6 weeks ago, my car 2002 civic would not start. It made this really weird clicking noise..A guy jumped me and then all of a sudden it worked fine. He said the posts needed to be cleaned though, so I had that done. Then, on tuesday, it did the same thing again. I purchased the car used so I have no idea how old the battery is. I went to jump it to get it to canadian tire to get fixed, and it did not need a jump. So I went to canadian tire and they said they should run a test to see if its the starter, alternator, battery..I said dont do the test, just give me a new battery. When I turn my car on, the "maintainence" light flashes for a second, but then disappears. Do you think this is a battery issue or a starter? I fear I may have purchased a new battery for no reason

Thanks for choosing FixYa and welcome. If it is, the car will not crank at all. When you turn the key, nothing will happen. That is the sign for a bad battery, connection, or starter. If your alternator or battery is weak, you should notice dim lights, dim headlights, sluggish horn, ect. If you ever hear a weird noise while you are cranking the car, it is the starter. Check your ignition fuse also. It is called ignition switch. If it goes out, the car will not start. You need to know that since you are experiencing starting issues. Test the battery. Test the alternator. Start the car and take off the hot side battery terminal (red). If your car dies instantly, the alternator is bad. If not, it is something else. Make sure the battery connection is solid, terminal ends are tight and cleaned, and there is no damaged wires. Listen for weird noises while cranking the car. It is a sign for the starter going bad. If it does this again, hit the starter. They are usually located on the front bottom of the engine. Hit it a few times and if it was the cause, it should start a time or two. If it is dieing and a jump fixes it, it is the battery, alternator is weak, or you have a bad connection to the battery. Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

The clicking noise was due to the bad battery. the starter solinoid was not getting enough power to turn it over. try this if possible, engine off at battery should be at least 12.6 volts. start the car and if alternator is ok, it should read 14.2 to 14.7. if not repair alternator. what happens, is the voltage regulator in alt. goes bad and will not supply enough current to battery. good-day !