Car won't start sometimes
09-10-2016
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Car won't start sometimes
Hey guys, hoping for some help. I have a 2013 civic, atleast on 3 occasions my car would not start, lights were bright, radio on, I got a jump and it started, assuming it's not battery but was told probably is alternator, I have 60k miles on my car I purchased it October 2013, should alternator go bad so soon or could it be something else. I called dealer $125 to check it, considering taking to auto store to check alternator, any advice would be appreciated, thx!
09-10-2016
#2
Re: Car won't start sometimes
The alternator charges the battery while the car is running. If the battery was fine when you tried and failed to start, it could be the starter. There could also be a parasitic draw problem, where something is using the battery while the car is off. You could check the battery's voltage with a multimeter after it has been sitting overnight. Cheaper than an alternator!
09-10-2016
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) 🙂 Good Morning, thx for replying, hmm a parasitic draw problem that's a new term for me will look into it.
The alternator charges the battery while the car is running. If the battery was fine when you tried and failed to start, it could be the starter. There could also be a parasitic draw problem, where something is using the battery while the car is off. You could check the battery's voltage with a multimeter after it has been sitting overnight. Cheaper than an alternator!
09-10-2016
#4
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: Car won't start sometimes
I got a jump and it started,
Either ran down, weak, bad, dead, poor connections, there must be a reason.
Test battery first and replace if necessary.
If that passes test then check if there is excessive drain on the battery (Parasitic draw) when the car is turned off.
09-10-2016
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Usually this means your battery didn't have enough "juice" to start the car.
Either ran down, weak, bad, dead, poor connections, there must be a reason.
Test battery first and replace if necessary.
If that passes test then check if there is excessive drain on the battery (Parasitic draw) when the car is turned off.
Either ran down, weak, bad, dead, poor connections, there must be a reason.
Test battery first and replace if necessary.
If that passes test then check if there is excessive drain on the battery (Parasitic draw) when the car is turned off.
09-11-2016
#6
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: Car won't start sometimes
Dash lights and stuff that powrrs up with the key on takes a little power.
The starter might need 10 times the power those dash lights needed. If the battery cant supply all of that, it wont crank.
The starter might need 10 times the power those dash lights needed. If the battery cant supply all of that, it wont crank.
09-11-2016
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ok I understand that. In a nutshell I need to test battery first to see if that's the problem then proceed from there. Thx you've been a big help. 🙂
09-11-2016
#8
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: Car won't start sometimes
Only 3 times? All like in the last 3 days or....3 times since the car was new?
How long did the car sit untouched (not driven) before it would not start? Overnight? 2 weeks?
Assuming it ran fine and drove around after jump starting, I'm assuming the alternator is doing its job.
Also note, the little handheld battery tester gizmo so many places like to use these days because it gives a nice printout to hand to the customer, they don't always find the bad batteries.
How long did the car sit untouched (not driven) before it would not start? Overnight? 2 weeks?
Assuming it ran fine and drove around after jump starting, I'm assuming the alternator is doing its job.
In a nutshell I need to test battery first
09-11-2016
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Only 3 times? All like in the last 3 days or....3 times since the car was new?
How long did the car sit untouched (not driven) before it would not start? Overnight? 2 weeks
Assuming it ran fine and drove around after jump starting, I'm assuming the alternator is doing its job.
Also note, the little handheld battery tester gizmo so many places like to use these days because it gives a nice printout to hand to the customer, they don't always find the bad batteries.
How long did the car sit untouched (not driven) before it would not start? Overnight? 2 weeks
Assuming it ran fine and drove around after jump starting, I'm assuming the alternator is doing its job.
Also note, the little handheld battery tester gizmo so many places like to use these days because it gives a nice printout to hand to the customer, they don't always find the bad batteries.
09-11-2016
#10
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: Car won't start sometimes
the first time was several months ago didn't get a jump just to a couple times before it started. 2nd time was late July received a jump, and this last incident was September 4th.
Most average battery failures would be a constant problem, it would not heal itself and be fine for months longer.
If the frequency of the problem increases in the coming days (needing a jump start daily?) that would be a problem. Assuming no other outside causes of running the battery down.
Can you answer this question?
How long did the car sit untouched (not driven) before it would not start? Overnight? 2 weeks?
Immediately after recharging, the battery could pass tests, but after sitting untouched for several hours it may fail tests.
09-12-2016
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There is far too much time between those 3 events to really conclude a battery failure. Right now that makes me think something ran the battery down.... maybe a map light left on overnight........or like sitting in the car with the key on (engine not running) for more than a couple minutes. (YES people do this a LOT, leave the key on/dash lit up/headlights or DRLs on, while sitting still and run the battery down to the point it can't start)
Most average battery failures would be a constant problem, it would not heal itself and be fine for months longer.
If the frequency of the problem increases in the coming days (needing a jump start daily?) that would be a problem. Assuming no other outside causes of running the battery down.
Can you answer this question?
The reason I ask this one is some failures can cause the battery to self-discharge but that usually takes some time, anywhere from overnight to a few days.
Immediately after recharging, the battery could pass tests, but after sitting untouched for several hours it may fail tests.
Most average battery failures would be a constant problem, it would not heal itself and be fine for months longer.
If the frequency of the problem increases in the coming days (needing a jump start daily?) that would be a problem. Assuming no other outside causes of running the battery down.
Can you answer this question?
The reason I ask this one is some failures can cause the battery to self-discharge but that usually takes some time, anywhere from overnight to a few days.
Immediately after recharging, the battery could pass tests, but after sitting untouched for several hours it may fail tests.
09-12-2016
#12
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: Car won't start sometimes
he sits in the car with radio and air on
Now if he's in the car playing the radio without running the engine, you may have found the problem.
09-12-2016
#13
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i told him not to do it anymore so we'll see if it doesn't happen again that was the problem, I'm going to let you know how things go and thank you so much for your help Ezone 👍🏽 I'm glad I found this forum some great info on here
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