Red Alert's starting issue...

[jetice]

I had something close happen to my car. Go good for a few days driving to school, then one day it just would not start. Get out and bang on the starter and it would fire right up. Replace the starter, and the problem still persists. Check all of the grounds and they were all tight. It wasn't until we started taking them off and cleaning them that the problem went away.

[Darren]

well it started on Woodward! Although the puny 305 was ready to jump her if needed!

[meissen]

Haha yeah - going through the wiring will be this year's winter project. I've just been carrying jumper cables and my jump box "JUST IN CASE"

[meissen]

Well on the way home we stopped at a gas station to top the tank off (averaged 19.5g all the way there and half way back!!!), started up perfectly fine. We decided to go over to McDonalds to grab a snack and take a bathroom break so we drove across the street. When we went to leave, no go. One click no start again. That damn jump box that I bought is completely worthless - yet again it wouldn't start the car. We grabbed jumper cables and flagged a guy down. Thankfully he was kind enough to give us a jump and sure enough once we had the assist of his car's running battery, ours started right up. The whole way home the carPC's OBD reader for "Battery Volts" said 12.6-12.8v. I'm going to wait 5-10 minutes and then go outside and try to start the car now that we're home. Then I want to measure the battery voltage at the posts and compare it to what the carPC says to make sure they both are reading the same. The fact that the battery volts keeps saying 12.6-12.8 and it needs another battery to start just seems to me like the charging system isn't keeping the battery juiced up enough to start the car. I'm even wondering if it's as simple as the belt being loose? It seemed tight but I do remember a few months ago before the no start issue seemed to happen as frequently that I went to pass someone while I had the cutouts closed and I could hear a squeaking noise that made me instantly think the belt was slipping... I wonder if I just barely stretched it out? It seems like the no start issue has been MUCH more prevalent the past few months. I'm tempted to run to O'Reilly and buy a belt. I figure I can jack the car up, start it and measure the voltage at the posts and alternator. Then I can swap the belt, turn the car back on and repeat the test and see if there's any difference.

[OIF1VET]

Still think it's a ground...

[meissen]

But if it were ground would it still get "fixed" (allowing me to start the car) when I'm attached to another car's running battery? That's what stumps me the most - I would think if it were a bad ground that jumping the car wouldn't solve it?

[OIF1VET]

But if it were ground would it still get "fixed" (allowing me to start the car) when I'm attached to another car's running battery? That's what stumps me the most - I would think if it were a bad ground that jumping the car wouldn't solve it?

oh yeah, forgot... In that case, got me buddy....

[prorac1]

Yeah, it could be grounding off of the other car. Or the bad ground could be moving ever so slightly and fixing its self temporarily. So quit typing about it and clean a couple grounds, lol. Do the main neg battery cable first, both ends, and try that. Grounds are not that hard to figure out. A short, now that sucks. I have one in my Suburban that keeps blowing the fuse for the turn signals. Cant find it for the life of me, lol. Thats what bigger fuses are for, lol. Eric L

[kammi10]

But if it were ground would it still get "fixed" (allowing me to start the car) when I'm attached to another car's running battery? That's what stumps me the most - I would think if it were a bad ground that jumping the car wouldn't solve it?

well if their car is getting a properly attatched ground it would complete your whole system so that would explain it.. unless your not hooking the negative side of the cables up to your battery

[1BADAIR]

remember
the higher the amperage the more resistance(bad connection, bad wire) it can overcome.

[01badbird]

In the older cars (pre computer)we would start up car and disconnect battery to see if alternator would be good(will keep running without batt if alternator good)I know prob doesn't help because don't know if you can do with pcm cars or not.

[prorac1]

I see what your saying badbird. Ive thought the same thing (re: im a knuckle dragger also, lol) I have never done it because i would be afraid of hurting the computer with a surge, etc. Eric L

[ICEPICK]

drove a 90's probe all over town with no battery, jumped it and drove around. im starting to think your pc thingy sucks ass, maybe its not a dead battery maybe the pc is not alowing the car to get enough juice till you hook up a battery to jolt the damn thing open, rip it out and try that, or bypass it, but if it shuts down and needs another battery maybe just maybe its the JOLT of the othere battery that opens up the power line agian. ???????????

[Fox Slaughter]

To me if it drains the battery just sitting you got a short somewhere. Or a bad ground.

Newer cars use the battery to run sensors, so disconnecting the battery the car dies. Old school the car ran off the alternator, now its alternator charges battery car runs off battery. I forget the method to test your body grounds, its been 2 years since I've been to college for automotive.

I would start doing voltage drop tests.

[meissen]

drove a 90's probe all over town with no battery, jumped it and drove around. im starting to think your pc thingy sucks ass, maybe its not a dead battery maybe the pc is not alowing the car to get enough juice till you hook up a battery to jolt the damn thing open, rip it out and try that, or bypass it, but if it shuts down and needs another battery maybe just maybe its the JOLT of the othere battery that opens up the power line agian. ???????????

Hmmm I'm going to ignore that you said the "pc thingy sucks ass" considering I've already stated that the carPC is not the issue and is switched off and doesn't draw power....