My car isn't starting (obviously). The battery appears to be working, the lights come on, etc. I don't know much about cars but I think its struggling to turn over. When I turn the ignition it makes the sound like its trying to start with a second or so in between revs. Help!

9/11/2008 3:49:59 PM

What fucking make, model, and year is the goddam thing?

WE NEED TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE OF ANY WORTH WHATSOEVER.

9/11/2008 3:56:41 PM

Sorry I fail.

97 acura integra, automatic

9/11/2008 4:16:19 PM

The battery is dead, or you have a poor connection at the battery cables.

9/11/2008 4:40:10 PM

How would I figure out if theres a poor connection? Any simple checks?

9/11/2008 4:44:04 PM

See if the terminals are corroded. It will be obvious cause it should look clean...

9/11/2008 4:50:59 PM

You drama queens don't need to know the make or model to recognize a dead batter.

9/11/2008 4:55:51 PM

Quote :

" What fucking make, model, and year is the goddam thing? WE NEED TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE OF ANY WORTH WHATSOEVER. "

AND WHY IS THIS INFORMATION SO FUCKING IMPORTANT WHEN YOU KNOW GOOD FUCKING WELL THAT IT'S A DEAD BATTERY??



haha, you the man, dan.

9/11/2008 4:56:22 PM

I dunno. could be a Toyota with a Nippondenso starter and fried solenoid contacts.

But I guess if it's straining to turn, then, well...sounds like the battery is low. hmm. Guess I just like to make a scene.

9/11/2008 4:58:40 PM

The battery cables were covered in blue shit. And if the battery is dead how does it still have enough juice for the lights and such?

9/11/2008 4:59:25 PM

lights take about 10 amps or less.

cranking your engine - ohhh, about 150 to 300 amps.

9/11/2008 5:00:23 PM

Like I said, I don't know shit about cars. So it doesn't need a jump, I need a new battery, correct?

9/11/2008 5:01:30 PM

clean off the blue stuff

jump the car

drive around for a while

9/11/2008 5:03:57 PM

Anything specific to use to clean the blue stuff off? Or just scrape off as much as I can?

9/11/2008 5:08:42 PM

baking soda solution with some HCl added just to make sure you get the job done... Wire brush helps.























jk on the HCl.

9/11/2008 5:11:39 PM

They sell battery terminal cleaner in a spray can at Advance Auto Parts. Take off the terminals, clean them with that and a wire brush, then put them back on and tighten the nut. Have someone jump you off(+ connected to +, - to -). Look for interior lights left on or anything else that could have drained your battery. Leave the car running for 20 minutes or so. You should be good to go with no dash lights on, else report back.

9/11/2008 5:27:48 PM

integra???


I'LL BUY!!!!

9/11/2008 5:43:30 PM

it's an automatic though.

9/11/2008 6:49:02 PM

pour some coke (yep, coke-cola) on the battery terminals. it'll clean the hell outta that shit.

9/11/2008 6:51:22 PM

doesn't that only work on over priced, under powered diesels?

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 9:57 PM. Reason : ass]

9/11/2008 9:57:33 PM

yeah, it works on them too. good thing i don't have one because i don't drink coke.

9/12/2008 10:28:49 AM

Quote :

"pour some coke (yep, coke-cola) on the battery terminals. it'll clean the hell outta that shit."

The man speaks the truth. I've seen this work.

9/12/2008 3:38:16 PM

Okay so back when this happened I got my battery checked and it turned out it was dead, so I bought a new one. I got a cheap one from walmart, which might be what is leading to my problem. I realized the light inside my dash sometimes blinks faintly while I'm driving, i think the trigger that keeps it off is broken or something. This hasn't drained enough power to kill it over night, but over thanksgiving when I didn't drive for a few days it apparently killed my battery. I jumped my car fine, left it running for 15-20 minutes and turned it off. When I came back later to start the car it was completely dead, no power at all and I couldn't jump it.

Is it possible it was just a shit battery and it died, or is this looking more like it could be an alternator/starter problem.

And its a 96 integra for anyone who want to read the rest.

12/3/2008 6:48:04 AM

Quote :

"97 acura integra, automatic"

Quote :

"And its a 96 integra for anyone who want to read the rest."

12/3/2008 11:30:29 AM

You want to fix the damn thing totally right.

Buy a new battery from the auto parts store. I'd go with AC delco. They are expensive but reliable and overall good batteries.

You say when your driving that the lights flicker? fuck it and replace the alternator while your at it.





Now...your entire problem is solved. No more worries about your car not starting.

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 12:33 PM. Reason : And never buy stuff from wal-mart. Bad decision. ]

12/3/2008 12:32:25 PM

Ain't nothing wrong with a Wally World battery.

But from what I'm reading, I'd bet a dozen jelly donuts and the cheeseburger that I owe underPSI that your alternator is in pre-bed-shitting phase, and there's a rectifier breakdown or a bad regulator that's bleeding off the battery. OR you left your cell phone plugged in all weekend.

BTW, I do work on these cars.

12/3/2008 2:06:09 PM

Take the battery up to advance/local parts store and have them test the battery. If it's bad, get a new one, if it's good, clean your terminals up really well/replace if necessary and start trouble shooting from there.

....profit

12/3/2008 2:13:14 PM

Quote :

"Ain't nothing wrong with a Wally World battery."

Depends on what type of battery it is...some of them are cheapo crap with like 500 starts...Mine from the delco has like 5000-7500 or some crazy shit like that.

12/3/2008 8:04:52 PM

Since when did they rate a battery based on the number of starts? That's like rating a restaurant based on how much pizza they have (you know, like pieces of pizza).

12/3/2008 9:35:17 PM

On some batteries it says that if I'm not mistaken. I could be blowing smoke, but I think mine says that on the top label...I'll check tomorrow cuz now I'm curious.

12/4/2008 2:49:26 AM

Quote :

"I dunno. could be a Toyota with a Nippondenso starter and fried solenoid contacts."

That's me. Well at least was until the beginning of November.

12/4/2008 7:42:21 AM