My Poor Car---Help!

[nathan]

So my car just broke down. I was wondering if any of you could give me any advice on what is wrong with it....

Here's the Situation....

It's a 1992 Toyota Camry. I was getting ready to go to work, turned the key, and nothing happened. Not a sound when I turned the ignition. My first thought was a dead battery so I got some jumper cables and a friend to help me out. We got it jumped and I let it idle for about 15 minutes. While it was warming up it sounded very weak and the engine was making a weird rapid clicking sound.

After the 15 minutes, I attempted to drive it around my parking lot. We disconnected the jumper cables and I drove it off. The engine was so quiet that the only way I could tell it was on was because it would accelerate. After about 20 seconds of driving though, the steering wheel stopped moving and entire car just shut off.

We tried this several times and got the same result every time. We even tried using different jumper cables.

Does anybody have ANY slight idea as to what the problem could be? I know it's not much information to go off of, but any advice would be appreciated....

[Relic]

have you seen any UFO's nearby and does your butt hurt? It may have been an abduction.

Alternatively - sounds electrical.
have your tried an altogether new battery? Sometimes a battery can reach a point where it's toast and wont really recharge.
Are the batteries pole-pieces touching anything? I had a car that had a beat battery tray. It would once in a while shift out of place and short into the body. The car would stop dead similar to what you describe.
I'm sooo not mechanically inclined (the last car I worked on was a 69 Olds) but does the Camry have an alternator or voltage regulator? They can go bad and cause weird stuff like this.

[MonetBass]

Your battery is completely dead. Even a jump won't save it. Get a new battery.

Same thing happened to my car last year. I found out via the owner's manual (what a concept) that you're not supposed to leave the auto-light sensor for the headlights on all of the time as it draws current even when the car is shut off. Arrgh!

[nathan]

It has an alternator. People are saying it's probably an electrical problem. If it is the alternator, how expensive do you think that would be to fix?

[Atoz]

If the alternator isn't charging the battery, you would just be running on battery power alone. If you do that too much, it'll completlely drain your battery. Just jumping the battery for a few minutes won't charge it up much, and the engine will soon die.

Before investing in a new alternator, make sure the alternator belt isn't loose or broken (missing). If it's just the belt, that's anywhere from a free to a $7.00 repair.

An alternator might run you a few hundred dollars. You can save money trading in the broken one at Pep Boys/Checker for a new one, and installing it yourself. Takes about 15 minutes (if you can get to it).

[nathan]

Originally Posted by MonetBass

Your battery is completely dead. Even a jump won't save it. Get a new battery.

Same thing happened to my car last year. I found out via the owner's manual (what a concept) that you're not supposed to leave the auto-light sensor for the headlights on all of the time as it draws current even when the car is shut off. Arrgh!

What is the auto-light sensor? Even when the lights are left on, they shut off when the car door is opened and stay off...

[MakiSupaStar]

I think it's a bad seatbelt mechanism

[ADbassman]

Check your exhaust pipe for potatos.

[Atoz]

Originally Posted by ADbassman

Check your exhaust pipe for potatos.

Or bananas, if Eddie Murphy has been recently spotted in the area.

[gold_member_321]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I think it's a bad seatbelt mechanism

I Lol'ed

[Pilgrim]

Take the car to an Auto Zone or other parts store and have them test the battery. chances are it's toast. Buy another.

The only other likely thing is dirty battery terminals preventing contact - so clean them first.

[KeithBMI]

'92?

Time to get a new car.

[fenderhutz]

My truck did the same thing. Alternators are roughly 140-160 at Ghetto..oops Auto Zone.

It is actually something you can do yourself if you are confident about minor car repairs.

[DZello]

Originally Posted by KeithBMI

'92?

Time to get a new car.

No way! It's a vintage CIJ !!!!

[Matthew Bryson]

Originally Posted by nathan

(snip)We got it jumped and I let it idle for about 15 minutes. While it was warming up it sounded very weak and the engine was making a weird rapid clicking sound.

After the 15 minutes, I attempted to drive it around my parking lot. We disconnected the jumper cables and I drove it off.(snip)

I'm pretty sure that when you're jumping a car, you are not supposed to leave them hooked up for 15 minutes like that. As soon as you start the car, you should unhook the cables. You could have damaged your friends car too.

How old is the battery, if you don't know - then it's probably time for a new one. They don't last forever. Replacing the battery will probably fix your problem.

[Mike Money]

Turn the key on, turn the lights on.


Have someone watch the headlights... turn the key.


If the lights don't dim, your starter isnt drawing any power... and that means change your starter.


k?

thx.

[jsbass]

Originally Posted by Mike Money

Turn the key on, turn the lights on.


Have someone watch the headlights... turn the key.


If the lights don't dim, your starter isnt drawing any power... and that means change your starter.


k?

thx.

If the starter isn't drawing any power then the car wouldn't have started with a jump.

My bet is the plug wires/distributor got wet or moisture got into the plug wire boots on either the distributor cap or on the spark plugs themselves. Has it been very humid recently or did it rain just before you tried to start your car? If so, pick up some dielectric grease, sometimes referred to as "tune up" grease. What it is used for is to seal out moisture in the spark plug wire boots or even can be used on your battery as a corrosion preventative. Just take the tube of grease and squeeze a liberal amount into both ends of your spark plug wires and you should be good to go.

Moisture in the ignition system will make a car run like crap like you said. It will start but it will run poorly and sometimes die.

[hbarcat]

About 75% of the time the symptoms you describe are due to bad connection at the battery terminals, either because of corrosion or a buggered cable end.

If it isn't that, then it's about 20% likely the battery is old and won't hold a charge anymore. The remaining 5% is a problem with the alternator or related system.

[Mike N]

Sounds like a loose nut behind the wheel.