Stall after starting sometimes. Time to change battery? (1 Viewer)

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Nov 22, 2014
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Hey all,

It's been in the teens and low 20's the last few days and the car is cranking a little longer than normal to start. Today I was leaving the store and started it but it died immediately after starting. I restarted it and let it crank a little bit longer and it was fine. I have been driving pretty short distances around town so I am wondering if because the weather is cold, it's causing a lot more strain on the battery to start and maybe the battery is borderline going bad. And also because I am driving short distances at low speed (5 minutes 25mph) around town that it's not really charging the battery enough. The battery was installed June 2015 and is some AAA brand that PO installed when he owned it. Hoping this is the issue and I am going to take it to an autoparts store and get it tested later. Thinking if i do replace it I might go with the interstate battery from costco. Any other recommendations on different batteries? I know there are a million threads on it but I don't have any crazy setup and car is stock for the most part. Just need something to start in sub 0 temperatures here in Montana.

Thanks,

Bob
 
I'd go with the costco battery - I just take my tools and change in the parking lot so I don't have to lug the exchange back.

I don't have your cold weather - but can go a few weeks without driving more than 3 miles between start ups. I find I need to top off my battery with a charger every other week or so if I don't go any extended trips. I think it also leads me to having relatively short battery life - about 3 years. (Batteries like being fully recharged after every use - I fear I'm an abusive battery owner ; )

Gil
Ventura, CA
 
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I have a tender on my sports car for the winter but have to park my LC on the street unfortunately. I'm also out into the back country a lot for extended periods and don't want the battery to crap out on me in the middle of no where. I'll probably buy one of the battery jumper packs to take a long just in case as well. But today it seemed to start fine, it's also been warmer so we will see. Thanks for the help.
 
I have a tender on my sports car for the winter but have to park my LC on the street unfortunately. I'm also out into the back country a lot for extended periods and don't want the battery to crap out on me in the middle of no where. I'll probably buy one of the battery jumper packs to take a long just in case as well. But today it seemed to start fine, it's also been warmer so we will see. Thanks for the help.

You can test your battery with a multimeter but you also have a charge indicator right on your dash. You can also have your battery tested at an auto parts store to check it's overall health. Always better to know for certain before you spend loot.
 
if the battery has enough Juice to start the vehicle twice, it likely has enough voltage / amperage to keep the vehicle running. As stated above, a quick trip to the local Advance or Autozone to have the battery tested is the first step prior to shelling out for a new battery...
 
You describe cranking longer than normal. Does that mean slower, like the starter sounds weak, or just takes more time before the engine catches?

Either way, I say clean the throttle body and the little holes under that plate on the top of it, because it can cause the engine to not idle properly (or not idle at all and just die after cranking), and it's just a good thing to do regardless.
 
Your truck runs off the alternator when it is running, if you shut off all electric’s you could remove the battery with the engine running and it would stay running until you used something that drew amps away from the engine, then it would quit running.

My point, if you have enough power to start the engine then your battery has nothing to do with it shutting off.

Mine does that some times, if I let go of the key to quickly it will spring back into the off position. So the engine will start, run for a sec and then shut off again. Once I figured out what I was doing it stopped doing it.
 
Your truck runs off the alternator when it is running, if you shut off all electric’s you could remove the battery with the engine running and it would stay running until you used something that drew amps away from the engine, then it would quit running.

My point, if you have enough power to start the engine then your battery has nothing to do with it shutting off.

Mine does that some times, if I let go of the key to quickly it will spring back into the off position. So the engine will start, run for a sec and then shut off again. Once I figured out what I was doing it stopped doing it.

Spike beat me to it. what he said X2 ^

Fun fact, you can typically take the battery out of most cars while they are running... not advisable, but in a pinch...
 
You describe cranking longer than normal. Does that mean slower, like the starter sounds weak, or just takes more time before the engine catches?

Either way, I say clean the throttle body and the little holes under that plate on the top of it, because it can cause the engine to not idle properly (or not idle at all and just die after cranking), and it's just a good thing to do regardless.

Hooooooome staaaa wunnaaaa

*couldnt help myself, your avatar made my night*
 

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