Starter or Battery? Or....

[nimrod.sixty9]

I know this has prob been posted a million times, and I did search but everyone else had dif issues. So please hold on to the stones. Ok, here we go... Every time I try to start, warm or cold engine, the starter clicks and rotates some, sputters, stops, then the car fires up, this is all in one key turn. When the car is actually running the gauge reads between 13 - 14, so I don't belive it would be the alt killing the battery. But the clock does reset when I try to start. Just thought that maybe a hint, but if Im wrong let me know. I will clean all the terminals sometime tomorrow, until then tell me what you guys/gals think it is.

[Larrymhemenez]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

i have the same problem I have no idea i jsut deal with it even kno its sounds horrible when i try to start it I think it might be the starter??

[nimrod.sixty9]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

i have the same problem I have no idea i jsut deal with it even kno its sounds horrible when i try to start it I think it might be the starter??

Well I dont think my starting problem will last much longer, I think it will stop starting altogether!

So I have to get it fixed asap, and Ill let you know what fixes mine. Would be a smart idea to keep up with this thread and maybe I or someone else will solve your problem.

[Taheen]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

Here's an idea for you two:

Jump your car like you would do if the battery was dead. Bring around somebody else's car and hook them up for a jump. If there are choices look for a suv or something with a tow package, not sure but just a guess that they would have a stronger alt than a smaller car.

Turn over the other car, give it a few minutes to just sit. Then try to crank yours over.

I figure that if it's your battery going, the extra juice from the other car's alt would bandaid that and your car should crank right over like normal. Otherwise I would start to think it's your starter.



Just an idea, good luck you two!

[nimrod.sixty9]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

Here's an idea for you two:

Jump your car like you would do if the battery was dead. Bring around somebody else's car and hook them up for a jump. If there are choices look for a suv or something with a tow package, not sure but just a guess that they would have a stronger alt than a smaller car.

Turn over the other car, give it a few minutes to just sit. Then try to crank yours over.

I figure that if it's your battery going, the extra juice from the other car's alt would bandaid that and your car should crank right over like normal. Otherwise I would start to think it's your starter.



Just an idea, good luck you two!

Would that be the same thing as using a jumper pack? Or does it have to be a car cuz of the Alt? I hooked the battery pack up and it didnt do jack sh!t!

[v6mOtOrhEAdftOp]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

Ok, check your battery cells and make sure you don't have a dry cell. If the cells are pretty low, put some distilled water in them, making sure to not get anything on you (there's sulfuric acid in there and it will eat your skin fairly quickly)

[nimrod.sixty9]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

Ok, this thread was totally dumb of me to submit. Maybe it will help others to not look past the obvious. :twak:

CORROSION!!! That was the problem! It kept the ALT from fully charging it, but just enough juice to still crank it! Never thought to actually look in the positive cable boot. I looked at the outside and it looked clean, so I took the cable off the battery, and of course I only look at the damn battery, and it was very clean! Today I decided to take another look, and sure enough corrosion all inside of the boot. Took damn near 15 minutes to clean! So the car now fires up in less than a sec!

For the rest of you who have the same symptoms and its not corrosion, its your battery. If the car loses power while running, its you ALT. But a bad battery can cause your ALT to go bad, so get to AZ and let them run tests, its free. :work:

[azadian2b]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

Just a word of caution about those free tests: I went to pep boys once with my battery because i was having a problem starting. I was expecting the guy to tell me the battery was bad even if it wasnt so I would buy one. He didnt. He said it was fine and that it must be something else. The only other thing i thought it could be was the starter motor was really weak so i replaced that ($150 after core refund and about and hour and a half of work). That didnt work, so i jumped my car and brought it to their repair shop where they charged me $90 to do a complete diagnostic. What did they come up with? The battery was bad. Would have saved me time money and effort if they had just diagnosed the battery correctly the first time...TANSTAAFL.

[T-Mill]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

One of the things that some don't realize... including me until I was told... is that corrosion on the positive terminal usually doesn't mean that the positive terminal is leaking (and vice versa) it usually means that the negative is leaking fumes and when the fumes exit the negative terminal, the molecules are negatively charged, and thus are attracted to the positive... so don't just clean the positive bc it's the one corroded... clean both thoroughly even if only one shows corrosion...

also... about the free tests... I worked at Sears Auto for a few years and the equipment they use to test batteries is very reliable... if you bring in your car, they will charge like $13 to do a diagnostic, but if you bring in your battery alone it is free (at least at the one I worked at) and the equipment tests it, and if the charge is too low, it will charge it and retest

...just fyi

[nimrod.sixty9]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

Just a word of caution about those free tests: I went to pep boys once with my battery because i was having a problem starting. I was expecting the guy to tell me the battery was bad even if it wasnt so I would buy one. He didnt. He said it was fine and that it must be something else. The only other thing i thought it could be was the starter motor was really weak so i replaced that ($150 after core refund and about and hour and a half of work). That didnt work, so i jumped my car and brought it to their repair shop where they charged me $90 to do a complete diagnostic. What did they come up with? The battery was bad. Would have saved me time money and effort if they had just diagnosed the battery correctly the first time...TANSTAAFL.

Damn, thats tough! Well if I didnt discover the corrossion, I was going to take the car to Advance. For the same reasons, to avoid a false test.

One of the things that some don't realize... including me until I was told... is that corrosion on the positive terminal usually doesn't mean that the positive terminal is leaking (and vice versa) it usually means that the negative is leaking fumes and when the fumes exit the negative terminal, the molecules are negatively charged, and thus are attracted to the positive... so don't just clean the positive bc it's the one corroded... clean both thoroughly even if only one shows corrosion...

also... about the free tests... I worked at Sears Auto for a few years and the equipment they use to test batteries is very reliable... if you bring in your car, they will charge like $13 to do a diagnostic, but if you bring in your battery alone it is free (at least at the one I worked at) and the equipment tests it, and if the charge is too low, it will charge it and retest

...just fyi

Thats an interesting post! I have never heard that one. Good to know that. But of course after feeling so dumb and not checking for corrosion on the boot in the first place, I cleaned every ground/negative I could get to!

[jsviking08]

Re: Starter or Battery? Or....

I had this same problem and worked for a number of weeks trying to fix it. In the end I brought it mechanic after buying a new battery and new ignition switch (neither one fixed the problem). I also took my starter out and had it tested at autozone. Test can back GOOD. Took it to the mechanic and he changed the starter and it starts like a champ, first time everytime now.