Car starts first time always, then today dead

A

Arabella

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My 99 Toyota has always started first time. A few days ago it needed a second turn of the ignition. Today not a kick out of it. Not even the light as you open the door. Any ideas, anyone?
 
Your battery is dead, so you will probably need to replace the battery and / or the alternator.
 
my first guess would be battery, especially if interior light does not come on. Battery could be drained by leaving something on, in which case an overnight charge might see you right... or the battery could have just come to the end of it's life without any warning as they often do, more likely to occur as temperatures drop.

Going on from that but less likely would be failure of charging system component, sometimes indicated by red battery light staying on whilst driving
 
The cold weather will tend to finish a battery The recent snap may have been a final nail in the coffin of a struggling battery.

Get a new battery then get someone to see if the alternator is charging it. Simply put a volt meter on the battery with the engine off I would exect to see 12 + volts. The start the engine the voltage should go up to 13.5 + volts to charge the battery.
 
Thanks for the replies folks. As far as I remember I bought a new battery about a year ago :confused:. Could a battery fail that quickly?
 
The light that shows a door is not shut has been malfunctioning for eighteen months and stays on most of the time. Or rather, stayed on.
 
Depending on the make of car, that may mean that the bootlight, glove-box light, puddle-lights or interior lights remain on when the ignition is off, draining the battery.
 
Arabella said:
The light that shows a door is not shut has been malfunctioning for eighteen months and stays on most of the time. Or rather, stayed on.
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Maybe someone changed it to 'ON' rather than 'DOOR'? Strange you didnt get this checked over the 18 months - was the car serviced in that time? My battery was dead as a doornail from that a few months ago after only leaving it on for a few hours....

Anyway, you should get AA out to jump start it, then drive around for about 40mins to try to charge it up. If you turn it off and it wont start then you need a new battery.
 
FLANDERS` said:
Maybe someone changed it to 'ON' rather than 'DOOR'? Strange you didnt get this checked over the 18 months - was the car serviced in that time?
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Sorry, I may have described this incorrectly. It is the little red (door) light in the dash that stays on.
 
Sounds like Battery or Alternator has a fault.Could be just a lose wire connection on either.Battery should not go after a year but possible you were unlucky and got a faulty one!
If you're not already an AA member then the cheaper option is to get a friends car to help start with Jump Leads which are not expensive.
If problem reoccurs then best to take to a garage and get battery checked.
 
Are your connections to battery terminals tight especially the earth
 
Local garage man came with power pack and all is OK :). He's going to do a check tomorrow morning.
 
Check that the boot light is not waiting on.I know tat in the Corolla Hatchback unless you bang down the bootlid tight the light waits on.
 
Thanks everyone. As well as the light that shows a door is not fully closed, another little green one that points towards the ignition before starting used also stay on :eek:. Everything is now fixed. If I was to give Rosettes I guess Complainer would be the one with everyone else 'highly recommended'. I am surrounded by geniuses and legends. :)
 
can i ask how much it cost to get someone to fix it? have same prob myself.
 
Very cheap shola. Just buy a rachet wrench (In my case No. 9) and disconnect the live terminal after parking up for the evening :). This takes less than a minute. Will be changing car in Feb and may then get it fixed by an auto electrician if it is worth it. Hope this helps.
 
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