Fetch and the Art of Car Maintenance

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fetcheveryone Jan 2019 10:51am, 2 Jan 2019 20,716 posts	0 fetcheveryone Hello Katie’s car won’t start. My first thought is that it’s battery related. I’ve put a voltmeter on the terminals and tried starting the engine. The voltage drops to about 9.2V. Does that sound low enough to indicate the battery isn’t currently capable? At rest it’s showing about 12.3V.
Diogenes Jan 2019 10:56am, 2 Jan 2019 33,477 posts	0 Diogenes Is the engine turning at all?
fetcheveryone Jan 2019 11:06am, 2 Jan 2019 20,717 posts	0 fetcheveryone Yes, somewhat
bigleggy Jan 2019 11:09am, 2 Jan 2019 6,266 posts	0 bigleggy My money is on the battery. If the weather is cold in your neck of the woods. Had this happen to me a few years back. Car turned over but wouldn't start. RAC fitted a new battery.
lammo Jan 2019 11:09am, 2 Jan 2019 9,511 posts	0 lammo AA man tells me batteries generally have a life of about 5 years, if that helps...
Diogenes Jan 2019 11:18am, 2 Jan 2019 33,479 posts	0 Diogenes I’ve no idea about necessary voltage levels, but the battery is always the most likely suspect.
fetcheveryone Jan 2019 11:19am, 2 Jan 2019 20,718 posts	0 fetcheveryone Thanks all. I've got hold of some jump leads from the man down the road (having borrowed a multimeter from the man across the road). Just waiting for the man next door to come home with his car, and we'll try a jump start
bigleggy Jan 2019 11:22am, 2 Jan 2019 6,267 posts	0 bigleggy Have you tried jump starting it by pushing it down the road ?
lammo Jan 2019 11:25am, 2 Jan 2019 9,512 posts	0 lammo Good training if nothing else
jdarun Jan 2019 11:43am, 2 Jan 2019 3,537 posts	0 jdarun Battery. 12.3 at rest is not a good sign. Plus, it's always the battery. Just possibly, it's also the alternator or other fault. But even then, the battery is knackered by the time you discover this