Help I have an electrical problem. With a full charge in a new battery I can start my car and run it. But if I turn it off I can not restart it. An y w

[AxeZ06]

When it's running, does every power accessory work?
Each power lock, window, wipers, signals and every other light, including dash / instrument panel lights, dome (if equipped), footwell lighting. In otherwords.....anything that comes on when the car is running?

I ask because, a former neighbour had the same trouble in a chev. Umpteen batteries / alternators replaced by the dealer wouldn't solve it.
Another neighbour / awesome mechanic, found a small instrument panel light out. He replaced it. The car was fixed.
He said it was part of the circuit, as minute as it was, and being broken, the car wouldn't charge.

 

[hemicat]

A tool like this may help check your charging system and battery

Amazon product ASIN B00ZRAFH5G

 

[Fast.asleep]

I had that exact issue last year. Turned out to be the starter

 

[ddgermann]

So let me correct a few things.
First I got the car in 2008.
About 2 years ago this problem started with the old battery.
I bought a new battery last summer because I thought it was bad and that would correct it.
It would keep a charge for the first few weeks and then it struggled to start and finally it wouldn’t keep a charge at all.
In order for it to start I had to have it jumped.
The battery would not keep a charge.
That’s when the problem of not being able to get restarted began again.

The car has about 46,000 miles on it.

As for the volt gauge it would start all the way to max and after the car ran for a while it started to go back to the 13 - 15 point.

First off, if you’re not, you definitely should be using a maintainer on your battery if it’s sitting for more than a few days. No battery will not survive long being discharged by the car while sitting over and over. Especially for the winter storage. Your car is drawing on the battery all the time so a little charger/maintainer is really needed to keep the battery alive and healthy.

Some other interesting advice above as well. Starter connections are also notorious for this kind of issue.

 

[Bawb]

I think it might be security feature in the ignition. It stops the car from starting.
Boosting car may make voltage high enough to read resistor in key.

 

[RTK]

I think it might be security feature in the ignition. It stops the car from starting.
Boosting car may make voltage high enough to read resistor in key.

I’m sorry but I don’t understand what is meant by boosting. Please explain.

 

[hemicat]

Boosting means taking a set of jumper cables and connecting two batteries together (in parallel). The other battery will provide the extra current for the starter.

I’m sorry but I don’t understand what is meant by boosting. Please explain.

 

[RTK]

Boosting means taking a set of jumper cables and connecting two batteries together (in parallel). The other battery will provide the extra current for the starter.

I’m sorry but I don’t understand what is meant by boosting. Please explain.

Thanks
I understand that.

 

[theboss]

Hi RTK. Just to make sure I understand correctly. I you recharge the battery, you can start the car and drive it without problem, what happend if you stop the engine 5 minutes, would it start again or would you have to boost (jump start) the car to restart it?

 

[RTK]

Hi RTK. Just to make sure I understand correctly. I you recharge the battery, you can start the car and drive it without problem, what happend if you stop the engine 5 minutes, would it start again or would you have to boost (jump start) the car to restart it?

I would have to jump start it again.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Charge the battery to full charge. Do a drawdown test on the battery. If you don't have a drawdown tester, any mechanic will have one. Start removing the possible causes one at a time and the real culprit will surface. JMO

 

[12cents]

I have a couple of quick questions to everyone. Could it be that the alternator is not charging the battery? Or some serious voltage leakage to ground drawing the battery down? I ask to help the OP as well as out of my own curiousity.

 

[hemicat]

I don't think it is an issue with the alternator as even a full battery can't start the darn thing. I would guess there is something that is drawing the battery down really quick such that a boost is required to start it up even after 5 minutes. Disconnecting things one by one sounds like a good debugging strategy. I would begin by disconnecting the starter and if that is not it then maybe start pulling fuses.

I have a couple of quick questions to everyone. Could it be that the alternator is not charging the battery? Or some serious voltage leakage to ground drawing the battery down? I ask to help the OP as well as out of my own curiousity.

 

[Rruuff Day]

I have a couple of quick questions to everyone. Could it be that the alternator is not charging the battery? Or some serious voltage leakage to ground drawing the battery down? I ask to help the OP as well as out of my own curiousity.

Good question Fred. A battery, especially a new battery has a pretty good reserve capacity (typically about 70 amp hrs. I would expect the battery would last a couple hours of driving and still start the car, especially if the headlights, AC, wipers, etc. are not on. Thus why I suggested checking all the connections and doing the battery drawdown test first. It's also easy to check if the alternator is kaput. If those all checkout fine then look for a pretty enormous drawdown somewhere within the car's electrical. OP hasn't really mentioned how long he drives the car for, or not that I've noted.

 

[RTK]

I have a couple of quick questions to everyone. Could it be that the alternator is not charging the battery? Or some serious voltage leakage to ground drawing the battery down? I ask to help the OP as well as out of my own curiousity.

Good question Fred. A battery, especially a new battery has a pretty good reserve capacity (typically about 70 amp hrs. I would expect the battery would last a couple hours of driving and still start the car, especially if the headlights, AC, wipers, etc. are not on. Thus why I suggested checking all the connections and doing the battery drawdown test first. It's also easy to check if the alternator is kaput. If those all checkout fine then look for a pretty enormous drawdown somewhere within the car's electrical. OP hasn't really mentioned how long he drives the car for, or not that I've noted.

I’m actually afraid to drive it too far from home with ‘ this problem .
Generally just long enough to get somewhere and back as long as I don’t have to turn it off.
I’ve had other guys suggest pulling fuses to see what is draining the battery.

 

[hemicat]

A couple of videos that show a technique for measuring the current drain of a battery. The first is to use a digital multi-meter (DMM) with a 10A current measurement setting and pulling fuses to find the drain.



The second uses the DMM to measure the current drain initially and then to measure the voltage drop across the fuse (which may mean that you won't have to pull fuses).



To kill a battery in a short time may blow a 10A fuse...I don't know.

 

[ddgermann]

This is really starting to sound like a short somewhere. Perhaps trace the main wire heading to your starter. You may find it partially rubbed out somewhere. Or worse mouse chewed during storage.
Smart idea on the fuse draw downs too guys.
Someone also discussed the smart key in this model possibly having an effect. I don’t have any experience with this system but it’s definitely something to consider if there is no draw found.

 

[theboss]

If this was my car, I would start by checking and cleaning every connections at the battery, grounds, the 2 major grounds are one at the block near the oil filter and the other one goes to the frame rail close to the battery, starter connections (big 12v cable, signal and good ground on engine block). Dont be shy, remove them, clean them and re-install to be sure they are clean and tight, follow all big wires from the battery and check for clean and tight connections next would be to make a starter test to see how much power it take when hot. You have enought stuff to have fun for 1 evening. This is the basic for a case like yours. BTW all test have to be done with a fully charge battery.

Good luck
Stephane

 

[theboss]

One other question. When the car doesnt star after a ride, does all other electrical system are still working?, strong headlight?, radio?, wippers?

 

[RTK]

One other question. When the car doesnt star after a ride, does all other electrical system are still working?, strong headlight?, radio?, wippers?

Nothing works after it’s stopped.
Will try all suggestions and get back for a report on the cause. I’m sure I will find it!