Tuning up an old car, having problems

[Kumaru]

Long time no see,

So end of 09 I left for college and left my car in my lil brothers care, but because of a divorce and it being left on the property of a mentally ill parent I only recently got her back. (Estimated time since I personally ran her would be.. 15ish months.). She's been ran once in a while by my bro, but she hasn't by any means been taken care of.

So now I've got her in a garage and 2 more weeks to get her running until my break's over. I just replace the fuel filter, oil/filter, spark plugs, and I've got a couple more things to do.

But what I'm experiencing for my main problem is this: when I turn the key, the car powers up. But when I try to start it, I hear a click and all power dies. Could it be the battery after sitting so long? Cranking at first sounded really strong, but now I get nothing. I replaced the alt shortly before leaving, and the battery was an 08 Everstart Max from Walmart. First time I tried this week she started right up, but after that she wouldn't run, even with a jump.

If I loosen the fuel filter and try there's a layer of gas on top, so I know that works (or tries to). I've got some fuel cleaners to throw in, and a relative added some gas with stabilizer a few months ago so that should be decent enough to run. I don't have anyone here to check for spark right now, it's just me.

Any advice or suggestions are very welcome! I feel bad for leaving my baby alone for so long and I'm trying to learn as much as I can to treat her right.

[deevergote]

The click is most likely due to dirty or loose battery cables. Take a wire brush to the cable connections and the terminals. Make sure the battery is FULLY charged (I've had a battery that would power everything, and crank the engine, but not give enough juice to start the car.)

[Tippey764]

If all the power shuts off after the click then check battery cables. They might be loose or corroded. Thats what both my accords did when they had that problem. Battery might not be good at 15 months of sitting without any sort of charge

[drunken monster]

Take the battery back to Walmart, all of the walmart batteries should have warranties.

[Kumaru]

Yeah, I cleaned the terminals. It could be the cables, they are a little worn, but they haven't let me down yet so I'm not so sure on those.

Yeah the battery will get a good charging tomorrow and see if it's any good; it has a free 3 year replacement with a receipt, but that's long gone so idk if they'd give me a deal or not.

[Custompcguy795]

you could try and jump your cb and see if it runns. Then you will know if it the battorey or not.

[604CB7]

Like everyone else, I would say check that the battery is good... after 15 months I would have doubts if it will kick without either being charged... you could go into any automotive store and get them to check if you wanted and I'm sure that they can tell you if it's good or not... if it's good, check the battery cables and make sure that its not kinked in any of the lines... plus make sure that the connections are solid and secure... after that, I would say maybe check your grounding lines as that might be another thing that could be causing issues... anyways, best of luck

[Kumaru]

Yeah, I tried jumping it before the tuneup with no luck, so I'll take the battery in and get it tested but it sounds like its something electrical somewhere. I hadn't considered grounding wires either.

Thanks guys

[SNOOZE]

You could have a loose wire some where causing a short, which causes the battery to die, its pointless to get a new battery if you still have a short, your gonna go through batteries like a hot knife through butter..... It could also be the alternator, do the alternator test, turn the car on and disconnect the battery, if it stays on alternator is good, but if it turns off when you disconnect it then your alternator is bad which is causing your battery to die cause its not charging it back up, if none of that, then check your grounds....

[remix405]

make sure that when you tighten the cables to the terminals there not lose and to make sure they dont move get a socket put it over the terminals and cables and hit it with a hammer or mallet to get them all the way down...

[Kumaru]

While I'm on the subject of tuning her up, any opinions or information on changing the transmission fluid? I'm at an educational loss for that component.