Car battery, alternator, voltage regulator or PCM : Charging system diagnosis. LOOK HERE FIRST

       C - "I think i need a fuel pump..."

       Me... "What sound does it make when you turn the key? Can you hear the fuel pump?"

       C - " kind of a buzzing clacking noise... bclclclclclccc. "

       Me... "that sounds like the fast buzz at the start solenoid - in my mind you probably have good voltage and you need to clean your battery posts. Do you have a DVM or other multimeter?"

       C - " No. "

There is honestly a 90% chance if your car doesn't turn over or start nicely, that the issue is not a bad alternator, a bad starter, a bad battery or a bad PCM.. Chances are really good that your battery posts are dirty - improperly maintained and causing charging system problems.

Buy a $5 battery cleaning brush, a $2-3 tube of petroleum jelly (Mark it for battery service so it's not used creatively elsewhere) and the red and green ( or red and black ) felt washers (I call them battery post cozies.)

To keep your battery post cleaning brush in top shape do one thing - turn it clockwise only.. ever.. if you turn it back and forth you will break the bristles off.. I don't care what you do - it's your $5.

Remove the battery terminal clamps. For most vehicles you disconnect the negative post first and reconnect the negative post last. Some vehicles are 'positive earth' - so you handle these by disconnecting the positive post first and reconnecting the positive post last.

If you don't know how your battery is installed just follow the cables, one will connect to the body, frame and or engine block. That's the one that you disconnect first. You disconnect that one because it won't complete a short circuit to the body (or engine). If you go after the wrong post first you can literally weld a wrench to the car body.

Google the instructions on cleaning battery posts with a brush.

Clean your Battery Posts.

They should be clean to 'Bright metal'; not black, not yellow and fuzzy, not dull grey.. Bright - like silver glitter pen or aluminum foil. if it doesn't look bright and metallic - keep going.

Grease your felt washers put the red one on the + post, grease the battery posts and and reconnect the battery terminal clamp (positive first unless otherwise determined). Tighten them with hand tools. tight.. If they move at all by hand - after you tighten them - they are not tight.

Working for a retailer I sell about $1000-1500 a month in starters, batteries and alternators, and when the 'core return' comes back I try to test them. Most cores are perfect because most retail customers do not apply diagnostic procedures. If you would like to apply diagnostic procedures buy a $10 DVM and save yourself $100-$300 worth (Up to about $1000 worth) of bad guessing - I'm not kidding. There's a difference between a guess, an educated guess and measuring tool.

Clean the thing, then start it (jump start it if necessary), then measure the things.
There is a diagnostic path - I will walk through this in another post.

I might even add pictures to this post later - BUT LOOK Here first.