1998 Toyota Corolla

SHRRBMB

MEMBER
1998 TOYOTA COROLLA
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
260,000 MILES

Recently my car would not start after a very cold night. When trying to boost it oil started pouring out of it, finally got it started but after shuting it off and removing the key the car was still running. Now the car will not start at all and makes a weird ticking sound when I put the key in the ignition. PLEASE HELP. What could these problems be !

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 AT 7:21 PM

3 Replies

MMPRINCE4000

MECHANIC
8,548 POSTS

So your car needed a jump, did you connect the cables from the doner battery in correct polarity? (+ To+ and - to -)?

Where was the oil coming from? Sounds like you shorted something out. The ticking sounds like a relay that has failed.

If you reversed polarity you could have shorted many things, fuseable links, fuses, relays etc.

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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 AT 9:03 AM

SHRRBMB

MEMBER
1 POST

Yes we did have the cables connected correctly. No more oil troubles thank god. Garage did an oil change and checked everything out there; however there is still an electrical problem somewhere. The problem drains the battery when the car is sitting for a while, but all electrical components seem to be working fine when the car is running. Still makes the weird sound sometimes when opening car door. Could it be something in the door that is draining the battery?

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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 AT 8:51 AM

MMPRINCE4000

MECHANIC
8,548 POSTS

Hook up a multimeter in most sensitive mode (DC volts), watch voltage and pull fuses one at a time until you find the circuit drain.

Professional shops use an "Amp Clamp" that measures amp drain in hundredths of an amp.

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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 AT 8:56 AM