purv944

Last Thursday it was a very cold morning and when I tried to start my car for school, I got nothing. I thought it was the starter because I could feel it limping on it's last leg for a while. So, I went and had the starter rebuilt at a reputable business. Today I put the starter in and it turns over, but it sounds like it doesn't have enough power to fire the engine up. So, I thought it was the battery that had became uncharged. Next, I took it to the local auto parts store and they said the battery was ok, and charged it for me. Then, I got home and the same thing is happening. I have no idea why it is doing this. Should I take it back to the place I had it rebuilt or what? Any input would be geatly appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

Badue

Check the Ground wire going from the battery to top of the bellhousing. Maybe corroded maybe cable isn't making up anymore. Use a good set of jumper cables and make a redundant ground from the battery (-) to the engine. You can do the same with the (+) side if you want to crawl under the car and hook one end to the starter. This checks the cables to see if they have corroded inside the end terminals. Also, I'm assuming you have cleaned all the connections at the battery. The other way to test is use a Voltmeter between each end of suspect cable and check for voltage drop across the cable, this usually requires two people though (someone to turn the car over while you look at voltmeter to see if there is a voltage across the cable) A good cable will read .1-.3 volts dropped from end to end of the cable while starting, any more than that and you have a bad cable. You can use the voltage drop method from battery post to cable as well.

Dano_944

Badue is on it. Check grounds for battery and starter motor. Check all battery wiring: often the positive and negative battery wires corrode in the line's low point where moisture from condensate inside the wires collects over the years. The inside of the wire housing will look like mush when the outside looks fine. Voltage drops are a sure way to check.

Check all grounds, especially alternator, battery, engine, and body/chassis. Those darn little shorts can really plague a 12-volt system.