Yet another cold car problem

Hey all,

'98 SL2 134,000km on it.

I recently got my alternator changed, perhaps two months ago, and when they
did that job they didnt replace my battery. The guy told me that he fully
charged the batt, tested it, and it was still OK. Yesterday morning, after a
night of -25 (celcius) my car just wouldnt start, boosting it made it start
flawlessly, and this morning (night was around -22) once again the damn
thing didnt start. I should mention that while trying to start it, I do have
power going to my accessories, and the fan turns on, yet when i turn the key
its a high speed clicking that i hear from the motor, I'm scared of sounds
like that so I didnt push it .

Since when boosting, it came up with no problems at all, and when the car
was already warm it also started very smoothly.... and once the car was
running after the boost it heated up at the just the same speed as any other
cold day, I think its safe to assume that *all* I need is another battery.

Id like to know if the experts in here have any warnings?, could I have
damaged my (relatively) new alternator?, is there anything special to be
done while replacing a batt on an SL2 (I like to check with other people as
well as my Hayes ) or is it just drop-in and go?.

TIA!

Phil

 

Check the connections to the battery are clean and tight. Alternator should
be OK if was just replaced. Make sure the belt is tight. If they are all
good, replace the battery especially if it is original equipment since it
should never have lasted 6+ years in the first place. (My philosophy is to
be pro-active with batteries so I can change on my terms and not get stuck.
I replace every 4 years and can shop/wait for a good sale ... and do it when
the weather is nice not cold!)

Bob

 

Thanks for the info Bob, I'm still a relative car newbie so I just took it
on good faith when the dude told me my battery was still fine.

I do have one other question which I forgot to ask earlier, I went on the
canadian tire website to check out what they have in car batteries, and I
didnt see anything on their site which states : "this battery is good for
all GM vehicles" or "all honda's" or whatever...... is a car battery a car
battery?, or are they size dependant like wheels are?, I'd prefer to be
forewarned incase the salesman makes a mistake and sells me something that
doesnt fit.

Thanks again!

Phil

 

Most all car batteries sold today are all 12 volts. The major differences
are in size (obvious physical dimensions), the post locations (top, side, or
both) and the orientation (positive left or right). Some claim to be
maintenance free or sealed while others require water. Some use slightly
different plate orientation to get more amperage from the same exterior
size.

Make sure what you gets fits in the space and can be connected. Then get
the largest size and Cold Cranking Amps you can find for the money. If you
are going to keep the car a long time, look into Optima, otherwise, get the
Die Hard or whatever else fits the bill cheaply. Good luck.

Sales person should be able to know what fits your vehicle from their DB.

Bob

 

The fast clicking noise suggests a bad starter. I don't know how they
can verify this but if it becomes more frequent that's what I'd look at.

Remove the 123 from my addy to reply.

 

imho,

Usually this clicking is the relay closing the switch, the starter
cranking, but because the battery is so low, the voltage goes to dirt
fast. Which causes the relay to open, and the start to stop, and then
voltage spikes upward, which allows the relay to energize and close
again, etc, etc, etc.......

Typically if this was in the summer time, I would getss a bad
connection, but the temps you stated sound like your battery is
getting a little exhausted. You might try to prepare the car for
starting the next day when you finally park the car. Park, allow the
car to continue running, and take the time to turn off
everything(lights, fan, radio, etc). When everything is off, then
turn off the engine and leave. This preps the car for minimal loads
on the battery later, and gave a little extra juice for cranking.

Just a guess, but get me a few more starts before I had to replace my
aging battery in the past.

hth,

tom @ www.BookmarkAdmin.com

 

While it could be the starter, the fast clicking to me suggests a starter
that is not receiving sufficient amperage to crank, thus I'd still look at
the battery and starter connections (clean and tight), the battery itself
(likely root cause), the alternator belt (not slipping to prevent proper
charging), the starter (could have dirty or defective solenoid contacts),
and lastly the alternator (which he indicated was fairly new).

Good luck!

Bob