sorry if this is a dumb question but im clueless. my wife has a 90 dodge dakota and everytime i try to start it, it just makes clicking sounds. the battery is dead, radio doesnt work and lights dont work. i tried to jump it but that did nothing except make the radio and lights work, and it still just makes a clicking sound when i turn it over.

 

are your connections clean on the battery? They need to be shiny and clean and tight to work right.

Sounds like just not enough juice in the battery.. try making a new ground from the battery to the engine, maybe your grounds are bad..Dodge are known to have electrical problems..

 

could it be the starter? someone i work with told me that the clicking sound means the starter has gone bad.

 

didnt you say the battery is dead? Put in a good battery and try, dont just jump it. The clicking is the solenoid working. Usually if the battery has some juice, but not enough.. it'll click the solenoid still, but not have enough to turn the starter. Fiddle around with the jumper cables if you still need to use them, make sure they have a very good connection. Sometimes if the battery is dead enough, you cant jump it. Let it charge for a bit too before you start it.. make sure to rev the motor good on the charging vehicle.

It could be the starter... but if you know you have battery problems, i'd start there.

I'd switch batteries and make sure the terminals are clean and tight first

 

you can take the battery to like autozone and they will charge it for you for free (it takes a while) and if it doesnt charge they will happily sell you a new one.

 

thanks for the help guys. im gonna pull the battery out of my car and put it in the truck and see what happens.

 

i put my batter in her truck, made sure it was hooked up right. saw a couple sparks, now my batter is dead????? WFT happened?

 

what makes you say its dead? What happened when you turned the key?

 

i put the battery out of my car in her truck and tried to start it. got the clicking sound and some sparks. put the battery back in my car, my car wont start.

 

I would go ahead and say the starter and/or solenoid is toast. Its causing a dead short when it clicks. Did you get a charge back in the battery and it works fine in the car? Hope we didnt hurt it!

Id change the starter next.. anyone else agree?

Did it just do this one day? or was some work done on it and then this happened?

What engine is in the Dakota?