Battery or Starter

My car won’t start – no cranking, just a series of clicks. I am surprised since I bought a brand new, relatively expensive battery three months ago. I cannot remember what brand it is, but I ensured that it had a solid rating for winter use. Here are some facts of relevance:

– The car has been sitting for a week;
– The temperature the preceding night had been about -15 Celsius
– The preceding week had not been that cold – lows ranging from -16 C to -5 C. This is not really that cold for this part of the world and, historically, I have never had problems at these temperatures here, even with an older battery.
– When I turned the key, all I heard were a series of clicks. I did confirm that some of the interior electrics (e.g. dome light) were functioning, although at noticeably reduced levels.

Question 1: How likely is it that this is a battery problem (and not a starter problem, for example)?

Question 2: Does the ability of a battery to start the car depend only on its temperature at the time of attempted start? Or is also a function of the amount of time since the last start.

Question 3: It will get up to zero Celsius in a couple of days. Do you think there is a chance the car will start at this warmer temperature without a boost?

Question 4: Assuming the battery is the problem, does it not seem odd that a new battery would go so dead in such relatively warm conditions?

Thanks.

Topic

[Richard KirshyParticipant]

– When I turned the key, all I heard were a series of clicks. I did confirm that some of the interior electrics (e.g. dome light) were functioning, although at noticeably reduced levels.

This is indicative of a lower voltage condition.
Suggest you test the battery voltage at rest and again during cranking.

Question 1: How likely is it that this is a battery problem (and not a starter problem, for example)?

You will need to test the battery in order to find out.

Question 2: Does the ability of a battery to start the car depend only on its temperature at the time of attempted start? Or is also a function of the amount of time since the last start.

There are a few factors to consider:
1 Any excessive parasitic draw.
2 Colder temps will reduce the output of the battery, how much depends on the condition of the battery.
3 How well your vehicle charging system can recharge the battery.
4 Condition of the battery cables.

Question 3: It will get up to zero Celsius in a couple of days. Do you think there is a chance the car will start at this warmer temperature without a boost?

Unknown until a load and voltage test is performed.

Question 4: Assuming the battery is the problem, does it not seem odd that a new battery would go so dead in such relatively warm conditions?

Just because a part is new doesn’t always mean it is good.

[Andrew HerbstParticipant]

Thanks Richard, I will get my voltmeter out and do the test.

[jaxer smithParticipant]

99.9% certain your battery is the problem. A series of clicks is a classic description of a dead battery.
Source: https://freeautomechanic.com/battery.html

[Author]

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