i get a kick out of some of these answers , having been working as an auto and diesel technician for over 30 years I will say that first you cannot even begin to test a battery unless you have tried to charge it first , then load test it . there is a process that needs to be followed to actually tell if a battery is good or not . think about it . a battery can be run down and almost dead but may need to be recharged for various reasons . if the store did not attempt to charge it before load testing it and or checking the specific gravity of each cell then they did not properly check the battery . most cars today will not run on just the alternator because of all the computers requiring a minimum voltage that surely won't be met if your battery is not good . you said the car had started with a jump and you drove it . furthermore , you never said that when your driving , was the alternator light on , if it wasn't it is more than likely that your charging system is working . automobiles are much more complex than they were 30 years ago. the problem you are describing sounds like a bad connection or a corroded cable end . just because you can see a cable connected to the chassis or the starter does not mean it is making a good negative ground or positive connection . I suggest starting with charging the battery by removing it from the car and putting a charger on it , then following the ground cable to where it bolts to the chassis or frame and or engine and making sure there is no green corrosion in or on the cable . remove the bolt that secures and makes the connection then sand it and it's contact point . you dont apply grease on the surface of the cable ends or on the battery posts . this is an old bunch of BS . grease is not a conductor ! put the grease on over the cable end and bolt after you have tightened it down . now do the same to the positive cable ends and especially at the starter do note that at the starter , that bolt may not want to come off very easily and may want to turn the stud inside the solenoid on the starter it self . if that happens , most likely it will crack the insulator part of the starter so spray some penetrating oil on it first and take your time . i'm not saying this is easy but it may be necessary if you want your car to start . these are the most common causes of what you are describing and I have laughed at many people that throw a battery , a starter and an alternator in their car when all they needed was to clean ALL the cable ends

I tell you what; You need a battery because yours is bad. The starter may be bad too, but changing a battery is cheaper and easier than changing a starter. I sense you don't want to spend any money. Unless somebody gives you a good battery or you steal one, you will remain having a bad battery. How about this- go to the salvage yard and get a used battery for $10-$15 and try that. If it works, good. If it's dead next time you try it, suspect the alternator. Power doesn't come out of the key in the car. You need a good battery. AutoZone will sell you one for about $60 and ...are you still with me...you can go by their guarantee that it's good. Make sure your cables are clean and tight and that doesn't cost you anything but time and effort. If it finally comes down to you needing a starter, you'll have to decide what you're going to do about that. Spend some money of start walking. It's like the sign in the restaurant window that said,"Free Steaks Tomorrow" Go back tomorrow and it says the same thing.

Do you have a Ford? You need to look at the charging system fuse and change it if it's bad.

You can fry a starter with a LOW or WEAK battery. It worked once, so it should work again. That simple. Something else is wrong NOW. Or you DID just killed your starter.

HEY, IT IS KIND OF LIKE WINNING THE LOTTERY

You "may" have fried the starter motor AS WELL.! Hope you got mucho dollars. Usually a starter will last the life of the car (30+years) [which means several batteries have come and gone.). But that is not saying you cannot cook it on the first battery.

So tow the car to an auto electric store...you know; those guys that deal with starters, alternators, generators and batteries...and regulators. (they are listed in the Yellow pages of the phone book under Auto Repairs...find the ones that specifically deal with Auto-Electrics)

There is a reason why the battery died.

Not knowing the car make or the year - we cannot help you any more than that. Bring a big FAT wallet.

Would you like the bonus prize? Take it to a mechanic that does not specialize in the electrics field...and you are wasting money there.

Take your battery out.

now choose whether you want to put a new one on a credit card, or completely charge and service the battery for testing.

To find the cause of total discharge, you will need a good battery to test your system. and run the proper set of tests.

If you need electrical repairs, or an alternator, or both, now is diagnosis time.

If your connections are corroded, loose, or have arced to insulate because of inadequate full contact, You may have caused it by failing to maintain it.

If the cells are not full it is a very good indication it is sulfated and needs replacement.

These are all judgements made by a tech, and require inspection including your alternator connections and its belt, your fuses and other circuit protections, relays etc.

Now get a wire brush, some battery pliers, some distilled water, a volt+ ohmmeter,a good battery charger, or get a credit card and solve the problem

Unless you have a faulty memory, an alt light or battery light must have been illuminated prior.

If it sat and discharged from parasitic load, you might have a tech recharge it with a professional battery charger using all his knowledge of amperage rate, time , and temperature.

Provided they still have factory trained technicians where you are.

