car won't start. help

[LCHIEN]

my first car was a '59-or'60 beetle. It had a 6V electrical system. Battery under the rear seat.
My mentor, a VW enthusiast, suggested I change the 6V system over to 12V so I could add all kinds of accessories.
All you had to do, I recall he said, was to replace the light bulbs (and the alternator?) but he said, "Leave the starter, because that thing'll start like a banshee every time'"

[woodturner]

Come to think of it, I do remember laying on the road reaching under the passenger side of the Beetle to short the starter. Never replaced it, though.

What can I say, I was young and naive at the time, and never thought about doing that. You the man!!!

[Brian G]

I can also remember banging on one with a hammer..

Me too. It wasn't the best thing to have to do on a date, either. "Scuse me, could you hand me that wrench on the floor. I need to go bang my starter."

Didn't get a second date.

[JimD]

Loring,

Thanks for the tip on the HF battery tester. My 12 year old boat starter batter took a charge but I'm still leery. That tester seems like a good idea - best to know before we get out in the middle of the lake. It's a 70hp 2 cycle and I have a pull rope for it but I don't really want to try pull starting 70hp. I can move the trolling motor batter but that would be a hassle. If I need a battery, best to just get one. But I hate replacing a batter that is OK - the new one could be worse.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

You're welcome, Jim.
12 yo battery I'd be leery too.
I guess it doesn't get exposed to engine compartment and highway temperatures and freezing weather, the chief killers of batteries.
At least with the trolling motor battery you do have a backup (albeit a deep cycle battery) in case of emergency. I hope you have the cables to jump them, on board. (HF has cheap jumper cables.)

[JimD]

I picked up the tester and just used it. It reads 400 CCA - barely. I was thinking (again) about replacement. It's a group 24 marine, rated 500 CCA. Then I tested my brand new Diehard Gold in my SUV. It read only 600CCA and is rated 700. Then I tested my BMW convertible. It was about 1000 CCA. The boat cranks easy so I decided to give it a try. I think maybe my tester reads a little low. I bought another battery tender (for a big $6) while I was at HF. My son had given me one for the trolling motor. Now I have them on both batteries - so I should start out with a fresh battery.

The tester was only $20 with coupon and tests the alternator (by checking voltage with the engine running) and the starter (by checking current draw) in addition to the battery.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

i think the rated CCAs will be achieved when the Battery is NEW and the battery is FULLY CHARGED. You can fully charge the batteyr before each test, but you should not expect an older battery to provide full rated CCAs, I would imagine. Some fall off is to be expected.

A 70 HP outboard motor will probably start easily with 400 CCAs. But now you'll know when it starts going south a bunch. I don't know at what point it won't start, but you could set a goal of replacing the battery when it falls to 300 or maybe 250 - half its original.

[LCHIEN]

i think the rated CCAs will be achieved when the Battery is NEW and the battery is FULLY CHARGED. You can fully charge the batteyr before each test, but you should not expect an older battery to provide full rated CCAs, I would imagine. Some fall off is to be expected.

A 70 HP outboard motor will probably start easily with 400 CCAs. But now you'll know when it starts going south a bunch. I don't know at what point it won't start, but you could set a goal of replacing the battery when it falls to 300 or maybe 250 - half its original.

[atgcpaul]

I was about to return the old battery to Costco to get my $9 back for the core and realized it was only 3 years old. The battery has a prorated 100 month warranty. I got 60% of the original purchase price back for that dead battery plus the $9.

[cabinetman]

I was about to return the old battery to Costco to get my $9 back for the core and realized it was only 3 years old. The battery has a prorated 100 month warranty. I got 60% of the original purchase price back for that dead battery plus the $9.

That almost makes it worthwhile to get a new battery. I'm thinkin'...100 month? The prorated amount near the end must be in the pennies.

.

[atgcpaul]

Seems these Costco batteries are only good for 3 years in this car. Wife couldn't start this car again this morning. Opened the hood and there's quite a lot of fluff on the terminals which washed away easily. It took several cranks but we eventually got it jumped from the SUV. This car is used daily for commuting--maybe 45 minutes total, and not much on the weekends. Is it not getting driven enough or is something else going on?

This site mentions an alternator that's overcharging the battery.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/today-why-buildup-you-cars-battery-posts-could-be-sign-something-serious

The car is a 2003 Mazda Protege 5. It has a trailer hitch on it. This spring I noticed a bunch of water in the spare tire well--probably from snow melt getting past the hatch/trunk seal. IIRC, the end of the trailer light connector was sitting in the water. Maybe that drains the battery? I'll have to check that out, too.

[Daryl]

Remove the cables from the battery and scrape the battery terminals and connectors down to bare metal. Re- attach them "good'n'tight" and then coat the terminals and cables with grease. There should be a label on the battery showing how long it is guaranteed for. Usually they will fail at the first cold snap after the guaranteed to date.

[woodturner]

Seems these Costco batteries are only good for 3 years in this car. Wife couldn't start this car again this morning. Opened the hood and there's quite a lot of fluff on the terminals which washed away easily. It took several cranks but we eventually got it jumped from the SUV. This car is used daily for commuting--maybe 45 minutes total, and not much on the weekends. Is it not getting driven enough or is something else going on?

Take it to Advance and have them test - they will give you a printout with the state of the alternator, charging system, and battery. Then you will KNOW what is the problem and can fix the right part. It's free, BTW, and really no downside.

[atgcpaul]

My wife had to get a jump at work to get home. I just went to Costco when I got home, returned the old one, and got a bought new one. If only it had died 2 months earlier, I would have gotten it for free. Anyway, I have an Advance around the corner so maybe they'll still check out the car even though it's got a new battery in it.

[LCHIEN]

Batteries are sold in different grades. Usually they are rated by months or years.
The time indicates relatively how long they will last - from a manufacturer's line, the longest rated batteries will last the longest and cost the most. The actual time of service varies greatly, with the biggest factors being the abuse the battery gets from deep discharges and from heat in the engine compartment.

The longer rated batteries have thicker plates that won't be reduced away so fast that they get brittle and break, and the better tolerances and more forgiveness for abuse.
Usually the cheapest batteries in a line last 2-4 years and the most expensive ones last 5-6 years, very roughly speaking, as I said it depends on the circumstances of use.