joey3002

I am hoping someone can point me in a direction.
Its the wifes car (2006 Scion xA) so my explanation are her words..

This has happened 3 times each time a little different
1st time,
Car was parked all night in the garage. When she went to start the car, it made clicking sounds and then all the lights came on but didnt start. It took like 4 times to start, each time it made the clicking sounds and didnt start. 5th time, it fired right up.

2nd time,
Drove to pick kid up from school, parked the car and turned it off. When she went to start it, it started up but all the lights came on and the window was very slow going down. It took about 3 minutes for the lights to go off but it was driving.

3rd time,
Drove to pick kid up from school, parked the car and turned it off. When she went to start it, it started up but all the lights came on and this time the radio didnt come on but was running.

I have looked and no codes have been thrown. I put a voltmeter on the battery, it was at a steady 12v with the car off. With the car on, the battery went to about 14v. I did test the headlights today, and with the car running and the lights on, if I push the window button up or down, the headlights dim for a half of second.

I am not sure if its the starter, battery, alternator or... something else.

Please give some tips I am tired of hearing the story..

thanks all.

SatsumaxA

Time for new battery? Six years is extraordinary for automotive battery!!!
Also may be dirty battery contacts, causes clicking then good start, also results in iffy charging - but a bad battery tends to be very tempramental and will also act the same. Autozone can check cranking amps and such on battery at no charge. Would start with cleaning battery contacts (posts and clamps). Dead battery will default to alternator voltage for running engine but not lights, windows, radio etc... sounds like battery needs replacing or serious problem with connections.
Good luck, I am on my 2nd battery since 2004.

joey3002

I will take it to Autozone to have them test it.. I appreciate the feedback. I will check the terminals as well tonight.

thanks again

onyxxtreme

when you test V, while the car is running, should be around 14-ish V
when you turn off the car, you should see the V drop to 12.6
if you watch it for a while and it drops below 12.6, battery might need replacing, unless you have something drawing current (usually a short)
if you see the battery drop below 12V (like 11.8 or less) definitely needs replacing, if there isnt a current drain.
You can test for a drain by disconnecting the positive lead, and setting your multimeter to A-DC, and touching the positive battery terminal, and positive battery cable, and look at how much A is being drawn. Should be around 10mA or less for a normal car that only uses radio/clock memory power.

Archangel1183

If the battery turns out to be fine, and the contacts are clean, the problem might be the starter. The clicking and it taking a few turns of the key are symptoms of a sticking starter.

xAxAxAxA

Trying looking to see if the voltage drops as the windows roll up and down. I know mine drops significantly...