amps.? You buy a battery rated on its "CCA" (cold cranking amps). The higher the number, the more the battery costs for it puts out that much more electrical juice.
Example: my car is rated for a 650CCA battery. If I get one that puts out 1000CCA, then I have that much more battery power. It costs more (me, I got a deal) so I took it.
Already, you can only begin to move some of the starter solenoid and that is it. You need a new battery, yesterday. Chances are your terminals are full of corrosive white stuff on them. Indication of a worn out battery. They only last 5 to 7 years, then they need replacing. Battery clamps should not loosen up if you never take the cables off, so not even going there. Yes, you can get a jump start but that will take you as far as to the store or home. Then you must rely on someone else's battery and a jump start again.
Batteries fail just before Christmas(so it always seems). Bummer.
Battery is good, tested it out and reads out 12.7V and amps are normal. When I tried to turn the key after putting it to the "ON" position, there was a click noise from the engine bay and all power went out. Now there is no accessories powered in the car. I checked all the fuses in the fuse box in the bay. All fuses are not broken. Reset the car by pulling the Main fuse and still nothing. My multimeter died before I could fully test the cables from the battery to the fuse box. I read 5.6V, but cannot verify it because multimeter died before testing again.
1- check the main cables both battery head and body ,open clean and make sure connection are good tighten.
2- Red cable has a another wire connect in to it ,which is feed the panel ,make sure it's not loose or break from the connection to battery head .
In general if there's no electricity coming behind the panel ,reason is battery or cables.
A fully charged battery is around 14 volts. See what the voltage drops to when you turn the starter. At the very least I'd remove it and put it on charge then try again.
Could be a bad starter. I would also check to make sure there isn't more than one fuse box. Some cars have two in different parts of the car.
Battery voltage could be a little higher, around 13.5V or so. Check wire connections. If corrosion or rusty, they don't work too well. They need to be tight too. Low voltage is what causes the solenoid to click. It could also be the solenoid itself. I believe Fords have a solenoid on the fender somewhere and the others have the solenoid as part of the starter.
Your vehicle is telling you that connections are loose, tighten the start side of the positive cable and the battery side, remove the neg battery first before attempting this. Start the engine, you'll thank me later.
You need your multimeter. Get it working! It could be as simple as corrosion on a battery post/terminal/connector. With the battery connected, turn on the headlights. They probably won't work. Put voltmeter probes on battery posts (center of the posts), or bolts if it's a side post. If voltage, move the negative probe to the top post battery terminal, if voltage, move to the end of the black (negative) heavy wire to engine block. Next, hold negative voltmeter probe on engine block, and move positive probe from battery post to the connector. If voltage, move positive probe to end of red (positive) heavy wire to wherever it connects. If you have voltage there, you have to follow where the heavy red wire goes. To starter, etc.
You first establish a working ground (negative) circuit. Then you trace the positive circuit. You'll probably find the problem in the area of what I have just described.
Sounds like the battery is shot.
How did you determine the 12.7 Volts? It has to be measured under load, not just with a voltmeter across the terminals. How did you determine the "amps are normal"?
Check: fuse if available, clean battery terminals with a solution of baking soda and water dry and reconnect, OTHER: OBM compurer module fuses, OTHER: OBM ground wire would be rot..Good luck..
It sounds like a bad battery to me.
It sounds like a bad battery to me.
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Battery --- battery 95 times out of 100 it is a dying poor battery. The colder weather finishes a battery off. 12.7 V does always not mean good. 12.7 but insufficient stored up energy. Try a working battery from another car or jumps leads but if battery is really weak jumps will no be much better. Get a battery.
Common car maintenance tasks include:
Car wash
check/replace the engine oil and replace oil filters
check/replace fuel filters
inspect or replace windshield wipers
check or refill windshield washer fluid
inspect tires for pressure and wear
Tire balancing
Tire rotation
Wheel alignment
check, clean or replace battery terminals and top up battery fluid
inspect or replace brake pads
check or flush brake fluid
check or flush transmission fluid
check or flush power steering fluid
check and flush engine coolant
inspect or replace spark plugs
inspect or replace air filter
inspect or replace timing belt and other belts
lubricate locks, latches, hinges
check all lights
tighten chassis nuts and bolts
check if rubber boots are cracked and need replacement
test electronics, e. g., Anti-lock braking system or ABS
read fault codes from the Engine control unit
Some tasks that have equivalent service intervals are combined into one single service known as a tune-up. In modern cars, where electronics control most of the car's functions, the traditional tune-up doesn't apply anymore. Maintenance jobs like a tune-up used to mean getting the engine's performance back on track. Today embedded software takes care of it by constantly checking thousands of sensor signals, compensating for worn-out spark plugs, clogged filters, etc. The so-called limp-home function allows driving on limited power when the engine is in trouble. In the old days this might have meant a breakdown. In some countries, the completed services are recorded in a service book which is rubber-stamped by the service center upon completion of each service. A complete service history usually adds to the resale value of a vehicle. ??????.
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looks like you got a ton of aanswers but ill try its your battery cables or your cable connection at your starter or your weak *** starter itself.try that one.take it off and have it tested. its fried i'm sure.
News Flash: A battery can test 12.6 volts yet not have enough amperage to spin a starter motor. Since your starter will not spin and it (starter) passes the starter amperage draw test your battery doesn't have enough amperage to spin the starter motor.
Sounds like maybe the Pos/Neg battery cables may be corroded under the cables insulation where it is not noticeable to the eye. And the cables not making good connections. Cut some insulation back on both cable to see if there is any. If so, replace cables. If not, tape back up using electrical tape.
