Sluggish start. Bad starter or bad battery? Female. Don’t want to get taken by shop.
noticed for couple days. very sluggish when starting car. not making any grinding nor clicking noise when starting. bad starter or bad battery? original battery. I know that's high mileage but 95% of my drive is commuting on freeways, so I don't believe the starter should be going bad in three years.
My car has 85000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hi! That "sluggish starting" (slow cranking speed) is the most common symptom when a battery is at the end of its life. The age of your car is also just about in the normal range for how long batteries last. You are correct that it is very unlikely to be a failing starter. Here’s the good news: many automotive service businesses will test a battery for free (or close to it); it’s one of the least costly things to have wrong with your vehicle; it didn’t leave you stranded. I suggest having it tested today! If you’re trying to avoid having your car in a shop, consider YourMechanic, as a certified technician can come service your battery at your home or office to fix this issue.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :
Bad Spark Plug Or Broken Distributor Cap/Rotor If you have a good battery and enough fuel in the gas tank and your car still won`t start, chances are you have a bad spark plug. Why? A bad spark plug will prevent fuel ignition, and the vehicle won`t move.
Can You Jumpstart a Car With a Bad Alternator? It`s possible that your car will start even if your alternator is bad, but it will probably stall once the battery runs out of enough power to keep things running the way they should.
The 2013 Ford Focus has been subjected to 10 recalls by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The recalls range from innocuous to dangerous. The most severe problems pertain to powertrain failure, shaky transmissions, vehicle stalls, and doors opening unexpectedly while in motion.
Symptoms of a burnt out diode:
The engine will begin to run rough, lack power and eventually stall and not start again. The battery warning light will turn on, warning you that there is a problem with your alternator charging system. The headlights will become dim due to reduced battery voltage.
Dim Lights. An early warning sign that your alternator is going bad could be dim, flickering lights. This symptom could show up on any or all of your dashboard lights, reading lights, headlights or other lights. The alternator is supposed to provide the electricity for your car`s lights.
An effective method to determine whether it`s your battery or alternator that`s gone bad is to connect jumper cables from a running vehicle`s battery to yours. After a few moments, try starting your vehicle. Once it`s started, remove the jumper cables — if your engine stalls, your alternator has probably gone bad.
Bad Fuel Pump Modern cars require a highly pressurized fuel distribution system in order to get the fuel into the engine block. If it sounds like your battery and starter work fine, but the engine just isn`t igniting any fuel, there`s a good chance that the engine lost fuel pressure.
Fortunately (spoiler alert) the root cause of a no-crank is almost always simple. Most of the time it`s simply due to a low or dead battery, or voltage drop through a corroded connection. Rule those out before you suspect the starter itself.
The battery can be fully charged but still not be able to start the vehicle if it is failing or has a dead cell. Other likely issues are the fuel pump, ignition switch, battery cables, starter, or a clogged fuel filter.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Sluggish start. Bad starter or bad battery? Female. Don’t want to get taken by shop.
ANSWER : Hi! That "sluggish starting" (slow cranking speed) is the most common symptom when a battery is at the end of its life. The age of your car is also just about in the normal range for how long batteries last. You are correct that it is very unlikely to be a failing starter. Here’s the good news: many automotive service businesses will test a battery for free (or close to it); it’s one of the least costly things to have wrong with your vehicle; it didn’t leave you stranded. I suggest having it tested today! If you’re trying to avoid having your car in a shop, consider YourMechanic, as a certified technician can come service your battery at your home or office to fix this issue.
Fuel pump engages. Batery good, alternator good volts, jump start helps when wont start. Temp does not matter. Intermittent?
ANSWER : Hello. Thank you for writing in. There are several reasons your vehicle may only start when jump starting. The first and most common is a build up of resistance that is causing you to need a boost of voltage to get the engine started. This may be due to poor battery cables, a bad ground connection, a poor starter solenoid, and a couple of other issues. The first thing you want to do is perform a visual inspection of the starting system. Make sure there is no corrosion build up in the battery cables. You can also check the resistance across these wires and make sure you have a solid connection between components. You then want to make sure the starter solenoid is doing its job. It is responsible for taking the small amount of electricity sent by the ignition and turning it into a huge electrical charge that is strong enough to push over the engine with the help of some gear ratios in its favor. Do some more testing, and stick to the basics before assuming its something seriously complicated.
I put in a new starter and battery and my Jeep will not start. Please help me get my Jeep to start.
