grrrrr

[gsh]

I'm getting *really* tired of my car not starting in the morning. Any idea as to what may be the root cause if batterys keep appearing to die?

Comments

[reedrover]

I'm going to be in CA next week. Want to borrow mine while yours gets fixed?

[gsh]

I stole the jeep, but Pam might find your offer helpful.

[petrona.livejournal.com]

Does it make a sound when you are trying to start it? Does it make a cranking noise?

[gsh]

It sorta made a cranking noise.

[petrona.livejournal.com]

http://www.samarins.com/diagnose/index.html

[tamarinne.livejournal.com]

How old is the battery? Maybe it can't hold a charge anymore.

[gsh]

New battery in January from Pep Boys. New battery in February from dealer who told me battery from Pep boy was wrong model. I really don't think buying a new battery in March will make that much of a difference.

[tamarinne.livejournal.com]

Sounds like alternator to me, then. When my alternator went out it could suck a battery dry in a matter of days.

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

How about a bad alternator? That can be the root problem of repeatedly dead batteries. Evidently you need a multimeter to check it yourself, but it's a common problem.

[gsh]

Time to drop it off at the repair shop and say "it ain't the battery, what is it?"

[geekchick]

Alternator?

[soubrettic.livejournal.com]

One more vote for alternator... and a fault in the electrical system can do it too.

In extremis, a short-term solution is to disconnect the battery whenever you're not driving the car. But of course, it's a pain in the ass and really only helpful until you can get it to the garage.

[museclio]

Alternator - or could be the starter...

[arashinomoui.livejournal.com]

Alternator/starter as other people. Also check the battery connections and make sure they are on tight, I had frequent battery problems till I discovered the cause was that after the first incident, I hadn't reattached the battery tight enough and thus it wasn't properly connected.

[arashinomoui.livejournal.com]

Also how many electronic doo-hickeys do you have, friend had battery problems and finally traced to his GPS device which wasn't properly shutting down.

[grail76.livejournal.com]

Let's assume that the battery is fine.
You have two systemic choices;
Either the alternator isn't putting out enough power to keep it charged or-
there is something draining the battery, like you're forgetting to turn off your lights or you've got a circuit completing somewhere that is causing the battery to discharge.

You'll need a shop that can deal with electrical issues.

[grail76.livejournal.com]

OH, one way to find out is to charge the battery, drive home and disconnect a terminal from the battery every time you park it, reconnecting it when you want to start the car. If it always starts, you've got a draining circuit. If it doesn't start after you've done this a few times, then the alternator isn't charging the battery.

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

It's either the alternator or excessive current draw when the car is off. The former is more common. The latter is either electrical stuff being left on, or an actual fault that can be found and fixed. A shop should be able to check for either problem. Does it die overnight or do you have to leave it alone for longer periods of time?

[chesuli.livejournal.com]

When mine did that last spring, it was the alternator.

[rdhdsnippet.livejournal.com]

Another vote for alternator, or alternative (ha!) one of the little widget parts between the alternator and the battery. My Buick went through a couple new alternators before finding out about the little fuse/fiber/cable/widget thing was ALSO bad.

[keyosko.livejournal.com]

There are a few more possibility’s other then the alternator or a power draw on the battery. Which are by far the most common faults.

You could also have a ground issue. Pending on the make and year the location varies.
One of the battery cables runs to a body ground usually on the engine block. Check to see if it is tight and not corroded.

Check the terminals and wires on your starter see if they are tight and not corroded.

Both can make starting hard with a good battery and alternator and both are fixed by tightening / cleaning.

Other causes for hard starting can be Bad Fuel, water in the Fuel, Blocked air intake, or problems with the fuel injectors / carburetor. But the list quickly goes in to have a shop take care if it category.

Good luck.