hewitt330

I finally replaced the dme relay and the car was working great. Then I went out to start it this morning and the battery didn't like the cold weather. It cranked over slowly 3 or 4 times. I could tell it was not going to start but I tried again anyways. This time the motor didn't crank but I was greeted instead by a clank followed by a very low pitched whine. So I grabbed my spare battery from in the house but a fresh battery changed nothing. I was still greeted by a clank and a low pitched whine (which I now assume was the fuel pump). Why would it crank over a first but then not even a new battery would crank it over. Also I have a volt gauge installed. The starter is definitely drawing on the battery. It goes from 12.5 volts to about 9.0 volts when I try to crank the motor over. Help me you geniuses.

mel_t_vin

Sounds like an undersized battery [inadequate CCA] or a faulty starter.

How cold is cold? What group size battery are you using and how many CCA is it rated for? The clank could be coming from the starter solenoid. The whine is most likely coming from the straining starter motor.

968workaholic

I would say the starter is bad if its pulling down the voltage that much. Did you try tapping the starter with a hammer yet?

hewitt330

The temperature was around -25. It ended up being the starter power wire that runs from the positive battery cable. The bolt was loose on the terminal clamp.