Does anyone know anything about cars?!?!

tashajayne2011
tashajayne2011 Posts: 288
in Chit-Chat
My car is dead :((
I went out to the car, pressed my key fob to unlock it..nothing..unlocked the drivers side manually and got in.. turned the key, engine was making a noise (turning over?) but wouldn't properly fire up.. so now I have no idea what I need to do.

I have tried putting the key in, turning it on and pressing the lock bit on the fob down for 10 secs and then waiting a minute before removing the key (someone said this was how to reset the immobiliser?) but its no different?

No money to call a mechanic so I was hoping that someone here might be able to give a helping hand :(

If it is the battery (it was fine yesterday and no lights etc were left on but who knows) would the engine make a noise when I turn the key? I thought it would just click?

thanks in advance for your help

Replies

  • chelleymarie88
    chelleymarie88 Posts: 775
    My car is dead :((
    I went out to the car, pressed my key fob to unlock it..nothing..unlocked the drivers side manually and got in.. turned the key, engine was making a noise (turning over?) but wouldn't properly fire up.. so now I have no idea what I need to do.

    I have tried putting the key in, turning it on and pressing the lock bit on the fob down for 10 secs and then waiting a minute before removing the key (someone said this was how to reset the immobiliser?) but its no different?

    No money to call a mechanic so I was hoping that someone here might be able to give a helping hand :(

    If it is the battery (it was fine yesterday and no lights etc were left on but who knows) would the engine make a noise when I turn the key? I thought it would just click?

    thanks in advance for your help

    I don't know what kind of car you drive, but it could be the battery. Cars will STILL make noise even if it has a bad battery. Could be numerous things O_o I.E. The starter....
  • q3m9vtj
    q3m9vtj Posts: 8 Member
    dead battery ... boost will get you running ... the clicking noise is the starter trying engage without enough power ... but you should find out why it died ... could be an alternator ... or could be that you left the interior lights on ...
  • chelleymarie88
    chelleymarie88 Posts: 775
    dead battery ... boost will get you running ... but you should find out why it died ....

    ^
  • tashajayne2011
    tashajayne2011 Posts: 288
    it wasn't a clicking noise when I turned the key, it was like the engine wanted to start but couldnt quite get there?
  • tashajayne2011
    tashajayne2011 Posts: 288
    Oh and its a pile of junk, sorry, a citroen c3 (same thing)
  • Carl01
    Carl01 Posts: 9,307 Member
    If it is cranking over but not firing combined with the problem of the door locks not working I am guessing an electronics issue.
    Would not be surprised if there is a fail safe that prevents the car from starting if it thinks the door has not been properly unlocked.
  • QueenJayJay
    QueenJayJay Posts: 1,079 Member
    Alternator.
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
    it wasn't a clicking noise when I turned the key, it was like the engine wanted to start but couldnt quite get there?

    Dead battery. Get a boost from a neighbour & keep the car running for 20 minutes. If it keeps happening then take it in.
  • tashajayne2011
    tashajayne2011 Posts: 288
    yeah it has an immobiliser, I followed an instruction I found online to try to reset it but it didnt make an ounce of difference.. I hate when my car fails - it makes me feel all girly and helpless lol

    Well I am going to go check the battery and if its not that I guess I will do what any other 30 yr old, non car-minded girl would do...call my dad!!!
  • MellowYellowGem
    MellowYellowGem Posts: 120 Member
    Sounds like the battery! See if you can get someone to jumpstart you with some leads, or borrow a battery charger.
  • ryno0618
    ryno0618 Posts: 361
    Sounds like a dead battery, and I mean dead as a door nail if you can't unlock the car with the key fob. Could be the alternator is out and drained the battery dead.

    Cheapest thing to do would be take the battery out and take it to an auto parts store like Auto Zone and have them test the battery and recharge if necessary. They can tell you if the battery is dead or just drained. If dead you may just need a new battery in your car, if drained down then most likely the alternator is out and needs to be replaced.

