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Cars only break down in the rain

Published over 3 years ago

My friend came into school yesterday asking if anyone had jumper cables, she couldn't get her car to start. I always keep them in my car, just in case, so we went outside to jump her car. Mind you her car is parallel parked in the street. I have to pull my car up next to her in the middle of the road, on a rainy day. I was nervous, but I kept my flashers on, and kept my eye on the road from a safe distance. Luckily no cars or people were harmed in the attempt to jump this car. We got all the cables hooked up - black on negative and red to positive, and nothing happens, we tried for a while until she realized lights were still working, which means it wasn't the battery.

With the hood open I could see something turning when she turned the key, but the engine wouldn't even turn over. I wonder if that would make the starter the root cause of the problem? I believe she couldn't get it towed to the local Midas until today, so I'm not sure what went wrong yet.

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Comments


Albert says:

So did it make any noise when she turned the key? If there is a "spinning" noise but the engine doesn't turn, then it could be the battery has a little juice, but not enough to engage the starter.


rae says:

No, the car made no noises when she turned the key.


Albert says:

I wonder what it was that you saw turning in the engine bay... maybe the fan?


Well... says:

Well Timmy...did you forget that you don't put both on the terminals but rather one to GROUND?



You might have killed her battery.

Albert says:

Well - I disagree - the battery is connected to the ground so what difference does it make?


rae says:

I don't think it was a fan turning. It had to be connected to the key, because it only moved when she turned the key.



We tried the jumpers both ways. Connected to the battery, and connected to the ground. Neither way made a difference.

UPDATE: Her boyfriend looked at the car over the weekend. The starter was broken. He was able to fix it, and avoid a trip to the shop.