Uh-oh. Your car isn’t able to start, and you hear a clicking noise while trying to turn the ignition. This is a common cause, that requires some troubleshooting and diagnosing on your end.
There are a certain number of probable causes as to why your car won’t start, and they depend on what you hear when you turn the ignition.
The clicking noise can vary from rapid-clicking to a single click, to nothing happening when you turn the ignition. Here are the most common causes of your car not starting due to a clicking noise in your vehicle.
My Car Clicks But Won’t Start—What Does it Mean?
To understand the clicking noise, you first need to know how a typical, modern starting system works. When you turn the key (or push the button) to start the engine, a control module or the ignition switch energizes the starter relay.
Electricity then flows from the battery, through the starter relay, and to the starter solenoid.
Most modern vehicles have the starter solenoid mounted directly on top of the starter. Once the solenoid is energized, it moves a plunger that forces the starter motor’s pinion gear to engage the engine’s flywheel (or flexplate).
At the same time, the plunger pushes a disc against a set of contacts, allowing the battery current to flow through the solenoid to the starter. As a result, the starter motor cranks the engine to get it going.
So what does it mean if your car clicks but won’t start? If you hear a clicking noise (but nothing else) when trying to start your car, that means the starter solenoid or relay contacts are operating, but the starter isn’t cranking the engine. The click may be a rapid chattering sound or it may just be one or two audible clicks.
Rapid Clicking vs Single Click: When Trying to Start Car
What type of clicking sound you hear can help determine where to start diagnosing your vehicle problem. Do you hear rapid clicking or just one click?
Rapid Clicking: You Could Have an Electrical Problem
A rapid clicking noise when trying to start your car could mean there’s something wrong with the electrical system. Perhaps you have a dead battery, or your alternator (which charges the battery) isn’t working correctly.
If the source of the clicking is electrical, the starter (a small motor that gets the engine running) won’t receive enough juice from the battery to fully engage. Instead, it rapidly turns on and off without spinning the engine and produces a clicking noise.
Single Click: You Could Have a Starter Problem
Unlike an electrical problem, an issue with the starter or starter relay (a switch-like device that transmits power to the starter) will trigger a single loud clicking sound rather than rapid clicking sounds. A very, very dead battery can also result in one faint clicking sound.
If you can jumpstart your car, drive to your nearest repair shop to get the problem diagnosed. If your engine doesn’t turn over despite a jumpstart, you’ll probably need to arrange for a tow to have your vehicle diagnosed by a qualified technician.
4 Common Reasons Your Car Clicks But Won’t Start
- Dead or Dying Battery
- Corroded or Loose Battery Terminals
- Malfunctioning Alternator
- Faulty Starter
A few different problems can cause your car to click but not start. We’ll break down four of the most common problems to help you diagnose the issue and get your vehicle back on the road.
#1. Dead or Dying Battery.
If your car has a drained or bad battery, you might hear a rapid clicking noise when you try to turn it on.
Turn your headlights and interior lights off, or use the auto setting if your car includes it, when you park your car to help prevent the battery from draining. Also, keep jumper cables in your trunk, just in case.
This could speed up the process if you need to ask a trusty roommate or neighbor, to help jump your car. Stowing a portable jump starter in your trunk, and understanding how to use it, could also give you some independence in a pinch.
Even if a jumpstart gets your dead battery going again, there could be underlying issues causing the clicking noise in the first place. Get it checked out by a qualified professional.
Good preventative care is also key. Include a battery performance test as part of your car’s regular maintenance schedule, especially when it will be exposed to extreme temperatures in the winter or summer.
A battery test, available for free at most auto parts stores, could help identify if the battery itself is causing the clicking noise (and if it’s time to replace the battery entirely).
Do you know if your battery is under warranty? If so, you might be able to find the warranty details on the battery’s label. Keep track of how long it will be under warranty, what it covers, and what maintenance schedule you’ll need to follow to keep it valid.
#2. Corrosion, cables, and connectors.
A rapid clicking noise could also be indirectly related to the battery, through its connections, even if the battery itself is properly charged.
Sometimes clamps for the battery cables loosen their grip because of the vibrations caused by driving, for example, or corrosion builds up on the battery terminals.
Either of these problems could lead to a bad connection to the battery and hinder you from starting your car (and causing further damage if you keep trying to start or drive it).
If a certified technician diagnoses this as the problem, having them ensure that the connections are secure and clean could get you safely back on the road in no time.
#3. Alternator
If the battery and its connections look good to go, but you’re still pulling your hair out over a rapid clicking noise, the issue could be the car’s alternator. This car part is essentially a charging system for the battery, and for other electrical components of your car.
When your car has a bad alternator, or a low-functioning one, it won’t give your battery the boost it needs to start properly.
Get your car’s alternator tested periodically by a professional to make sure it’s functioning. Failing to get this checked and fixed early could be the demise of your car’s battery power level.
#4. Starter motor
Sometimes the battery isn’t causing the problem. A good indication that the issue is related to something else altogether is if you hear a single loud click, instead of rapid clicking, when you try to start your car.
A single loud click could mean that there are troubles with the starter motor or the starter solenoid—which together act like a crank to help get your car’s engine going—or more specifically from a failing or bad starter relay that’s not sending enough electric current from the battery to the starter motor.