2002 Toyota Corolla
Asked by Lisa Jun 11, 2016 at 04:54 PM about the 2002 Toyota Corolla
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
When I try to start my 2002 Toyota Corolla I just
hear clicking. I don't think it's the battery
because the radio and lights are working. It is
parked and a shopping mall plaza. Is there a
place that I can tap that will get it to start one
more time so I can bring it home?
5 Answers
Auto_Centric answered 8 years ago
Clicking sound of a bad battery, If its 5 years old ITS done, you can try cleaning and tightening the battery terminals..IF it starts drive directly to an auto parts store have the battery load tested, if its bad they will install the one you buy for no fee in some states but NOT in California. Regards
If you are sure about your battery then it my be the starter
Sterilecuckoo58 answered 7 years ago
If you turn the key and you here "tick tick tick tick..." until you turn it off, you need more juice to the starter. Clean and reset the starter to Battery cable at the Battery no matter how good it looks. Ditto for the battery ground cable to body strap (you can substitute a booster cable from ground terminal to a chassis point) ALWAYS REMEMBER TO CLOSE AND OPEN YOUR CIRCUIT AWAY FROM THE BATTERY. A healthy spark informs you of a health battery. Now try it. Still get Tick tick tick than find your starter and very a good connection of the battery + cable at the starter. There's a skinny wire as well thats sends a little juice too the solenoid. You CAN activate this with a jumper wire from the battery + to the skinny solenoid wire connection - that slams the solenoid closed and and now the starter circuit is made and the engine is supposed to start. very unnerving if your nose is an inch from the bottom of the car ;-) The single click is the characteristic bad solenoid contacts. The solenoid is good and the starter is good but a pair of copper contacts are worn and need replacement. If you can open the solenoid part, they are usually little copper angles. The big washer like thing slams into these contacts when you turn the key - thats the click. If the juice doesn't flow, try again. What rapping on the outside of the starter does is jiggle the big washer thing. A bad starter will also click. Rapping on the outside can rotate the the motor's innards a bit and get a better contact point with the brushes. It might be called a flat spot. Starter replacement solves both of these problems.
My car did the exact same thing ... It once didn't start because a shopping cart hit front of it... My was a bad connection.. or with battery not enough juice for the car to start or starter ..
