Car not starting when cold except when jumped.
 

Ok, this afternoon has been one of those not so nice ones! My car left me hanging. Would not start, here is what I have:

1. This is the second time this has happened to me, and it has only happend at work when the car has been outside all day, and it is in the 30s.

2. Car has been starting everytime with no problems, except mabey turing over a few extra times to get it started. Sometimes it will start right up fast.

3. Have checked all the cables, alt, starter etc, just went through everything a few posts ago. Everything checks good. This again has only happened when it is outside and it is super cold.

4. Tried to crank would not crank at all, finally got a buddy at work to put his new dodge up, set of jumper cables and it fired right up. I used a battery tester on it a few weeks ago, and it check good.

5. Is it possible for the Cold cranking amps to basically be no good on the battery? Or is there a sensor that could be bad or going out? Not sure where to go, due to this only happening when it is cold. Got home turned the car off, went to start again, being hot from driving, fired right up!

Thanks for the help!

have the battery load tested. Many places will do it for free. Sounds like the battery is on it's way out.

Jon

my girlfriends bmw did that for awhile, we pulled the battery, had it tested, they said it was bad and we got a free replacement.

My neighbor was a mechanic at the local FORD house and he had a load tester, we tested it and it was fine, but something has to be wrong with the battery. I don't know what else to check out. Looks like I am going to need to get a battery, so any suggestions????? The best one for one of these cars?

Get one with a good warranty. Something with a 5 year non-prorated replacement.

what about bad power leads/grounds to the starter/engine?

Back to basics. Was the tach bouncing when it would not start? Got fuel? We need more information otherwise we are all just speculating.

Just went throught the Wiring, Starter, Alternator, and leads everything is cool and nothing wrong. Just replaced the FPR, great fuel and fuel pressure. New Plugs, MSD Coil, rotor and cap within the last month. Starts with no problems when it is warm outside. THis is the second time, and it was outside all day with 35 degree weather. Mike

Mike:

Next time you get the car started...warm or cold, check the voltage coming from the alternator. You should be around 14.6-15.0 showing on the voltage tester.

Also, if your battery is not at 12.45 then your fuel injectors will not fire. Ask me how I know? Some people say that if the battery is at 12 volts, that's all you need. They are wrong about this, all fuel injected cars electrical systems must be delivering at 12.45 or higher for the injectors to fire. It has been this way since the first Bosch fuel injection system was ever placed inside a VW or Porsche. If the voltage is not up there, your voltage regulator brush could be worn and be the culprit.

With a bad battery, or one that is going bad like having a bad cell, sometimes with the very cold weather you get very dry air as well, which in turn makes the water/acid in the battery evaporate.

The only other thing I can think of is the DME relay is sticking when it is cold. It really shouldn't do this...but...well, you know the drill.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Well..........I´ve just changed water pump, belts and rollers and wanted to look at those parts working with running motor so I did´nt refit generator belt to generator. Motor started right up and I had it run for 30 minutes to get hot. Shut it down and started it up again when cool for 30 mins again without any problem. I think this could be done when you know battery is good and dont drop too much voltage while cranking. Repeated this procedure after front belt plate and generator belt was refitted. Same good working.
Have a jumper cable start in the first start attempt when really cooold. If you now have a quick start, then your battery is bad. I would know from a cold country. Also read battery chargeing voltage with your motor running. Should be around 14 Volt with generator OK.
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Lapponia

Well, I have good charge coming from the alternator. Sounds like the bearings are going out, so I will be looking for a new one soon. Gotta be the battery after everyones statments. I have had no problmes when it is warm, just when it gets real cold, then it is a pain! Thanks, Looking into a new battery to get this next week.

I had the same problem with my '87 924S. Drove me crazy for about three months. I took it to 2 dealerships and two service shops before Finally got it fixed. The culprit was two fold. The electrical grounds were corroded UNDER the attachment plate(both dealerships) AND the biggie, the fuel pump relay for the second pump had become voltage sensitive. It would not close under 11.5 volts, but closed fine at 11.7. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. Well, Finally took the Alternator off and went down to have it check at the local parts store. And Guess what! it FAILED! So I am in the process of looking for a new one. Had done the simple checks on the Alternator, and it worked, but I guess it is not putting out enough to charge the system, over time and the COLD Weather, not so good! Like TibetanT said with that low the injectors would not kick off. THis week I am looking for an ALternator and if I can get a good deal on a battery, I will change it as well. Thanks for the Help, Mike

UPDATE, changed tha alternator and have had no issues. Everything seams to be working good now. I will change the battery in a few months. Mike

Thank you for following up. =) Might as well keep the battery till next winter, if not longer.

p3