    Car problems and repairs are no fun. best of luck!
  • tessiemay04
    tessiemay04 Posts: 13
    Could be a few things.

    Mine does the same regularly, the core reasons for my battery dying are:

    1. the cold
    2. having the heat on
    3. having the radio on
    4. using the zappy key to unlock the doors
    5. doing short town journeys!

    So I've become a master of taking out my car battery out, putting it on the charger I've out to manually trickle charge it inside and then putting it back in. I also take jump leads with me everywhere, just in case!

    When it first started happening I could just rev the accelerator a few times when starting it up and that did the trick.

    Now even with a new starter motor and new battery I just use the bare minimal of things that I need to run the car... ie the engine and lights!
    My garage has checked the alternator a few times, but they say it's just that doing small town journeys in the cold weather doesn't give the battery chance to recharge itself.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Would guess a dead cell in your battery preventing it from charging properly last time you drove it. Shouldn't be much hassle to get someone to test your car with a different battery and the battery itself shouldn't be too much to replace - just replaced mine for £48.

    Edit: Yes the engine could make a slight 'Rrr' noise when you turn the key if there's a tiny bit of power left in it. Is the dash clock on?
  • mama1229
    mama1229 Posts: 57
    My car is dead :((
    I went out to the car, pressed my key fob to unlock it..nothing..unlocked the drivers side manually and got in.. turned the key, engine was making a noise (turning over?) but wouldn't properly fire up.. so now I have no idea what I need to do.

    I have tried putting the key in, turning it on and pressing the lock bit on the fob down for 10 secs and then waiting a minute before removing the key (someone said this was how to reset the immobiliser?) but its no different?

    No money to call a mechanic so I was hoping that someone here might be able to give a helping hand :(

    If it is the battery (it was fine yesterday and no lights etc were left on but who knows) would the engine make a noise when I turn the key? I thought it would just click?

    thanks in advance for your help
    Just a guess, but since the car is turning over and all the ligths are working it sounds more like a fuel issue. Perhaps a bad fuel pump. I will say that if the vehicle is equipped with some type of immobilizer as you stated you could call a factory trained tech(in the US we could call a car dealership and speak to a service advisor) and get some pointers over the phone.
  • tashajayne2011
    tashajayne2011 Posts: 288
    thanks guys x really reasurred me..

    you lot seriously are a font of all knowledge
  • Moonbeamlissie
    Moonbeamlissie Posts: 504 Member
    Alternator.

    This!!! When your alternator goes bad the battery does all the work... till it goes dead then you get nothing. So assuming you are not leaving lights on or have an electrical short that is making "something" stay on I would bet on the alternator.
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    I have seriously had some OLD, crazy cars.....and been through a lot of this sort of thing. Here are my thoughts:

    Do you have ANY lights? Check to see if the lights works at all....if not, I'd say battery is dead.
    You said it wants to turn over, but won't. That sounds like a fuel pump or alternator to me, although an almost-dead battery would give you that turning-over sound for a few turns, and then it just won't do a thing!
    Have you had any electrical issues with it? I had an old Mercury Sable that would do really strange things because of wiring that was corroding. I can remember getting gas one day, the car had run just fine, put in the gas, went to start, and nothing. Opened the hood, played with a few wires, and got back in. Bang.....she started just fine.

    Here are a few other things:

    http://www.ehow.com/how_4451070_troubleshoot-car-won_t-turn-over.html
  • mrlazy1967
    mrlazy1967 Posts: 285 Member
    sounds like battery, happened on my wife's car, I used a portable jump start to get it started then was fine after a drive - it's well worth getting a portable jump start - they are cheap buy, get you moving and save cost of mechanic or hassle of jump leads
  • MyFeistyEvolution
    MyFeistyEvolution Posts: 1,014 Member
    Id guess battery or alternator.

    See if someone can jump start your car.

    Reality is it could be something so random but those are the two things that jumped to my mind...

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