Hi guys,

I have just now gone out to my car, got in to fire it up as normal, interior light came on (normal), radio came on (normal), dash lights came on (normal), 2nd turn on the key to fire her up, she made the right kind of noise to start with then cut out, I didn't get a full fire up for she died.

Now all I am getting is a fast clicking noise, no effort from the engine what so ever.

I have a 53 Plate 1.8 Focus MP3 Petrol, she had a new battery in October last year so I doubt it's that, my dad has just had me rocking it back and forward in gear to try and release the starter motor or something, that didn't work anyway

My husband will be home about 7ish tonight so can't really test any major technical suggestions (should anybody make some) until then.

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

I love my car :D or did :(

Bump start did the trick for now, no blown fuses, battery only 4 months old, only had the car since Oct 14 so I don't know it's history, thanks for the suggestions so far lol

My friends mk1 focus did the same (fast clicking noise) when it was left standing a while, it turned it was the battery - and was fine after getting a new battery.

Really, the battery is new, is there something in the car that could be doing nasty things to these batteries????

Could be the alternator isn't charging your battery, and this has resulted in it going flat. If you can I would test the battery. If it's flat, then as the battery is new,I would be guessing it is not being charged.

To test the battery put voltage meter on the terminals with car off, this should read 12.5, 12.7 volts, if you can get the car started do the same test again this should read 14.5 - 14.7 ish volts if you aren't getting the 14.5,14.7 volts then it's the alternator is knackered which has caused your battery to die

I tested 10.5 volts when my alternator died.

Ok thanks, will give it a go I hate alternators, I had to replace it twice when I had my Astra :(

The car needed bump starting again this morning, my husband has taken it to work to give it a longer run, if he still has issues with it today we will do them battery checks tonight.

Sounds obvious, but are the battery terminal connections tight ?

Yeah I am sending my husband a link to this so he can see your suggestions, thanks guys and nice looking Mondeo Mark :)

Thanx Lynsey :)

Right we have some results, after a quick bump start yesterday morning the car has run fine since, fired up no problem, what the hell?????

Right readings - Ignition Off 12.8v

Engine at Idle 14.3v

I have no idea what any of that means lol :)

Watch this space . . .

What does it mean Mark man??????

Am I likely to need a new alternator???? :D

The voltage readings seem ok, so double check the battery connections are clean and tight. Could be a sticky starter motor also, had this a couple of times with my old Mk1 Focus - I took mine off, sprayed a little brake cleaner in it, left it an hour for it to evaporate then squirted a little WD40 in there, was fine after that.

Colder weather will make cars do strange things!

Ok Ade will look at doing that this weekend, thought we were going to have a blip this morning but she thought better of it and fired up :)

It does seem that the alternator is charging from the voltage you measured, you did mention that you have a new battery, so that's unlikely to be the root cause, although an alternator will rarely charge a flat battery, so maybe invest in a battery charger ?

How many miles is the car doing on a daily basis ?

Are the battery terminals tight ?

Is there anything left on in the car whilst it isn't being used that may be draining the battery voltage ?

My car had been sat for 3 days while I was poorly and it normally only does about 20 miles a day.

It has been sat unused for longer than that before and fired up ok so I don't know with this, maybe it was just a flat battery, terminals seem to be ok, perhaps it was just telling me to go back to bed lol :D

Or maybe it was protesting at being hit last week by a dozy mare on the industrial estate where I work, can you believe for a small dent on the wheel arch, the insurance damage assessment garage have quoted her insurance company £1300 to put the damage right, resulting in my car now being uneconomical to repair grrrrrrrrr

And NO Mark, I did not leave anything switched on in the car while it was sat stationary :D

It's a mystery then - other than low-ish mileage @ 20 miles a day driven ( especially in the winter ) . . & although you naturally deny it I suspect the new fangled in - car 12v hairdryer was left on . . . ! :)

Was the non start issue & the prang linked in any way ?

Hahahahaha your a funny one aren't you :D

It started playing up after the bump though I wouldn't have thought it is related, or could it be, it is on the same side as the battery hmmmmmmmm.

I had no trouble this morning, fired up fine, finished work at 3.30pm and not a sausage from the engine, had to get jumped from one of our workshop lads with a big engine

It's booked in at the garage tomorrow to get hooked up to some magic machine before I do a Basil Fawlty number on it lol

When it doesn't start does the starter motor turn the engine over or is it just dead when turning the key ?

All I get is just a fast ticking/clicking noise with a couple of lights on the dash, no effort from the engine at all, trying to get some pics of the bump to upload from my phone, it really is nothing you would expect to cause an issue, does sound electrical but as you can imagine I am no expert lol :)

It's likely be either a faulty / flat battery / loose battery connections ( inc' -ve to car body, or failing starter motor or it's wiring connections ( check these ) or a faulty alternator or it's connections, or a wiring issue affecting any or all of these 3 main potential culprits.