2004 TL w/Navi, MT (live in Pittsburgh, PA and I park in a semi-warm garage)

I need some help troubleshooting a car starting issue. And before you start to point me in the direction of the 3G garage, I can assure you it's unrelated to the rough starts that people sometimes have.

About a month ago on a cold October morning, my car wouldn't start. I was afraid of this, because last winter the battery gave me the same issues (but only twice and was resolved each time with a jump).

So in September I had the battery and alternator checked to make sure they were good, and they were. I cleaned the terminals, put some dielectric grease on them, and thought I was good for winter.

Back to that cold morning. My car had sat in the garage all night, and wouldn't start. I had it jumped, and decided to buy an Optima battery that day. Went to Sam's Club and picked up a 34/78 DT (dual terminal?) for $139. Installed it, and noticed that it takes a few extra cranks compared to the OEM battery to get the car started. It does this every time the car has sat for a while, BUT it still starts.

Tonight for the first time ever, the bluetooth system in the car actually transferred me over to the cell phone to conserve car battery power after I removed the key(it actually told me this). The number of cranks required to start the car are getting worse with the the temperature dropping. So all of this leads me to believe that this battery is junk and that I should get it replaced by Optima. Oh, and I've tried both the "letting the fuel pump charge the rail" trick and the "reset of some computer by holding my foot on the gas while starting" trick to no avail.

Anyone want to help troubleshoot?


Best Regards

Ps. I've never replaced the plugs on this. I'm at 67K, and have been thinking about it and a seafoam treatment. I'm a little apprehensive though, cause I've never replaced plugs on a car, and have heard how the back 3 are a pain. I also haven't found any DIY threads on the matter.

 

I'd check the voltage on the battery. See if the battery has ~12 volts. If this happened with the other battery, maybe its an alternator issue? Thats what it sounds like to me, maybe a brush or something is stuck and is charging the battery half assed. Anyway, thats just my opinion. I'd check the battery when the car is off, and when its on. When the car is on, get someone to rev it, battery should jump up to about ~14-15 volts when the car is going and you give it some gas.

Anyway, good luck with your problem. Since this problem covered two batteries, it leads me to think its something else, although it could be the battery.

Another thing you could try: If you have 2 cars, switch the batteries between the cars, and see if the problem persists.

 

Thanks,

I'll give that a try when it's halftime (watching the game at the moment). My girlfriend is over too, might try it in her car.

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

I have an optima go bad... Autozone and Advanced Autoparts tested it to be good. A auto shop tested it with their snap-on battery tester... I think they also had an interstate tester that said it was bad too. But point being, some testers dont show the battery is bad.

If its a month old... take it back and get a new one.

 

Ok,

I performed the voltage tests and this is what I came up with.

Battery: 11.2 V

Alternator: 14.2 V

Alternator while Reving: Drops from 14.2 to 12.3 and jumps around in that range. Does not at any point get above the 14.2 V taken at idle.

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Do I have to take it back to Sam's Club or will any Optima retailer honor the warranty?

 

Yeah, sounds like the battery isn't holding a good charge, or so it seems. Alternator seems to be doing its job - battery should be like 12.14 or about that voltage with the engine off.

I'd give a call to Sam's club and ask about their policy - then try Optima after that.

Either way, good luck

 

If it was costco... They will take it back... its a month old, or 2...

Exchange it.

 

Yeah, I'm going to call Optima in the morning and see if they can send me a new one direct and charge my credit card till they get this one back.

Hopefully I can talk them into sending me a 34R instead of the 34/78, so I don't have any issues again with the install.