Trouble starting / very slow crank

[Kalgorn]

Started happening a few days ago. Noticed that it has been tough to start the car. I thought it was just from being cold because I had a similar problem last winter but it's been happening even after the car has been warmed up but turned off recently.

 

It cranks very slow but has started up flawlessly every time until tonight. I was just out to dinner with my girlfriend and went to start my car. All the lights came on fine but it did not even want to start cranking. I tried 4 or 5 times and then it did the ol' slow crank start up.

 

I use 5w30 oil so it's not a problem of thick oil.

 

Any ideas? Is my alternator on its way out? Maybe plugs? Plugs and wires have at least 30k on them but I know they were replaced right before I bought it.

[1990lumina]

I'd see what kinda voltage your battery has.....when you go to crank, do the lights dim alot??

 

Also maybe check for corrosion on the starter connection, battery cables and aux. positive terminal...

[cutty]

yeah id definately check the battery, and the lights would dim when trying to crank, but my mom's grand am the lights were bright as hell and didnt dim when cracnking and the battery was still the problem. and the battery voltage should be like 12.2V or maybe even 12V since its colder outside.

[Kalgorn]

The lights do dim when it's cranking but I don't have any way to check the voltage on the battery. The battery is only a year old though. I will be pissed if that's the problem. Does AutoZone check them? I'm going to check for corrosion though.. as long as it starts tomorrow and get me to work.

[JakeMetz63]

Every time Ive had autozone check my battery (3 times in 3 different vehicles) they told me it was fine, but then I replaced the battery anyways... and the car starts right up.

 

I would almost guarantee its the battery. Which could be alternator problems too... but if you have access to a spare battery from someone/where else, put it in and see if it starts up. Or try to put it on a battery charger over night, since its only a year old, it should hold a charge.

[pwmin]

just have AZ check the battery for charge and see what it reads when it's running. tell them you just want the voltage. dont rely on them to tell you if it's bad or not. if the batt is below 11.5V, its going out (10.5V is gone), and if it is under 13.5V charging, then its prob the alt (13V is pretty much gone), but also could be loose connection at the battery or corrosion. def sounds like a batt to me though.

[Farqineh]

Uh, Just curious? Did you mention the car has problems after bieng warm? What I'm getting at here is:

1) if the battery is half decent, and only a year old there should be no prob, but...batteries are like light bulbs, you just never know when they're gonna give out so it is possible

2) if your car seems to start in the morning or after sitting for awhile, but not after running, this kinda rules out the battery and alternator, as if this were the case, the effects would be instant and consistant, regardless of temp. (for the most part anyway) I would be more likely to believe you have a starter issue if the symptoms are as I gather them to be. (running engine=heat=starter on way out, no like)

Course......I was wrong once.....

Listen as it cranks over, I'm getting the impression it's laboured. There is a marginal, however distinctive sound between low voltage/amperage, vs. deep fried starter. Sometimes when a starter packs up they'll even make a humming sound as they try to turnover when there is lotsa juice available to them, but cannot make use of it. Also, in some cases the starter solenoid will make a healthy "click" as opposed to a dull thud, or chatter as a result of of a dead battery. Just my Two Cents.

Of course, as 'pwmin' had mentioned, always a good idea to check voltages and connections before condemming anything......try that first, if you have a multi meter it's the cheapest place to start. Continuity issues are a rediculously common problem. This is often the problem I find with a large majority of my customers equipment.

 

Best of luck......... 8)

[Kalgorn]

Okay, new insight.

 

Went to Autozone and got the alternator checked. Passed their little test but when it shorted out the battery, the revs dropped REAL low... very close to stalling. The guy said something about the regulator being bad. I'm not entirely sure whether or not he was telling me to replace the alternator or not because he walked back inside.

 

I told my dad about it and he said he doesn't think it's the battery, alternator or starter because it cranks, has enough juice to fire, and fires every time even if it takes a while. He said that it could possibly be something wrong with the timing (which could explain my stalling problem at low speeds?) so I'm going home tomorrow and he's going to look at it and see what he thinks.

 

Any more ideas? I didn't get the voltage from the AutoZone guy. Forgot to ask him although I noticed my volt gauge seems to be reading a little lower than normal (closer to the middle line, whatever that actual reading is). Could be my imagination though considering I rarely pay attention to that gauge.

 

[1990lumina]

the voltage regulator is inside the alternator if I'm not mistaken, so if it the problem the alternator will have to be replaced.

 

Good luck on finindg the problem man!!

[supreme_style21]

Find out what the alternator is charging at. Might be charging JUST enough to keep it alive.. for now. I can't see timing being an issue. Timing won't cause it to CRANK slow.

[Kalgorn]

That's what I figured about the alternator. I figured it was just charging enough to start, and barely even that much. I had trouble starting it up tonight after I picked my girlfriend up. It cranked for a good 8-10 seconds before firing up. I was a little worried.

[Kalgorn]

Well I'm at home right now and I've got the battery on a charger because my dad now thinks it might be the starter after listening to it crank and fire up. Curious though, could spark plugs cause this problem? I was going through the receipts in my car and noticed that the plugs my cousin put in before I bought the car were Bosch Platinums. :shock: Could they cause problems like this?

[pwmin]

even if they are not the problem, i would get rid of the bosch plugs. it could def be something else than the starting/charging system, but i would rule that out first cause its the easiest to fix. i guess the alt isnt that easy, i should say it can be the easiste to fix, and yes, it's internally regulated, so you either have to have it fixed (not worth it) or get it replaced. def try to get the voltage. does your charger measure voltage?

[Kalgorn]

Well I had the battery on the charger for 2.5 hours (no it doesn't measure voltage), went out to crank it and... fucker starts up immediately. No hesitation whatsoever. Must be the battery then right?

 

WRONG

 

I went to Advance to have them check the battery. Sadly, I had to remove the airbox for the guy to check it because the piece of shit was in the way. Battery passed the test... read ~12.75V. The guy said he doesn't think it's the alternator because I would notice that going out. He said maybe it's a faulty/corroded connection somewhere. My dad thinks it may be the starter solenoid or connection to the starter.

 

Looks like I'm either driving it until it dies or I figure out the problem.

 

Something cool about today though. I learned something neat about the guy testing my battery. Turns out he used to own a 5-speed Z34. He was talking to me and telling me about when he owned it and the problems he had with it. Said he ended up with a new engine and tranny under warrenty due to a problem with the camshaft popping off or some shit. Interesting.

 

I've run into another problem now though. While I was waiting for the battery to charge, I decided to take off my EGR valve to look at it since I occasionally throw that code. My stupid ass ends up dropping the rear bolt... I still have to go out and look for it. And now because I'm missing that bolt, I've got a vacuum leak that keeps my idle at 2k in P/N and 1.5k in D unless I'm sitting at a light, then it's about 1k. And I threw a code 23 (MANIFOLD AIR TEMP (MAT) or INTAKE AIR TEMP (IAT) CIRCUIT (LOW TEMP) ) and 35 on the way home from Advance. Shit truly does roll downhill...

[Brian P]

did ya plug the temperature sensor back in after replacing the airbox?

 

(moved... )