illson_2k

This gets so annoying.....For some odd reason if I don't drive my car for a couple days it won't start...I know it's not my battery.....but everything is fine when it's jumped. Does anyone know anything about this?

Rit&Booner

Just try to drive your car everyday.


Really, check alternator, check battery terminal...loose connection, corrossion.

Nixsun79

you sure its not the battery? That what it sounds like to me. Someone tried to break into my car a while back, but thanks to the ES3 alarm system they were stopped. I love how when you pop the lock without the key the doors lock right back up. Anyway, the door was left slightly opened after they ran off, my alarm was sounding for hours while I was in the club. I got out and found my car, alarm blazing and door ajar, I turned the alarm off and everything seemed fine, lights worked, radio turned on, windows went up and down, but the car would not start. The alarm had drained the battery and there was not enough amps to turn the starter. I got a jump and worked fine, let the car run for about an hour so the alternater could recharge the battery. Car has worked fine ever since. Hmm, maybe your alternater is dead?

illson_2k

Yea I'm pretty sure that it's not my batter because it's about a year old...I think it may be my alternator

Toysrme

Check the fuilds in the battery if you can. Pour water in it only!

Mine suddenly went dead right after I got it. Threw it on a fast charger and it was fine.

*edit
The auto locking feature is stupid, assuming they're all the same speed as my '93 ES. When I had to break into mine it surprized me the first time... The second time I pulled on the handle and beat the weak electric locks by a mile. :\ Anyone that's smart enough to pull the lock back with a coat hanger, is smart enough to pull a door handle LoL!

George Hsieh

I think it should be your alternator, because this happen to me few days ago.. and I went down to the dealer... and they were thinking it's because of the battery, but after they change the battery it still happen,, they just find out that it's the alternator not giveing enough amp or something ,,, sorry I don't know much about alternator...... but it will cost you big buck at the dealer,,,,, but for mine I knew a guy in the service dep. they but it under my warranty... because alternator it's only 5 years.... mine it just pass 5 years...
hope that will help... good luck

Toysrme

If you check the fluid and charge of your current battery, and you can't refil it with water, then recharge it and have it hold a charge.

Get a new battery.
1) You need one anyways
2) If that battery goes out in short order, it is you alt.

Like Rit&Booner said, drive it everyday! Try and drive it long enough and fast enoguh to give it a chance to charge.

Curt

Here's the classic way to determine what your problem is. The car won't start because the battery's dead. But is it a bad battery, or did the alternator just not charge it? Get a jump to get the car started. Then check your voltage on the battery. If the alternator is working properly, the voltage on the battery will typically be about 13.5-14.5 V. If it's much less than that, your alternator isn't charging the battery. If it's much over that, your alternator is toasting your battery. If the alternator's okay, but your car won't start tomorrow, it's almost certainly your battery. But you may also have an electrical drain somewhere in your car that is killing the battery while you sleep. That's not likely, but possible.

Don't think that a new battery is immune from failure. Twice in my lifetime I've had batteries under 1 year old fail on me. Both times it was because the alternator failed first and wouldn't charge the battery. Auto batteries just don't take total discharges very well, so even a "new" battery that has been discharged only one time can need replacement.

Curt

illson_2k

Hey Curt thanks for the info man, well one day I had went to Advance Auto Parts to get the alternator and battery tested and he said that everything looked good. He also said that there may be a electrical drain somewhere and he had asked me if I had a aftermarket stereo installed. Which I do and now that I think about it I don't remember my car acting up like this before the stereo. He had said that it probably needs to be rewired differently.
-Kevin

Curt

That aftermarket stereo could well be the culprit, depending on how it's hooked up. It may be draining the battery enough that it doesn't kill it overnight, but does kill it after a few days. The normal way to solve this problem is to connect all the aftermarket stuff through a relay, so it only uses power when the car's running.

If Advance says the battery's good, they probably tested your cranking amps to make sure it's reasonably close to specs. But remember that if if you keep discharging your battery, it will fail for good one day soon.

Curt