Car won't start

fattymuatty

I have an 07 1.2 Seat Ibiza, it was driving perfectly until Saturday. I drove into town, about 30mins, parked, ran into drop child off to a party came back out to the car 5mins later, tried to start it and nothing. The lights and radio work but there isn't even a click when trying to start it.

I managed to jump start it and get home. Any ideas what the problem could be? I'm seriously skint right now and am probably stupidly hoping it'll be a cheap fix.

Ninthlife

fattymuatty wrote: »

I have an 07 1.2 Seat Ibiza, it was driving perfectly until Saturday. I drove into town, about 30mins, parked, ran into drop child off to a party came back out to the car 5mins later, tried to start it and nothing. The lights and radio work but there isn't even a click when trying to start it.

I managed to jump start it and get home. Any ideas what the problem could be? I'm seriously skint right now and am probably stupidly hoping it'll be a cheap fix.

Battery needs changing

Dakotabigone

Ninthlife wrote: »

Battery needs changing

That is if the alternator needs changing.

Ninthlife

Dakotabigone wrote: »

That is if the alternator needs changing.

I only say that as I had exact same problem last week. Nea battery solved it

dar_cool

Have you got a multimeter to test the cars battery ? If you put it on the poles of the battery and see what voltage is. Should be around 12.7v

Atlantic Dawn

How old is the battery, what kind of daily use does the car get? At this time of the year generally the battery need replacing if it's at the end of its life.

BorneTobyWilde

Could have been a one off, that can happen. If it's starting fine now then there is no problem to solve. Does it start now.. in the morning so on..

fattymuatty

Thanks for the replies. It won't start now no. I only bought the car in Oct so I'm not sure about the battery age. Daily use is driving to work 10mins away and back. I pretty sure it was sat up for a while before I bought it if that makes a difference. I have a multimeter, I'll check that out when I get home from work this evening , thanks.

Isambard

Ninthlife wrote: »

I only say that as I had exact same problem last week. Nea battery solved it

If it's the alternator, a new battery will fix it but not for long. The new battery could end up knackered too. The OP needs to get the alternator checked out to see if it's the problem. Having said that, batteries do sometimes die suddenly this time of year, did you try jump leads?

corks finest

fattymuatty wrote: »

I have an 07 1.2 Seat Ibiza, it was driving perfectly until Saturday. I drove into town, about 30mins, parked, ran into drop child off to a party came back out to the car 5mins later, tried to start it and nothing. The lights and radio work but there isn't even a click when trying to start it.

I managed to jump start it and get home. Any ideas what the problem could be? I'm seriously skint right now and am probably stupidly hoping it'll be a cheap fix.

Besides battery might be starter related,locate it ,give it a few lashes,( gently) rock car in gear forward/ backwards

macnug

You can check the output of the alternator with a multimeter too, can't remember what the output should be, think it's around 14v but Google it to be sure.

BorneTobyWilde

Battery light would be on if it was the alternator, sounds like it need a battery.

Bruthal

Also check the terminals onto battery are tight.

fattymuatty

Thanks for all the suggestions. Turns out it was a damaged connection on the starter.

corks finest

fattymuatty wrote: »

Thanks for all the suggestions. Turns out it was a damaged connection on the starter.

Thought it was something ref the starter alright

w211

You told to us the real problem, not enough driving. 10 minutes driving are too short distance. Buy a electric/hybrid car for so short distance. It does not charge enough the battery and you engine building up the carbon. The muffler collect the water and for untrained eye it looks like your car smoking, but actually it is the water vapor.