Will not start, just clicking

2007 KIA PICANTO
90,000 MILES • 1.0L
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GWEN SIMPSON
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I have recently changed my battery and alternator and today my car would not start, it is just clicking. When I had my battery replaced my dad put it in the wrong way round to start but did not turn engine on, could this be the cause of my alternator failing and now my starter? please help!
Jan 23, 2018 at 5:43 AM
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KASEKENNY
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If the vehicle is just clicking and not starting then more then likely the battery has failed. Here is a guide that covers this in more detail:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/starter-not-working-repair

Just because the battery is new doesn't mean it is not drained again. We need to load test the battery and then the alternator as well.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

It is possible that something was damaged when you reverse the battery but I suspect the alternator has just failed and it caused the new battery to drain as well.

The test for the alternator will tell us this and if you need to replace it, here is a guide for that:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-an-alternator

Let us know what other info you need and we can go from there. Thanks
Dec 14, 2020 at 12:46 PM