ANSWER : Hi there. Check to see if the wiring to the battery and the starter are tight and clean. A bad connection will cause a no start situation. If the battery cables and wires are all tight and clean, then go in the cab and turn on the ignition switch and see if any thing in the cab works.
If nothing comes on, then check the fuse box for any blown fuses. If all the fuse are good in the cab and under the hood, then the ignition switch needs replaced. If the ignition switch is good and the accessories come on, then either the starter relay in the fuse box has failed or the wires from the starter relay to the ignition switch has become burned or loose. Check the wires from the starter relay on the starter to the ignition switch. If everything checks out to be good, then the ignition switch needs replaced.
If you need further assistance troubleshooting your vehicle, then seek out a technician, such as one from YourMechanic, that can assist you with your no start situation and help you with the power surge.
Why won’t it start with a low battery and a good jump start connection?
ANSWER : Hi, thanks for writing in. Your battery may not have had enough cold cranking amps (CCA). The volts may be correct but if it doesn’t have enough CCA, it will not start for you.
Batteries that specify cold cranking amps are generally referred to as starting batteries. This specification is the measure of a battery ability to supply a lot of power for a short period of time.
To answer your question, once a battery has lost the CCA, there is no way you can make it start, even by jumping it. Often times people don’t have jumper cables large enough to jump a vehicle without letting it sit for a while. You make look for larger cables because this could help you better next time.
If you would like help servicing your battery, consider having an expert automotive technician from YourMechanic come to your home or office to do the service for you.
Vehicle won’t start, once it’s jump started it only stays running until you turn it off, then it work start again without jumping.
ANSWER : Hi there. There could be two problems here. It is possible that your battery is bad and will not take a charge from your alternator while driving. In that case every time you shut your car off you will not have enough juice to start it again. Inspect your battery – it should have at least 12.5 to 13 volts to start your car, if it doesn’t you will need to replace the battery. The second problem could be that your alternator is bad and not charging your battery, in this case you will need to replace your alternator. Both the battery and the alternator can be tested in your car. If you would like to have the car checked for you, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose the starting problem and proceed with repairs.
Car will not crank after putting in a new starter. Forced starter to start up and engine starts but stalls out. Will the security continue to cut off fuel while force starting?
ANSWER : Hi there. Forcing the starter to engage to make the engine run without the ignition engaging the starter will continue to keep the security on. This is a safety feature that keeps people from stealing your vehicle. I recommend replacing the ignition switch and checking the wires to make sure that they are all tight and clean. If you need further assistance with diagnosing your ignition problem, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.
Why does my car struggle to start every 4th to 5th time?
ANSWER : It sounds like your starting issues may be linked to a problem with air metering or fuel delivery. A clogged or malfunctioning idle air control valve may show some of the same symptoms you are describing. The idle air control valve can be stuck in a cold start position which may work well if the car has been sitting a few hours, but as the engine warms up there must be a regulation in airflow. Consider hiring an experienced technician like one from YourMechanic who can come out for a closer look at your hard start situation and offer a more personal diagnosis.
My car want start and when it do it shut down and want start until 30 minute or so. Now it want do nothing
ANSWER : When a car turns and won’t start, it is called a "crank no start". When this occurs, the first thing you need to do is see what is missing. All internal combustion motors need spark, fuel, injector pulse and camshaft timing to run. If one of these is missing, you have a crank no start. Diagnose the car and see what is missing.
The GM 3.8l motor has been installed in Buicks, Pontiacs and Chevrolets for decades. Particularly during the 90’s and early 00’s, these motors have used an ignition module with three coils mounted to it. This module is prone to just this type of failure. When it gets too hot, it quits working. When it cools off, it starts again. It can also display intermittent no start conditions. This is a pattern failure on this particular motor. Before I would ever replace the module, I would check for spark and injector pulse. If it just lacks spark, I would check for a crank sensor signal and replace the ignition module.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, do a few tests first:
Check fuel pressure. If there is none, check the fuse and the relay.
Check for injector pulse with a noid light. If this is missing, I would suspect a crank sensor. It could be a bad Power Control Module (PCM). (PCM’s are very rare to fail. I have never changed a PCM on one of these cars.)
Check for spark with a spark tester. If it is lacking spark but has injector pulse, suspect the ignition module.
If all these are present, I would take a compression test of all the cylinders. If camshaft timing is off, several of the cylinders will have significantly lower compression. Also, camshaft timing won’t start sometimes then not others; it will either start and run bad or it won’t start at all. It may sound like it is trying to start, but it won’t start.
If all of this sounds to daunting, I recommend booking a car is not starting inspection with YourMechanic
Good luck!
