Hi All,

From the start of this week (Monday-13/7/09) i am having a very strange starting problem.

Problem:

Monday : Car started fine at 6:30 am and i drove to station (5 minutes drive). car was parked whole day there and at 5:00 pm when I tried to start it again it just made clicking noise. With the help of a good fella i got it jump started. Then I drove back home (5 minutes or 8 depending on traffic).

This happened 2 days in row and only in evening I was not able to start.

Other factors:

1) New battery was installed on 5th July. SCA 420 CCA (heavy Duty) (old battery died after 3.5 years)

(Previous battery was 450 CCA Century)

2) First week was fine no starting issues. Even from last Friday night (5:30 pm) to Sunday after noon (12:00 pm)car was not started and when i tried on Sunday after noon it started in first go.

3) Car is parked in open and it is winter so nights are very cold but car starts fine at 6:30 am.


4) Car is currently only used for these 5-10 minutes every day i.e. to and from station.

5) When I changed my last battery I had similar issues that a new battery died like after 2 weeks and replaced it under warranty and it lasted 3.5 years with no issues.

So i am not sure if its Alternator issue or faulty battery (Considering new battery is 30CCA lower, It may be an issue but i really don't thinks so as its brand new battery ). I will get battery checked on Saturday but till then there are 3 more days to go including tonight when i have to restart the car.

Has anyone else experienced similar issue ????

Thanks.

i had same problem and replaced battery, it would start fine then sometimes would just click or nothing. it happened more and more and turned out to be worn starter brushes. when it fails to start next, get some one to turn the key and tap the starter with a hammer or similar, if this makes it crank over your bushes or solenoid has had it. the bushes are a cheap fix, just take it apart yourself and go to an auto sparky and they can get the new brush and cage. you have to solder it back on. if you are no good at that sort of thing then remove the starter and get the sparky to fix it for ya. it could be just your new battery but i replaced mine thinking it was the problem and it wasnt!! but on the plus i got a nice new exide silver calcium 550cca beast (plus its red!!)

Thanks Mate, i will try it out. yeah I am leaning towards alternator/starter too. but why it runs in the cold mornings when there is 1mm thick ice on the car and does not run when standing whole day in sun is very confusing.

Pull off battery clamps, clean them thoroughly using the 'wire-brush' or 'reamer' kinds of battery tools - clean the battery posts, but esp the clamps including the internal contact surfaces. If there is any trace of corrosion on any of these metal bits, use boiling water with laundry washing powder to clean it away, perhaps an old toothbrush the clean any crevices. Dip terminals in the hot soapy water if possible. Rinse clean and flush any dissolved corrosion off top of battery and out of battery tray.

Refit clamps to the battery, tighten to a slightly firm fit and wriggle clamps on battery post to ensure there is good metal-metal contact, then tighten clamps nice and firm but not stupidly tight. Apply vaseline or other protectant to help prevent oxidation or corrosion between clamps and battery post.

Now, at least, we are certain that you have good, clean contact between battery and car. Don't just look at clamps on battery and think they look OK, make sure the surfaces where clamps and battery posts contact are clean and corrosion-free and fitting tightly together.

99% of poor starting, including the relays clicking like you describe, on any of my cars has been the connection of battery to car. The faults in starter motor as described above are good ideas, buut try the simple/cheap options first.

+1 for simple things first...
clamps, buy a $10 multimeter and test the alternator is chargiing and that the battery is fully charged... then start looking for bigger problems...

Last time this happened to me, I checked the charge on the battery and was reading full, however it refused to start. Took the battery in and ended up being a dropped cell, wasn't providing the juice to crank it over.
My battery was only 9 months old, replaced under warranty and now works fine.

Grelise - that can happen, while it will show 12.X volts, it wont have the current to start the car. Load testing is a good way to see if the battery is still in good nick.

are you leaking current? or your alternator may be on its way out

Dieing battery doesn't explain why it starts in the morning but not afternoon, unless the battery is able to deliver more current when cold... hmm, maybe.

I had this in a previous car - was manual and the easy fix was put it in 1st / reverse, roll the car 10cm and pop the clutch.
That didn't start the car, but turned the starter motor a fraction at which point I could start it normally with the key.

It happened recently with my wife's automatic - I did the same thing, but had to roll the car about 1m before it turned the engine & starter motor enough.

with the manual car, I lived with it happening 3 times a week for about 3 years :)

a hotter battery can supply more current.... thats why they have a CCA rating... that how much it can supply for 15 seconds at -18 degrees
a flat battery would give problems more so when cold
could be a fractured bus bar in the battery.... rare but possible

id put my money on starter brushes

Thank you guy for all your input,

I got it jump started again yeterday afternoon as it refused to start on its own, drove around 30-40 minutes to make sure it will be charded enough. started in the morning today fine. Still I took it to SuperCheap , they checked it out and it passed all tests, strange. But they offered me to change it and I said why not, upgraded to Century battery with 2 year wty and 470CCA.

Depends how next 2-3 weeks will go and if the problem will come back then its definately sone engine issue, (Alternator related)

Thanks All.

Cheers.

When next time it plays up try turning on your head lamps and then try to start....if the lights go out you have battery or charging issues and if lights stay on you have a starter issue...

My 2 cents worth

heyaz kewlsolara,

did you end up finding out what was wrong with your car?? mine has recently started to do the same thing and i would like to know what areas would be suspect.

thankies:)

try manually charging your battery because an alternator cant charge a flat battery... alternators take power to make power.... generators make their own power but we dont use them anymore

even after 40 mins of driving your battery is still flat, its just been given a surface charge which may last a few days/months... depending upon driving habits

if i got a dollar for every customer who comes into the workshop telling me that they need an alternator and it ends up that they have been driving short distances/jumpstarting and driving the car to "charge" the battery..... id have no need to play lotto