Slow turn over with no start

[hikingmatt]

My 88 lxi has not been starting well lately. It has been turning over slowly and will eventually start. The battery was bad so I replaced it. Started well for a week then sat for three days and is now back to slow turns. When I first would try to crank just the gauges would come on but no slow crank(there was no click like it's the starter) but after about 4 attempts it would slow turn then start. Replaced neg batt cable bc it had a lot of corrosion. Still slow turn with no start. When it did start and ran for a minute I turned it off and now when I try to start it i have a slow crank and the gauges will die. Any ideas?

[89lx-r]

Well if its starting but your alternator isnt charging your system, then your battery will continue to die in a matter of time. Take out your alt. take it to autozone to get it checked. They do it for free.

[hikingmatt]

Today is the first time with the new batt that it has acted like it is dead when I try and start it. One day last week I started the car and took of the batt cables and the car continued to run. Could the alt still be bad?

[charliekuney]

I just went to Schuck's with the same problem and they told me to bring them my alternator and starter to see which is causing the problem.

[2oodoor]

Today is the first time with the new batt that it has acted like it is dead when I try and start it. One day last week I started the car and took of the batt cables and the car continued to run. Could the alt still be bad?

to answer your question technically, yes it still could be bad but it is charging.

I don't think your alt is the problem. I would check the cable connections, clean them good with a wire brush terminal cleaner.
Assuming all your fluids are up to par, oil coolant, etc.. and the car is not running without oil or has run hot enough to blow head gasket, I would next look at the condition of the starter.

[lostforawhile]

to answer your question technically, yes it still could be bad but it is charging.

I don't think your alt is the problem. I would check the cable connections, clean them good with a wire brush terminal cleaner.
Assuming all your fluids are up to par, oil coolant, etc.. and the car is not running without oil or has run hot enough to blow head gasket, I would next look at the condition of the starter.

yep, the starter brushes might be worn out, if you had a starter and alternator place there, they could fix that easy.

[hikingmatt]

Well I popped the clutch and let it run for like 20 min then turned it off and then it started right back up with no problem? I'm gonna go back out in like 30 min and see if it will start again.

[2oodoor]

could just be a stuck brush or very dirty armature. (starter) I don't know if you ever had one apart, these are the easiest starters to recondition, sometimes not even using any parts if you clean them and the brushes are still meaty enough.

[hikingmatt]

Yeah I am having a feeling it is the starter

[joebeets]

I would check the voltage at the battery terminals while the engine is idling. You want to verify you are getting 14 Volts.

[lostforawhile]

Well I popped the clutch and let it run for like 20 min then turned it off and then it started right back up with no problem? I'm gonna go back out in like 30 min and see if it will start again.

it's freezing there right? bad brushes, they can't transfer enough current to turn over the engine when the oil looks like taffy, but once it warms up, the oil is a lot thinner and it can turn over the engine. the battery will also be down on amps due to the cold. a weak starter or bad terminals will always show up when it's cold, the battery will already be down on available output current, and the electrical problems will show up worse.

[headbanger]

it's freezing there right? Bad brushes, they can't transfer enough current to turn over the engine when the oil looks like taffy, but once it warms up, the oil is a lot thinner and it can turn over the engine. The battery will also be down on amps due to the cold. A weak starter or bad terminals will always show up when it's cold, the battery will already be down on available output current, and the electrical problems will show up worse.

+1

[Hauntd ca3]

if you've just replaced the battery and it started fine for a while then the prob starts again, aslong as the car is charging fine it will be the starter out of brushes.
as for the ( run the car for 20 min, shut it off then it started fine ) that will be cause the batt has built up a surface charge and has more grunt until the surface charge has been used up by trying to start it or you've let it sit for a while and it disappears by itself.
for maybe USD$100 you should be able to take it to an auto electrician and have new brushes, bearings and have the commutator turned and undercut.

[smufguy]

Okay everyone seems to be beating the same bush to death. From my understanding, this is what you have done so.

1) Bought a new battery - so your power reservoir system is good, since its new.

2) Alternator Test - You pulled the cables off the battery and the car continued to run, layman's test says alternator is good. NOTE: did you know that your car will still idle fine at 9volts? This is what you do, get a Voltmeter (the one from walmart if anything) and with the car idling (after warm up), hook it to the positive and negative leads of the battery and read the voltage. Anything above a 13.7V you are in good shape.

Voltage leak - One of your grounds maybe off. Not your battery or engine ground, I mean an accessory ground might be loose. Reason I say this because, when I had my 89 accord, my stupid fuba antenna ground was disconnected and the battery kept draining overnight. When the car was off, I hook up am Ammeter (your Voltmeter has an option for reading the Amperage) and found out my battery was discharging and after a day's worth of headache, was able to find the loose ground.

Make sure all your electrical grounds are intact and try to relocate them. If you have any aftermarket radio or other sound equipment, make sure they are properly grounded.

NOTE: Your battery might take anywhere between 20min to an hour to recharge depending on how many accessories you run, thereby putting a lot of load on your electrical system.

[lostforawhile]

I was going to mention don't take the battery leads off while the engine is running, the high voltage spike when you reconnect them can blow the alternator diodes. Taking the leads off is a throwback to when cars had generators, people have kept doing it, and have been blowing alternators ever since. you also need to charge your battery with a battery charger, the alternator is NOT designed to recharge a badly run down battery, if you are having alternator or ground problems, your battery is probably run down now. When the engine is running, the car runs off of it,not the battery. thats the biggest misconception I've ever seen, everyone thinks it runs off of the battery. The alternator voltage is always higher then the battery, which is why it's able to charge. When the battery is run down the alternator will keep trying to charge it, and the voltage regulator and alternator will overheat. It also will put mostly a surface charge on the battery, which is very hard on the battery. In the winter if you live where it's really cold, it's a good idea to top up your battery from time to time with a charger. A lot of short trips in cold weather won't let the alternator fully charge the battery back up. The cold also causes the battery to drain faster while sitting.

[hikingmatt]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the comments. As far as an update, I bought another starter. I had the battery charged and tested and it came back "bad" so i bought a better battery and so far it is starting better than it ever has. I am going to take it this weekend to be tested to make sure it is not the alternator. I have already changed the neg cable and I am going to change the pos cable this weekend..I know I should have done that when the starter was out but I was fighting with daylight and cold weather. Hopefully I have fixed it...we will see in a few days if it is still starting.

[stat1K]

so your problem was a dead battery?