When turning the ignition I hear one click but the car won't start at all. No cranks, all lights and AC go on as if it is
normal with no dimming or hesitation. It's an automatic, tried turning the steering wheel, shifted gears to drive-neutral etc. The battery seems fine--was replaced about 6 months ago.

What could it be? The car has almost 145,000 miles.

starter solenoid/motor?
crank sensor?
ignition switch?

 

First thing is to see what the battery voltage is at rest and when cranking.

crank sensor would not be a issue and only comes to play after the motor is cranking, yours is not cranking.

If you hear the starter click, the ignition switch did it's job by getting the starter solenoid to engage.

 

Thanks healthservices, good possibility of a bad starter motor? Will measure the battery tonight but from many experiences of low/bad battery it's unlikely the source.
Crank sensor or maybe I'm using incorrect term....is there a specific sensor that maybe goes bad--detects if gear is properly in park? But then if that is the case, ignition won't turn?

 

sounds like a bad starter to me.

 

My money is on the battery. If the electrical system senses that the battery is weak, everything else in your car will work but it won't crank your starter.

 

Battery measured ~12.05 volts at beginning and drops to ~11.70 when trying to start the car. That is the measurements after trying to start the car a couple dozen times with HID angel eyes courtesy light turning on. I guess a battery over 12 volts is considered good. At ~11.7v when trying to start the car--is that normal?

 

Because it only drops to 11.7 I would be more inclined to think it is the starter. If you can, tap the starter with a hammer a couple times and try it again.

 

Okay...take a hammer and bang on the starter? Sounds like something I would enjoy doing now.

So where exactly is the starter? Is it somewhere below/behind the engine with so many things in the way?

 

The starter motor can be found underneath the car near the back of the engine - you should see a rather large wire running to it from the battery. Be careful with the wire since its live if the battery is connected.

You can rule out the battery by trying to jumpstart the car. A bad starter/solenoid won't work either way so if the car does start then the battery needs to be replaced.

 

Thank you guys....just to be 100 percent sure, I bought a jumper cable and it started the car! I would have never guessed the battery, it cranked so crisp as if notthing had happend. Measured the battery with engine running, the voltages vary between 14.1 to 14.4. Possibility of bad alternator? Or defective battery?

The oem battery(registered) is only about 6 months old. Previously, an oem battery lasted about 1 year. But I assume short life due to not registering the battery. And before that the oem that came with car lasted a good 4-5 years. Will keep everyone posted on the outcome.