Advice appreciated on non starting car

[londoner2001]

My car suddenly decided not to start yesterday, absolutely no ticking over of engine just clicking noise and lots of flashing on dashboard when turning key. Thinking this may be a starter motor issue, is this sort of thing easy for a travelling mechanic to fix or would it need to be towed to a garage first?

 

[gaz_l]

Could be a battery issue - when they get older the plates can start to break down, causing internal shorts. Then what happens is that you can't pull the cranking current out of it, and the voltage collapses as the current rises. This could explain why you've got issues with the dash lights when you turn the key.

I dare say a travelling mechanic will have a battery tester, and it's a lot easier to fit a new battery than a starter motor..

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[nick mercedes]

My car suddenly decided not to start yesterday, absolutely no ticking over of engine just clicking noise and lots of flashing on dashboard when turning key. Thinking this may be a starter motor issue, is this sort of thing easy for a travelling mechanic to fix or would it need to be towed to a garage first?

What sort of car is it?

 

[londoner2001]

This one is Audi A6 1.9tdi 2004, interestingly few days before this happened some water leaked into the passenger footwell which is same side that the battery is in engine bay. Thanks Gaz, looks like I'll have to go with travelling mechanic and if he can fix it then get it up for sale. Annoyingly it's just had tax and MOT a week ago!

 

[Ted]

Sounds like battery - flat or faulty. Or a bad battery connection.

Gaz_1 says exactly what i am thinking.