My daughter is stuck up in tundra-land (Moorhead, MN) where it is only -65 below with wind chill.
The car wouldnt start (I wonder why???), just got clicking. So I had her take the battery out and let it thaw. When she put it back in and tightened the connectors, now there is no clicking or lights. Some one from campus tried to jump car and got sparks when he touched the cables to battery so they assume that battery is good. Any ideas on were to start, or where a "main fuse might be? I'm sure it is frozen solid, but...

 

hello well just out of curiousity if ur jumping a car would the spark maybe from the other car? well i had the same situation when i had my 93 accord which was the battery but if ur battery is good maybe ur fuel line is frozen cuz water can get inside well not water but some condensation, thats why when u try to start the car it just makes the clicking sound which the sparks working but no fuel feeding it. so it wont burn fuel. The best solution if u get ur car running get stp all season water remover which prevent condensation on wet weather. hopefully that help but also maybe bad distributor.

 

Its is most likely the battery, given the temperature. It could also be the starter, but like I said because of the extreme temps it is most likely the battery. When it was clicking, it was because the battery has enough juice to engage the starter solenoid, but not enough to turn the starter motor and start the engine. As for the no clicks and sparks when she re-installed it, she probably put the cables on backwards. I would have her go pick up a battery (if someone is nice enough to give her a ride) and hopefully it will start up right away! As for condensation in the line and frozen gas lines, this is always a possibility in winter months. However, this would have no effect on the motor actually cranking over. It is also unlikely to be the distributor because the motor would still crank over if the distributor was bad. I should note though that the bearing inside the distributor is known to lock up. I'm not sure if this would prevent the motor from cranking over or not. Someone else might be able to chime in on this one. As I said, given the circumstances, the battery is the likely culprit. BTW, if she still has a few more years left at this school (in harsh winter climates) I'd advise her to get a good battery, not a cheap one!

 

Thanks for the advice people. I'm sure it is the battery. Barely anyones care have started yet. As soon as it gets runnning, I'll post what happened...

 

-65 below damn I would just stay inside and wait till it gets warmer. I know her tire pressure must be low.