1992 964 starting issue

[johng964]

hi everyone,

my battery died and i let the car sit for about 4-5 weeks. when i recharged the battery and tried starting the car, i got nothing. not even a crank. i know the battery was charged because the alarm was blaring as soon as i hooked up the battery. my guess is it's the DME relay. i replaced it last summer, though, so it seems a little soon for the relay to break again.

i took the relay out and shook it, blew on the connectors and put the relay back in. i got barely half a crank and then nothing. so is the battery still the problem, the relay, or do i need to reset something, or .... ??

thanks for the help
john

[lucittm]

The alarm can go off with very little current coming from the battery. But you need much more current to crank the engine over. I would take the battery to a service station or automotive garage and have the technician load test the battery. They will usually do this for free since it can mean a battery sale for them.

If your battery tests bad then the solution is obvious. When the battery voltage gets very low, the battery cannot be brought back from the dead, it might hold a charge for 15 minutes, but that's all. If the battery tests good, then I would look at the cables and grounding points.

You did not mention how the battery died. Is there a current leak in the car that drains the battery? Did you recharge the battery while it was hooked up in the car? That may cause a problem with some battery chargers. Finally, when you get it sorted out, buy a battery maintainer that will keep the battery charged but not over charge it.

Good Luck,
Mark

[johng964]

mark, thanks for the reply. i will test the battery this weekend. there is, in fact, a mystery drain somewhere in the car. it's how the battery died in the first place. i hadn't driven the car in a few days because of the weather. the battery was out of the car when i recharged. it also sat for a couple weeks on the garage floor before i recharged it. thanks for the advice.

john

[vahena]

John
I had somewhat of the same problem, my car sits for weeks at a time due to work battery was dead, when out and bought a new one because the old one was from the prior owner, 2 weeks later came home and it was dead, went and bought a heavy duty charger and a trickel drown charger and now when I get home after a month or so I get in and it starts right away , no problems since . even after 2 months of not starting her.
good Luck Rob

[bazar01]

Originally Posted by vahena

John
I had somewhat of the same problem, my car sits for weeks at a time due to work battery was dead, when out and bought a new one because the old one was from the prior owner, 2 weeks later came home and it was dead, went and bought a heavy duty charger and a trickel drown charger and now when I get home after a month or so I get in and it starts right away , no problems since . even after 2 months of not starting her.
good Luck Rob

Good investment.

I put a battery switch and just disconnect the battery. Battery lasts a month even more and it starts every time.