Car failed to start, faint clicking, headlights came on, why?

[macmac]

Has anyone had this problem?
Car failed to start, faint clicking, headlights came on, why?

Last night when I went to start the (petrol) car:

As I turned the key:
All the panel lights came on as normal,
but instead of the starter motor running and the engine firing,
all I could hear was a faint clicking as the headlights came on,

And upon releasing the key:
The lights went out; the clicking stopped; and the panel lights displayed as normal.
NB: The headlight switch was in the off position.

I re-tried this a few times, over a few minutes, and eventually everything went back to normal,
and the starter motor briskly turned & the engine started as normal.

I drove a couple of miles, parked up, and about 2 hrs later, it started again OK, and I drove home.
Everything seemed normal, including the headlights etc.
I've not tried it again today.

NB: The battery does not seem flat or low, I'll check it's indicator later to day.

The faint clicking:
Sounded similar to the (normal) clicking you used to hear on older cars that had electric fuel pumps,
as you turned the key to the first position, just before turning the key to start the engine,
you would hear the electric fuel pump click a few times, as it built up the fuel pressure.

Thanks

[stevestrat]

The battery may not seem low but the clicking and headlights coming on is the car's way of telling you it is! DON'T KEEP TRYING TO START IT, can compromise the immobiliser/transponder codes. Either charge the battery for 24 hrs if possible or replace the battery.

[roverbarmy]

Check the battery (proper electrical check using gauge), clean up the battery and earth leads (wire brush or similar) connections to body etc. As above, don't keep trying to start or damage may occur to electronic systems.

[COLVERT]

Ignore the battery built in indicator it only tells you what condition the cell is that it's fitted in.fitted to.

Other cells could be dead.

Use a multimeter at the battery terminals. Get a reading of at least 12.5 volts.

Charge battery overnight as others have suggested.---

If the battery turns out OK then the starter motor solenoid is normally the problem.

My bet is the battery is the culprit.---

[jonc3725]

defo flat battery.

Its the R75 way of telling you its flat.

I have seen this a few times on various cars

[stevenicks]

I agree .

[raykay]

Originally Posted by macmac

Has anyone had this problem?
Car failed to start, faint clicking, headlights came on, why?

When the battery voltage is low (about 8 volts from memory), when the ignition is on, the headlights and tail lights are automatically switched on, and some other lights are disabled.
That is what happened to you, is not uncommon for someone trying to start the engine with a low battery - too low for the starter motor to operate, but in trying to, it pulls the voltage down even further so the headlights are switched on and the starter relay drops out, it disconnects the starter motor so the voltage rises sufficiently to switch off the headlights and re-engage the relay, which re-connects the starter motor, which pulls the voltage down.........and the cycle repeats, causing the headlights to flash and the relay to 'click' on and off.

[marinabrian]

As you say it it turned over briskly after a few minutes rest, I would suggest you check the terminals of the battery are secure

The symptoms you describe are classic of a discharged battery, however I've yet to see one recover from such a state of discharge unassisted to allow the car to be started.

Time to give those terminals a wiggle

Brian

[roverbarmy]

Somewhere in my garage, I have a battery electrolyte tester. On older batteries, you could pull out some of the electrolyte and see what charge there was in the individual cells. Great if you had one cell that was going faulty. The sealed for life batteries don't seem to be as accessible for this type of test. One duff cell can be difficult to spot in modern batteries.

[dadragon]

Had exactly the same thing happen on my wife's 75 CDTI about a month ago, won't start, lights flashing, checked the battery and it was 10 years old!!!. That's not a bad innings, I just bought her a new one, been all good since.
Regards DaDragon