It takes approximately 9.5 volts to start a car. If you hear a clicking sound, your battery is not putting out enough voltage. The clicking sound you are hearing is the starter solenoid in your starter. It is not receiving sufficient power from your battery to engage your flywheel to start your car. Your radio, headlights, etc., will all work, so you will think that your problem is your starter. NOT SO. Either you have a weak battery which need charging, or the most likely culprit are your battery cables. Most people will look at their cables and if they LOOK clean, and don't see any white corrosion build up on the terminals, they believe the battery terminals are making a good contact. Once again - NOT SO. Those terminals and cables are lead. Lead is a shiny metal. Scrap the top of a battery terminal and it will shine. That darkness on the terminal you scraped off is also present between you battery terminal and cable, and will prevent a good contact. All it needs is to cause a drop in voltage to your starter and you will hear a clicking sound from the starter. The clicking noise is the solenoid in your starter, so most people believe you need a new starter. In my 55 years of working on cars, about 80% of the time the problem is your battery cables. They may look clean, but it doesn't take much to drop the voltage going to your starter, which will also cause the clicking noise. So before you run out and purchase a starter, clean those terminals.

Get a good battery terminal and cable cleaner at your auto parts store. The type with the wires inside that will really make those terminals and cables shine. Once you have cleaned them, your battery will put out max voltage. If you still hear the clicking sound, take your battery to an auto parts store and they will check it. It may not be holding a charge or you may have a dead cell. However, DO NOT try and clean your battery terminals with Baking Soda or Coca Cola. I've worked on cars for over 55 years and all that does is clean the OUTSIDE of the terminals - NOT the connection between the cable and terminal.

So many people run out and buy a new starter or battery when it is really the connection itself.

However, it could be your battery.

A low battery that makes the starter "click" a few times doesn't have enough "juice" in it to turn the starter over to turn the flywheel over to turn the crankshaft over to make the engine start.

A simple way to tell if the battery is at fault is to turn the headlights on and turn the ignition switch to start.

If the lights go out, then the battery is probably at fault.

Course, you'll have to run real fast after you hit the start position in order to see if the lights go out...or have someone out there watching for you.:-)

Get in the car and leave the door open. Turn the key to on and look up at your dome light.

Turn the key to start. If the dome light doesn't dim or flicker, then the starting circuit is open. The 12 volts isn't going from the battery, through the IGN switch, through the Neutral safety switch, to the starter solenoid. This could be a bad fuse or neutral switch.

If there is a flicker or dimming, the system is sending voltage to the starter solenoid, but it hasn't enough power to engage the solenoid, or you would hear at least a click.

Beofre you go out and have the starter motor changed, you had better do a little more homework.

Easy. Either A battery is dead or b have someone hit the starter with a hammer while you hold they key forward and it will start. Since your car doesnt even turn over that means your starter went out.

If in case your battery is still under warranty, replace it with the new one. Then that the best starting point to diagnose the problem. If start like it was before your problem is solve.

Have a pal place his quit the exhaust as you crank and spot if he feels air pushing out, and if purely slightly if he feels it for a 2d when you end. i'm suspecting exhaust blockage, probably the catalytic converter.

If it's a fairly new battery, you're probably needing a new starter motor. Maybe give it a couple whacks if you really need to get somewhere, then replace the thing.