I have an old car that I haven't been driving for 4 months. Recently it has not been starting. It boosts no problem but then when I go to start it an hour later it won't start again. I haven't been driving it after the boost because there are no plates on it. The battery and alternator are only a year old. Does it just need to go for a good drive or is there something further wrong with it? It was fine sitting with the occasional start up until a month ago.
2007-09-30 03:12:12 · 9 answers · asked by Just me... 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Sounds like you probably need a battery but jumping a car doesn't really solve the problem and driving it will not actually charge it. the alternator on the car will slowly charge it but not efficiently. You really need to put a battery charger on it and let it cahrge for a few hours. if you have the ability to remove the battery most shops will charge and test the battery for a cheap price. I know at our shop we charge 10 dollars to charge it and check the battery with a load test and a cell test. if the attery turns out to bad we wave the charge and just sell a new battery. If you are going to store the car with out driving it after you get the battery issue resolved I would recommend disconnecting the battery while it sits or getting a trickle charger installed. trickle chargers have a plug that is under the hood that you plug in while the car sits so it will keep the battery from loosing its charge. I got one for my boat for 18 dollars. good luck hope this helps.
2007-09-30 03:22:10 · answer #1 · answered by JarrettSde3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you've been starting it occasionally, but not driving it or running it long enough to recharge the battery, you've been draining the battery every time you start it, and it finally ran out of juice. You could have it jumped again and let it run long enough to charge the battery, but charging that fast from completely dead is really hard on a battery and will shorten its life. It would be better to get an automatic battery charger so you can charge it slowly. (If you get a cheap non-automatic charger, you need a volt meter to tell when it's fully charged, and you need to know a little about what you're doing.)
Another problem with starting an engine briefly and never letting it get completely warmed up is, it puts a lot of moisture in the crankcase. If the engine gets thoroughly warmed up, the moisture evaporates; but if not, it stays there and rusts the insides of your engine. So it's better to leave it sit without starting it, than to never get it up to operating temperature.
2007-09-30 10:31:34 · answer #2 · answered by gringomasloco 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you haven't let it run for some time after the boost, the battery has not had time to charge and will still be dead. You don't have to drive it. just let it idle fast for an hour or so. Starting it this regular and just shuting it off is hard on the battery and on the mechanical parts of the car.
2007-09-30 10:37:16 · answer #3 · answered by jimanddottaylor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to buy a battery charger like the one below and charge the battery for a day or so at the 2 amp charger setting. Later you could charge it for 4 hours at the 10 amp setting if needed on occasion. Disconnect the negative black battery cable before connecting the charger and make sure the battery is first topped off with distilled water in each cell. There are also automatic battery maintainers that you can leave hooked up to the battery when the car isn't being driven for long periods.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02871219000P?vName=Automotive&cName=Tools+%26+Equipment&sName=Battery+Chargers%2C+Boosters+%26+Cables
2007-09-30 10:23:11 · answer #4 · answered by bobweb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As advised, remove, clean and reeconnect the battery cables. Are you leaving the car run for 5 or 10 minutes when you start it? If not, you are probably running the battery down when starting for just a minute or so. Also check the interior lights. These are sometimes left on or turned on by accident and not noticed in daylight.
2007-09-30 10:23:02 · answer #5 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Remove the battery and have it charged for at least 12 hours, Alternator is to install a small charge or maintain the charge level and not to recharge a dead battery. Load test on fully charged battery and test Alt. for proper operation and draw when system is turned off, this will drain your battery. Proper belt tension.
2007-10-02 00:12:30 · answer #6 · answered by sidecar0 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thoroughly clean the battery terminals. Fully charge the battery. Then have the charging system load tested.
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2007-09-30 10:18:53 · answer #7 · answered by Mr. T 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You can use a battery booster or jumper battery.
2007-09-30 10:44:28 · answer #8 · answered by carolinafan 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
have you made sure that the battery terminals are making contact, undo them and retighten
2007-09-30 10:18:46 · answer #9 · answered by grd_jck(AU) 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