Part of a journeyman's apprenticeship is to work with a master to show him all the ways these things can go wrong or be ruined by your method.

Now if he has a hydrometer and shows it charged, he can run tests on it.

If the battery has been internally damaged it will show up when he tries the first few things with it.

If the starter was bad, then you would have no way of starting the engine, even if you had a brand new battery. Everything in the car runs off the battery. If you have a completely bad battery, your voltage reference to everything in the car, (headlights, windshield wipers, radio, power door locks, power windows, interior lights, etc) will be dim or hardly working. Had a car once that had a bad alternator, the altnerator was not working at all, it was completely dead. The car ran for 45 minutes straight from the battery, everything in the car was dim, dash lights were dim, hardly any radio, power windows hardly functioned, but the battery had enough juice to run enough power to the coils and keep the car running, and it flat lined on the highway and stopped.

Why not just swap out your friends battery and see where it goes from there? Drive it for a whole day, see if it works, if it starts, if everything on the inside is working fine. if so, buy a new battery or just get a DMM and check voltage, should be 12v.

Lets see... You actually took it to the auto parts store and had the battery tested. THEY TOLD YOU it was a bad battery. Now you are asking total strangers on an Internet forum who don't even know what kind of car it is, let alone be able to test it.

No, it's NOT your battery. The problem is with the idiot who owns the car.

It's dead dude. You need a functioning battery. Yours is totally dead. If you jump your car via the battery it won't work because the circuit in your battery is shot bad cell most likely. Buy a new battery and be on your way again.

Battery

#1. Remove the 12 volt battery and take it to any store that sells new ones *other than Auto Zone. Ask for a free *15 second battery load test which will tell the reserve amperage capacity. Amperage spins starter motors not voltage.

if it was the starter, it would at least be trying to turn over. It's more than likely an electrical issue such as the battery or possibly the alternator.

Yesterday, my car wouldn't start. When you turn the key absolutely nothing happens, no clicking, no accessory lights, nothing. Nothing in the car works, even when the key is in the accessory position, not the electric seats, not the radio, nothing. We tried to jump it and the first time it worked. Then we drove about 300 yards to the auto parts store to get the battery tested. They said it was bad but we couldn't buy the battery right then so we we tried to jump it again (because it wouldn't start again, same nothingness) but it wouldn't jump. We tried jumping it with a car and one of those recharging machines, and still got nothing. We tried tapping on the starter with a hammer, and still nothing happened. Does it sound like the battery is just completely dead and can't be recharged (if that happens) or is it more probable that the starter is bad?

You start with the battery first and get a new one. Now you know that part is working. If your dashboard lights come on and your car still does not start then you know that it is something under the hood. Make sure all your electrical connections are tight.

No it does not sound like a battery or a starter. It sounds like you may have a bad ground somewhere or possibly multiple fuses that are bad, I would check all of the fuses and then check the battery cable ends for a loose connection.

Hi, sounds like the cables are dirty.. between the battery post and the clamping part of the cable.. take them apart and clean the inside of them.. you can buy a wire brush cleaner for like $1,oo to clean it..One end of the wire bursh cleaner well be round with a hole and the wire part around it to clean the post of the battery and the other end (is under the cap , twist it to take it off) that is used to clean the inside of the cable end.. these two parts of the battery need to be shiny clean or they well not deliver power to the car.. and yes surprisingly it does get dirty between the post and the clamp...

good luck

tim

sounds like the battery or the battery terminals are corroded ! usually when a starter goes bad it won,t crank at all, but you said it did start, so it sounds like the battery ! why don,t you try another battery and if it starts and runs then you know to buy a new battery !

Jumping a motor that has a completely dead battery is a sure way to fry an alternator!

Sounds like the battery because the radio would work if the battery was ok, Good Luck

Replacing worn out parts is a lot of the cost of owning a vehicle. Buy the battery.

did they check the alternator too? a lot of times when a battery goes dead flat like that the alternator is bad too. with no other symptoms, start with what you know. battery.

If the headlights and other accessories work, it's the starter, if they don't, its the battery or cables.

Most likely the battery but just in case check also the alternator belt it should be fairly snug.

Low battery, definitely. It happened to me a month ago.

The battery is internally broken and can hold no charge at all.

all of you are idiots for continuing to answer a question he already has the answer to. the dude who says its dirty battery cables has to be dumber than the car owner

Battery is dead.

It sounds like a starter.

I'd go on yahoo answers and try asking there.

battery

check your fuses and test batterry voltage

don't care

bat