91' Stealth won't start.

Hi, I did a search on the forum to find an answer but didn't come up with anything so now I'm posting this. My car won't start and I think its the battery but i'm not sure so i'm asking ya'll.

I tried charging it but that didn't work so then i tried to jump start it with another car and it didn't work. When i put the negative cable on the engine block or the ground post it started sparking and when i put it on it got really hot and started to burn a hole so I took them off. After this i gave up and came back a few hours later and the car started up after a bit of hesitation. I ran the car for a few minutes to try to charge up the battery so it would start again then i turned it off, turned it back on and it was good...ran the car for a few more minutes then left.

Now it won't start again! I thought this might be a problem with post/cable connectors not being clean so I took the batter connectors off and cleaned everything to be nice and shiny and put them back on and it still won't start. The dash reads 8V. Do I need a new battery or is this a worse problem?

Take it to Autozone, have them test your battery, alternator and starter. (its free)

Also are you getting a clicking noise under the dash from inside the car?

Has the car or battery been sitting for along time?

Did you leave anytihng on that could have drained the battery?

When it works, do you have problems with your lights dimming and stereo getting quieter when idling at a red light. If so, do they get brighter when you rev it up?

Also it helps if you say what model and tranny you have. Maybe not in this post specifically, but the more info the better when you want help on the internet. Welcome to AF.

I was getting the clicking before but not anymore. Is there anyway I can test the battery, starter, and alternator myself because I can't get the car anywhere now.

if you have multimeter (voltmeter) you can test output of the battery.

ur best bet is to remove the battery, have a friend drive you + battery to autozone, have them test it (yes, its free). they'll let you know if it good or not. if good, it may need to be recharged. (recharging takes about 1 hr).

if it didnt start when jumped, i would lean towards starter. Does it turn over? Or does it just 'click'? If it doesent even turn over when jumped, its almost definetely your starter. Try this: Leave the car in gear (DRIVE if its an Auto), and rock it front to back a few times by pushing it. Then try and start it again.

If your volt meter thing is below 12, your alternator is almost def. gone. But this sounds more like a starter problem.

Honestly... This happened to me when i first got my car... It wouldnt jump, and Autozone said the battery was good... but in an attempt to not have to change the alternator I got a new battery anyway... It worked... so I'm not sure how much you can trust the autozone battery tester... anyway.. thats how it went for me!