Cold start issue

[vinny121]

Hey all,
My 165K Yaris doesn't want to start. When I turn the key, all I get is clicks, the engine doesn't make any noise. The 3yr old battery seems to be fine; it has 12.2 V. I checked OBD for codes and found none. Would anyone have any ideas on how to fix? Thanks for your help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oRswndBVbM

[WeeYari]

If you haven't already done so, clean and reseat the battery terminals.

[alanwagen]

12.2 volts is low. You need to load test the battery. I think it's the battery.

[vinny121]

I remove and cleaned the terminals with a steel wire brush then reseat them with dielectric grease. There was rust on the cabling and the terminal bolts but I think know the connections are now good. When I turned the key on, I noticed that the starter was turning the engine for a few secs but I didn't hear any ignition. Then the second time, I tried key on, I heard just 5 rapid clicks and the engine wont turn over. Thanks for the suggestions.

I connected jumper cables (https://www.hessertoyota.com/blog/how-to-jumpstart-a-toyota-yaris/) to it and then the yaris started fine. I think the issue was the rusty corroded battery terminals not allowing the alternator to charge the battery, I did a test drive and the yaris seemed to function normally. I tested with multi-meter and it has load voltage (ie headlights on) of 8.0V. I'll have to check the battery to see if the battery maintains 12.6 volts (https://www.autozone.com/diy/battery/how-to-test-a-car-battery-with-a-multimeter).

[01lexpl]

Likely battery. When running it should be 13.5V + (or something)
Fully charged, about 12.5V, so you're below that in both cases...

Clean the terminals and spray some anti-corrosion on them. It's a necessity in Canada.
It's rare to have to change terminals on modern cars... like very uncommon, unless you constantly have put in shitty batteries which leak and form green cheese on the terminals that has rotted parts of the battery terminals.