I know this is a truck forum, but i have a dodge and need you guys to help me out!

Saturday i drove my car (2001 dodge intrepid se 2.7 v6) to the airport and back and it drove fine, normal. Later that day i hop in my car to go somewhere and when i turned the key the engine just made a click sound (the lights stayed on and everything worked.. dash, radio) So my first thought was its either the battery not cranking out enough or the starter. I pull out the battery and have it tested. Its fine. I spend a few hours trying to figure out where the starter is, then spend a few more trying to take it out and then go and get it tested. It failed its test. Cool so i figured out the problem. WRONG!

I install the new starter last night, hooked up the battery and tried to start the car. When i opened the door, the lights came on and the dash was working (like it should with a good battery, right?) and as soon as i turned the key the engine made 1 click and then all the lights went out and nothing else happened. So i pulled the battery out, checked the hookups (slightly corroded so i tried to clean them up) and then trickle charged the battery for a while. Put it back in this morning and the same thing happens. I'm not sure what else to do. Any ideas?

 

A battery will hold voltage but not CA when it goes bad. You need to load test the battery to make sure it is bad or good. The way it sounds is the battery is bad. Take it and have it load tested at an auto part store or swap with another battery that is good and go from there.

 

good deal.. bought a new battery, new starter.. and now all is working fine. Thanks for the good advice.

kind of a no-brainer but it does help to have the battery cables tight at the terminal.. i was testing with them loose... could have been my problem after installing the new starter.

 

glad you got it figured out