So last night I went to fill my tank and after i filled up my car (2007 standard honda fit)it wouldn't start, it made a loud click/clunk sound one time then nothing, the lights came on but flashed erratically, the car won't turn over. I cleaned and tightened the connection terminal's on the battery as they were kinda loose and went to try and start again but no luck the lights just kinda flashed. So next i tried to start my 2007 by rolling it down a hill by jump starting it in second gear but it did nothing. Next we used cables to try and start my car and it worked, i drove 20 minutes to my house and let the car idle outside to charge the battery, then I turned it off and tried to start it again but it did nothing just did the weird light thing. Today I went to test the battery to see if that was the problem and it tested at 12.68 volts, so I went back to put my battery in my car in hopes it would start but it didn't start still. I tried to jump the car with cables again but it wouldn't start this time. But when I tried to start the car with the cables attached I could hear a clicking sound which my friend said is the starter but then i thought wouldn't have starting my car rolling down a hill bypassed the starter to rule that out?. Battery last I tested was at 12.80.

If anyone can give me some advice I'd appreciate it. Thank you

 

Here is a link to me trying to start my car:

 

When my Accord had a starting problem, AAA came over and the guy took a wrench and started banging on the starter. He said that if the starter is starting to give out a couple of bangs would make it work. However, my starter was rusted out and had to be replaced anyway. Mind you, I couldn't even hear the starter clicking.

Does your car start right away when you have jumper cables hooked up to another car? Then I would say it's not the starter. Maybe borrow someone else's known good battery and give that a try. How old is your battery? What is the voltage of the battery when it is running? It should be 14+ volts.

 

I suspect you have a high resistance ground or battery connection somewhere. This could be a bad connection at the battery clamps, or on the other end of the cables. (When you turn the key on, all the dash idiot lights get very very dim, indicating the voltage in the system is dropping way down due to the load of the starter. It's usual for it to sag somewhat, but not this much.) Check both the connections between the terminals and the battery/car frame/whatever they attach to, and the connection between the wires and the terminals. I've seen battery cables that looked okay at first glance but had the actual wire disintegrated in/next to the terminal.

A bad starter is a possibility, but IMHO a more remote one. A bad battery is also a possibility, but that is largely ruled out by having the same sort of behavior with jumper cables.

 

This site has some good suggestions, recently had to diagnose some battery issues myself and what is discussed here makes sense:

Part 2 -How to Test the Starter Motor On the Car (Step by Step)

I would get the battery load tested first then check all the starter connections as discussed in the link

 

+1 to DrewE.

A loose battery clamp would do this.

+++++++++++++++++


Of course, a 'shot' battery would do that as well.

You cannot assume a battery is good just because the dash-lights work at key-on. I've had batteries die in six months...

 

Sounds to me like when my battery started to go (along with my alternator) this past summer. Starters will normally give you a bit of warning when they start to go (longer starts, grinding). Loose or corroded battery connections are a possibility. If those are fine, I would swap out the battery.

 

Before saying battery is good it has to be load tested. it looks dead on the video

 

Long story short, my battery had 12.80 volts but only 10 amps, so the battery was the issue. Replaced the battery and car started right away. I think this all stems from the connector clamp to the battery being loose.

Thanks for all your replies.

 

Glad you got it sorted!