no crank / no start issues

[kim matthews]

Hi I am Kim,
I am needing help starting my car since my husband is out of the country currently.
My issue is i drove my car to the grocery store and came home, put the groceries in the house, then went back to start my car and it would not start.
I have a 2012 nissan altima. 3.5 sr. (6 cylinder).
So when i tried to start my car it would not turn on, the break and battery lights came on very faintly and the wiper blades started moving very slowly even though they were in the off position.
the next thing i did was try to jump my car from my husbands car. the engine did not crank nor start, just there was loud clicking noise and then would stop. the clicking sound was rapid and lasted like two seconds. it is coming from somewhere between the battery and engine under the air filter. i tried a few times but no luck. the dash staved lit with the break light, battery light, engine light, and oil light all stayed on.
i found this link
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-no-start-problems/no-crank-no-start
i cleaned the battery terminals and tightened everything back down, but no luck. i do not know where the starter is located.
can anyone help me figure out what is wrong.
Thank you in advance,
Kim

Topic

[Dave Tidman]

Symptoms sound like the battery. If you can take the battery to a parts store it can be tested. If this is te original battery that came with the car, it’s getting close to the time to replace it. Batteries can go quickly and without warning.

[Timothy Salomon]

I second dtidman. Dead batteries can cause dim lights and rapidly clicking starter gears. But if the other car is running, you might still be able to jump start it. Maybe the connections weren’t good enough last time. Sometimes wiggling the jumper cable clips on the battery posts can help get a better connection.
The only reason I add this is if I were doing this, I’d like to drive to the auto parts store for a battery test instead of carrying my battery there!

[kim matthews]

Thank you dtidman and timothy.
I tried jumping this morning but same issue. just rapid clicking coming from under the hood. I am having my neighbor replace the battery, positive terminal clamp, and fuse blocked attached to the positive lead (inline fuse block connected between the clamp that tightens to the positive terminal on the batter and the wire that runs to the starter).

I will post back if it does not work.

also i noticed today that the amber key sign was lit in the dash, i have never seen that before. i was reading online and it has to do with the steering lock needing to be replaced in the altima according to reports. however my question is the steering rotates freely and my neighbor is able to push the car in neutral back and forth in my garage and driveway. so could this be an issue as well and would i need to have the steering lock replaced?

Thanks in advance,

Kim.

[Dave Tidman]

I would see what happens after the battery is replaced. Apparently, the steering lock on the Altima is electric and if you have a bad battery it just might not be able to lock the column due to low voltage. A bad battery can cause all sorts of gremlins…

[Author]

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