Car Won't Start

[hrm]

Hi Guys,

Today morning I tried to start the car but it didn't. It's 1994 Lancer CB2A. What happen is when I put the key to on position, ignition lights come up as usual but starter motor won't kick in. It didn't even made any sound. Car has an Exide battery, used for almost 1.5 years but the car is used rarely. I managed to start her 2 days ago.

Was the battery got drained? I could not directly recognize whether the ignition light brightness is low or not. But starter motor is not kicking at all. Please let me know what else I need to check.

Thanks.

[Gona]

attempt a jump start

[Rumesh88]

Occasionally used car is more liable or this kind of situation than a regularly used car although you seem to sound otherwise. When you leave a car idle, its battery slowly drains by self-discharge even if you disconnect all the load. The car I use has a Exi*e battery which has completed 3 years as of now. This is because I use the car everyday. (The car is an automatic and I may sound fool headed when say that I am using a 3 year old battery). However, I have seen some people start the car while it is in the garage for 10 minutes to take care of the battery. This may not be enough unless you car start in a fraction of a second. More often than not the battery is left for long period of time under-charged resulting in sulfate formation on the cells. I have seen elsewhere in AL forum use of Epsom Salt to de-sulfate the cells. But I personally do not know how effective that would be. If you do not intend to use the car regularly you need to have an external battery charger to maintain the battery. I always did this when I came for annual vacation during my time in the ME and batteries lasted very long.

[hrm]

Well I could remember last time when I start the car 2 days ago, the starter motor cranked bit reluctantly but however started within 4-5 seconds.

[Chooti Putha]

  On 11/8/2012 at 7:03 AM, hrm said:

Well I could remember last time when I start the car 2 days ago, the starter motor cranked bit reluctantly but however started within 4-5 seconds.

I had the same problem once then when i checked the wire on the starter motor had gotten loose so tightened it & worked.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Chooti Putha

[Rumesh88]

My apologies for I missed some of the points when I wrote y previous post.

If you think battery is good ie battery is having enough storage to start the car, check whether you are right by switching the headlights on. If they give the same brightness then see if you can hear the clicking sound of the starter solenoid (this is attached to the motor itself) when you turn the key to START. If you cannot hear the sound you have a problem with you electrical system. hen you do this keep an eye on the dashboard lights. If they become significantly dim then you have a battery with insufficient storage to turn the motor. When you do this if the lights does not get dim at all and if you can hear the click sound of the solenoid then you have a bad starter solenoid. If the battery is discharged and if you can jump-start the car, then check if your alternator is good for this may be the reason why you could start the car two days ago (and drive off) but now today. To test the alternator you need a digital voltmeter to measure battery voltage while the car is on full electrical loads (Headlights, AC, radio ec switched on) and running at 2,000 RPM with engine temperature in the middle. Under these conditions the battery voltage should show 13.8 to 14V DC. If the voltage is less than 13 you definitely have an issue with your alternator. If it is in the region of 13.6 or so check the alternator load wire to battery and battery return wire to chassis for loose connections or corrosion before getting into the alternator. If it is not too complicated for you and an be done safely, measure the voltage between the body of the alternator and battery negative terminal, and alternator output point and battery positive under the same condition as above. Ideally both these readings should be zero but practically addition of the two readings must not exceed 0.2V. If you are not familiar with the use of voltmeters, please ignore this point and get someone to do it for you.

[hrm]

Thanks Rumesh for the detailed response. One thing I could say is when I turn on the Key, ignition lights get dim significantly but couldn't hear starter solenoid work.

[Rumesh88]

In that case you battery is really down. I am sure you would not get much brightness on your headlights either. You will have to replace the battery. It is unlikely to come up even if you try to re-charge for one of the cell plates mush have got disconnected.

[hrm]

  On 11/8/2012 at 8:14 AM, Rumesh88 said:

In that case you battery is really down. I am sure you would not get much brightness on your headlights either. You will have to replace the battery. It is unlikely to come up even if you try to re-charge for one of the cell plates mush have got disconnected.

Well that's sad. If it is the case, should I go again for Ex*de or any other good long lasting brands I could consider? Anyway will take the battery to a battery joint and check it up this weekend. Thanks again mate.

[The Don]

HRM, try a push start if possible. If after the push start, the car starts, then the fault is with the battery or starter motor. Usually even on a fairly drained battery after about 10 minutes if you stop and try to start straight away you should hear the starter motor go and the car might even start. This is because the battery retains charge momentarily but not for too long. That would rule the starter motor out and you should be able to drive to the nearest battery shop.

If you use your car sparingly use Excide or Lucas (which apparently is the same but cheaper). This is because batteries that don't get power cycled often tends to fair relatively quickly and the only way to make batteries last longer is to use a trickle charger or take your car for a long drive every week end or so.

[hrm]

I just checked the lights now (after coming home from office), it seems battery has completely drained. Ignition lights are dim. Signal lights or head lights doesn't work at all.

[charitha19]

sounds like your battery has discharged quite a bit, take the battery out and take it to a place where they can put it in charge for you.. most battery shops will do this for you, they will check the battery for you too... if you are not in a hurry to go in your car make sure they put the battery on slow charge and not on high charge...

[hrm]

  On 11/8/2012 at 4:13 PM, charitha19 said:

sounds like your battery has discharged quite a bit, take the battery out and take it to a place where they can put it in charge for you.. most battery shops will do this for you, they will check the battery for you too... if you are not in a hurry to go in your car make sure they put the battery on slow charge and not on high charge...

Yeah exactly that's what I'm thinking too. I'm not in a rush since this car is not my daily runner anayway.

[Sylvi]

  On 11/8/2012 at 4:22 PM, hrm said:

Yeah exactly that's what I'm thinking too. I'm not in a rush since this car is not my daily runner anyway.

'hrm',

Did you sort out your problem of your car do not start. Please inform.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[hrm]

  On 11/11/2012 at 3:14 AM, Sylvi said:

'hrm',

Did you sort out your problem of your car do not start. Please inform.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

Sorry for being late to reply Sylvi. I put the battery to slow charging yesterday and took it back today morning. Yes the issue is now sorted and everything works fine. Thanks a lot for paying much attention on this. Hoping to get more advices from you guys in future and thanks again !!

Edited November 11, 2012 by hrm

[Sylvi]

  On 11/11/2012 at 7:40 AM, hrm said:

Sorry for being late to reply Sylvi. I put the battery to slow charging yesterday and took it back today morning. Yes the issue is now sorted and everything works fine. Thanks a lot for paying much attention on this. Hoping to get more advices from you guys in future and thanks again !!

'hrm',

Glad to hear you problem is OK with the recharged battery.

If you do not use your car regularly have a battery charger to keep the battery in full charge, when the car is idling for few days. You can buy a battery charger locally made for under Rupees 5000.00.

If you do it your self, you can do same for Rupees 3000.00, with a Ampere meter and the box with a transformer to connect to your home power supply.

Sylvi Wijesinghe