Lights come on but the car will not start or turn over?

2008 DODGE AVENGER
167,000 MILES • 2.4L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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JAYJOHNSON0318
  • MEMBER
  • 40 POSTS
My car won't start or turn over, but all the lights come on. It won't crank but when I try and turn the key and crank it, it starts clicking by the engine. I'm going to send a video.
Mar 1, 2024 at 8:10 AM
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STEVE W.
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 15,304 POSTS
That sounds like one of two problems. A the battery is very low in charge, it is enough to light the lights but not enough to turn the higher current demands of the starter. Or B the common issue with many Chryslers and it had bad connections from the battery to the vehicle. The common ones being ground side failures.
The battery on that car is annoying to access, You need to jack up the left front, remove the tire and then an access panel in the front of the wheel well. The battery is tucked into the hole behind the cover.

This is a great video of the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4piizWfcFYU

The only thing I'll add is that before you remove the battery clamps underneath, go to the negative battery connection under the hood and unbolt it and secure it (there is a hole in the rubber cover that you can slip over the stud that you remove it from)
Then remove the battery.
Reverse the process to install it. Your option on whether you take the battery in to be tested first or if you just replace it, If it's more than about 5 years old I would opt for replacement simply because of the age and the fact that you already have it out.
Before you put the battery back in, I would clean the clamps and then install the battery, then apply some grease or terminal spray just to keep corrosion away.
Mar 1, 2024 at 10:37 AM
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