Why won't my car star...?
 

Hey Guys & Gals,

I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this thread (MODS: if it's not, please redirect this thread to the correct section?) but recently, I just tried to start my car and it doesn't seem to want to start? :(

Here's my little story:

1 week before Christmas (around Dec. 20th-ish) it started to snow really really hard over here in Vancouver, BC. As a result of this, I stopped driving my G. When I stopped driving my G, I parked it on the street because my mom wants her car to be in the garage so that she doesn't have to sit in the cold waiting for the car to wamr up. I also thought that the snow would go away pretty soon (since snow doesn't last that long over here in Vancouver, BC) so I didn't bother taking out the battery or anything. After about a week and a half, the snow/ice on the ground started to melt so I decided that I would drive my G because I didn't want the battery to completely die out and also I kind of missed driving it. Everything went smoothly, I drove the car, there didn't seem to be any problems except for my double din didn't seem to want to turn on. I figured it was probably because the car was low on battery and didn't have enough juice to power the DD on? Having figured this out, I decided that it probably wouldn't be much of an issue once I drive the G regularly again because the battery will recharge itself.

Towards the end of driving the night, the double din finally turned itself back on and I thought to myself "Great, the battery is recharged and everything is working normally". After that night, the snow started to pour again and I wasn't able to drive it until new years (Dec. 31st, 2008). At that time, the car seemed to struggle a little when starting but it still managed to start and I drove it around quite a bit as well. After new years though, it freaking snowed again and I was, again, unable to drive it until yesterday night.

Yesterday night, I came home from work wanting to drive my G for a bit but I found out it just didn't want to start. Now the time apart that I last drove it was about 6 days? How could my car die just out of the blue like that? Do you guys think it's because of the snow that affected my battery? Here's the weird thing though, the car doesn't seem to want to start but everything seems to be starting up ok. The dash lights, my double din, the car headlights...etc. I even have the headlights set on auto so they would auto shut off after I leave the car for a minute or whatever it is. After trying to start the car for about 5 times, I finally gave up and decided to give the car a rest. Later on that night, I went back and tried to start it a few more times. No luck still. I'm not sure if it's my car's battery or if it's something else. My mom thinks it's the alternator or something? Can anybody shed some light on this problem for me? Thanks in advance!

well...if you think about it, it gave you all the signs of a dead battery is coming soon.

I would hardly call the situation you described as "out of the blue" car dying. That's almost like saying... "hey guys... my girlfriend had been going out to night clubs all the time lately, hadn't been returning my phone calls, and seemed to be hanging around with all these new guys who I don't know.... then OUT OF THE BLUE, she dumped me." ;)

Car batteries don't fair to well when run down real low, and they work best when the car is not sitting for long periods of time... particularly not in really cold environments. You might want to invest in a trickle charger for your car, because it sounds like your driving tendencies(prolonged periods of inactivity) are going to lead to you having a lot of battery problems, even on a new battery.

That being said though... for a 2004, that's not too bad that you managed to get 5 years out of your battery with such driving/parking intervals... assuming you bought the car new.

When you tried to start the car... what did it do? Did it attempt to crank over, but do so very slowly and in a weak fashion? Did all your interior electrical accessories turn off when you turned the key, and then slowly start to light back up after you let off the key?... If you turn your headlights on with the car off, are they very dim? If so, then you probably need a new battery.

It also would not hurt to open your hood and take the battery cover off and make sure that the battery cables and terminals are clean and securely fastened. Loose or corroded cables or battery terminals/posts can make your car seem like the battery is dead or dying.

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for all the advice. I talked to some of my co-workers at work and one of them suggested that I turn off everything (headlights, double din, heated seats, heat...etc) and then try to start my car again. I never actually even thought about this. But it turns out he was right.

The car did attempt to crank but in a weak fashion and to be honest I wasn't even sure that the car had already started. But it seemed like it was trying so hard when I was turning the ignition so I stepped on the gas and it started reving. After that, I've tried multipled starts and the car starts fine now.

Partyman666: I've heard aboutthis trickle chargers but I don't know where one might be able to obtain one. If you have any suggestions where I could buy one and how much it might costs that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :)

Like the other guys said your battery is probably dying. My OEM battery died in 06. I got my coupe in 02.

My battery started acting the same way (without actually dying on me) so I went out and bought another one. I never had a chance to put it in so it stayed in my trunk, and sure enough a week later the car was 100% dead.

You are going to need one pretty soon it sounds like.

My battery showed very few signs of dying before it finally went. One day it had a little trouble starting, then it was fine the next day, and the day after that it would even come close to getting the car started. That might be your problem.