98 camry not starting

[rubs]

Hi,

Car was running fine till yesterday and today when i start to drive it went 200m and then just suddenly died so i towed it back to home and AAA guy told me that battery is fine since all lights etc are working but engine is not cranking so when i try to start the car it do click click click but no power.

Last week i did the tuning and replaced the spark plugs, air filter, coolant flush etc. I was planning to do timing belt and water pump since mechanic told me that water pump is making some noise but since there is no leak I can drive for sometime so I am not sure this is related or not.

I still have the original alternator and starter in the car and battery was replaced 2 years ago and I have 182k miles on the car.

What can be the possible issue?

Thanks
--rubs

[Brian R.]

Dying while driving and then not getting power from your starter sounds very much like either a dead battery (most likely) or a dead altenator (which may have also killed your battery). Your starter needs many times more current than your lights. Get your batttery and alternator tested.

[rubs]

I just checked that and the noise when starting the car is more like squirrel and not click-click . Also my wife just told me that for last 3 days when starting the car in morning she can see the battery light(+-) on for few min before going away if this can give us any idea.

[somick]

Try to jump start it. If it starts - this is your charging system like Brian pointed out.

Sam

[rubs]

That is why I called AAA guy to try to jump start but that guy don't even tried and told me that it is not going to help since engine is not cranking.

[RIP]

Step one: Cancel your AAA membership! At face value at least, that idiot needs another line of work! Make sure your battery connections are clean and tight.

Two: Get to an auto parts store meaning Autozone, Pepboys, Advanced Auto Parts and buy a set of jumper cables ($20). While there ask them how to use them. They can print out the procedure from their website for you.

Three: Now do AAA's job and jump start your car. When it starts let it run a good 15 minutes then head back to that parts store and have them charge and load test the battery. You will likely need a new one. If the battery doesn't fix it they can help you troubleshoot.

[somick]

Originally Posted by RIP

Step one: Cancel your AAA membership! At face value at least, that idiot needs another line of work! Make sure your battery connections are clean and tight.

AAA hires independent contractors. So this is not AAA's fault. I would just file a complaint and hope that this idiot will loose his contract with AAA.

Originally Posted by RIP

Two: Get to an auto parts store meaning Autozone, Pepboys, Advanced Auto Parts and buy a set of jumper cables ($20). While there ask them how to use them. They can print out the procedure from their website for you.

My son wated for 20 minuits at San Jose's Pep Boys and they told him that they do not do this... Go figure. But that could be only that store.

Originally Posted by RIP

Three: Now do AAA's job and jump start your car. When it starts let it run a good 15 minutes then head back to that parts store and have them charge and load test the battery. You will likely need a new one. If the battery doesn't fix it they can help you troubleshoot.

Be prepared to wait there for at least an hour: that is how long will the fast charger take to charge your battery.

Sam