Car battery died and the ignition key wouldn't come out....

MossRoad · Sep 29, 2015

Soundguy said:
it's 7ys old,a nd decided it ain't doing another season.

I'm 54 years old and contemplating the same thing!

Egon · Sep 30, 2015

zzvyb6 said:
Even if the battery is buried in the wheel well, you have a portal in the engine compartment to jump start the engine. Looks to me like some of you guys have never opened the hood of car newer than 10 years old. Can you guess what that red plastic cover thingy is in the motor compartment ? Are you still putting washer fluid in the radiator overflow bottle and wondering why the wiper spritzers don't work ? And do you know what all that clicking noise is with the motor running, cause it ain't the spark plugs..... ? Yep, I thought so.

My car makes a clicking sound. The dealer doesn't know what it is. Please let me know so it can be fixed.

Soundguy · Sep 30, 2015

MossRoad said:
Hardy har har, Norton.... :laughing:

A guy I work with had a dead Lumina a few weeks ago. The battery is under the windshield washer reservoir. It has points you can get to for jump starting, but 9 times out of 10, battery problems are corroded or loose cables at the battery terminal. Regardless of if you can jump it or not, you can't get to the battery terminals to remove the cables and clean the connections without removing some other hardware from the vehicle.

you have to remember, some 'mechanics' are simply 'symptom' treaters, vs actually figuring out WHY they problem is happening. And if it's not in the book or on the code scanner.. it's a problem.

Buddy of mine was a tank mechanic in the army back in desert storm. He actually enlisted to LEARN ( you know, be TRAINED ) to be a mechanic. He was handy and decently smart and quick with new skills.

After he got out he was a bit miffed... they treated the motor pool pretty much like telemarketers reading a flow chart, and at the end of the flow chart, you simply unbolted a part and bolted a new one on, and kept doing that untill you had a new machine or the problem magically , accidentally got fixed.

He called himself a professional parts changer.

stuckmotor · Sep 30, 2015

Does anyone else remember Chevys with ignitions that had lips on them so you could start the car without the key if you didn't lock the ignition? Maybe I'm imagining it.

Soundguy · Sep 30, 2015

stuckmotor said:
Does anyone else remember Chevys with ignitions that had lips on them so you could start the car without the key if you didn't lock the ignition? Maybe I'm imagining it.

dodge too, if the lock cyl was broke

I started my dodge truck till i sold it that way. you could slip key in or out in any position, and as long as not all the way back you could turn it to anything forward of the accy/lock position. ( IE.. run and start )

Jstpssng · Sep 30, 2015

stuckmotor said:
Does anyone else remember Chevys with ignitions that had lips on them so you could start the car without the key if you didn't lock the ignition? Maybe I'm imagining it.

I don't believe that they planned it that way, it seems like the tumblers would get worn after a while.

I got myself in a snafu with my '81 F100 one day when I couldn't find the key so took off with out them. When I parked it the cylinder locked, and I took the entire steering column apart to disconnect the steering wheel lock.
(I could never understand how the guy from Hollywood can just reach under the dash and start a newer car... you still need the key to disengage the steering and shifter.)

k0ua · Sep 30, 2015

stuckmotor said:
Does anyone else remember Chevys with ignitions that had lips on them so you could start the car without the key if you didn't lock the ignition? Maybe I'm imagining it.

Yes. These were the Briggs and Stratton lock sets. If you did not lock the ignition switch you did not need a key at all to turn them. I think about 1962 or 1964 might have been the last of them. I know when locksets were put on the columns then all of this changed. But I know exactly what you are describing .

Soundguy · Sep 30, 2015

Jstpssng said:
I don't believe that they planned it that way, it seems like the tumblers would get worn after a while.

I got myself in a snafu with my '81 F100 one day when I couldn't find the key so took off with out them. When I parked it the cylinder locked, and I took the entire steering column apart to disconnect the steering wheel lock.
(I could never understand how the guy from Hollywood can just reach under the dash and start a newer car... you still need the key to disengage the steering and shifter.)

speaking of 'hotwiring' in the movies.

you will see the guy with 2 bared wires spliced together, then a third in hand. he will brush the 3rd against the other 2, and you hear the starter chirp.. then he will just twist all 3 together! wrong!

I can see the 2 spliced. IE.. as int he old days.. find hot somewhere.. like the fuse box, then splice that over to the wire to the coil... that gets it ready to run.. then take the wire fromt he start solenoid and just hold it to the other 2 till it starts, then release that 3rd one. tieing it in just menas you are keeping the starter engaged!!

k0ua · Sep 30, 2015

Soundguy said:
speaking of 'hotwiring' in the movies.

you will see the guy with 2 bared wires spliced together, then a third in hand. he will brush the 3rd against the other 2, and you hear the starter chirp.. then he will just twist all 3 together! wrong!

I can see the 2 spliced. IE.. as int he old days.. find hot somewhere.. like the fuse box, then splice that over to the wire to the coil... that gets it ready to run.. then take the wire fromt he start solenoid and just hold it to the other 2 till it starts, then release that 3rd one. tieing it in just menas you are keeping the starter engaged!!

Yep well it is Hollywood. Have you seen much factual gunhandling in most movies? Once in a while, but not much.