Have to jump every start. Closer...

So some of you know I've had problems here in the winter with everytime I went to start the car I would have to jump it. It seems like every winter I had the car it was something like that, but this year was worse. Now winter is over and I'm still jumping it all the time. Battery is about 2 years old.

I decided to pull out all the fuses that are not being used, like the A/C, sunroof and some others that I don't even have... just to see if anything changed there. Also tested with a voltmeter or whatever to see if it was draining at any point which it wasn't. When car was off, there was just the little drain for the constant radio wire. Battery was at 12.3v. Turned electrical on and the thing dropped to 9.0 in no time at all.

So I jumped it again. Volt gauge in car shows 13-13.5. Shut it off. Battery shows 12.3v again. Drains in no time again.

If I drive on the expressway for awhile, I can go the whole weekend without having to jump it, but pretty much everytime I get in the car I have to jump. So is this an alternator? I've never replaced mine in this car. Like I said, the battery is a Die Hard max crank about 2 years old now. I don't want to pull the alt and get it tested and then replace something else. I don't have time for games. What does this sound like?

I would take it to advance and let them test the battery and alternator just to rule that out.

Dave your just having some bad luck with that car.

Well this been going on pretty much since I got the car but only had problems in the winter with the jump thing. But now it's everyday.

LIke I said I don't want to pull the alt and then have it not be the problem. But I'll probably just replace it anyways. It looks really old and rusty. Gah.

And for the others who don't know...
I busted a coolant hose right off the thermostat housing yesterday when on the expressway, spraying coolant all over the engine bay, over heating, and leaving a cloud of smoke coming from the motor (steam really) outside of my old college with everyone starring. And still have that oil leak also.

So did you bust off the front of the thermostat housing? I have one that I just sandblasted a couple weeks ago if you need it. As for the alternator, it'd be worth it to take it off and get it checked versus just buying a new one. They're a bitch to get out though.

So did you bust off the front of the thermostat housing? I have one that I just sandblasted a couple weeks ago if you need it. As for the alternator, it'd be worth it to take it off and get it checked versus just buying a new one. They're a bitch to get out though.

No I'm talking that little piece of hose going from the housing to the heater pipe right over the exhaust manifold busted. My girl went to Pep Boys with a pic and picked up some piping for me and I fixed it right there. Held good the rest of the night too.

Don't rule out a internal shortage inside the starter since it basically draws direct power. Also sounds like a ignition switch/system issue with it draining down to 9v as soon as you turn the key over.

The battery in my 99' sits at 12.9v and drops to 10v while cranking. You can get your battery , alternator & starter checked for free at autozone / pep boys / checker. I would roll with checker though as they use a machine with a little more in depth testing than autozone & pep boys...outdated bitches.

See I was also considering the starter too since when I crank (when power is lower, but still enough to start), it goes rar, rar, rar..... rar then turns over. Hard to explain that, but it cranks it, pauses, then cranks and turns over then. The starter looks old as hell too. It's an eyesore when opening the bay up. The thing has also probably had a ton of water and coolant poured over it since I bought the car due to all my problems and shit.

What's checker?

Part of CSK Ink. " Checker Auto Parts, Schuck's Auto Supply, Kragen Auto Parts and Murray's Discount Auto Stores "

Ah. I only have Murrays around here, none of those others.

Well I was going to pull the alt tonight but I have to drive to work tomorrow now since I have to go back and forth to the warehouse all day. Shoot me now. Guess I won't get around to it until after I come back from vacation now.

Actually I was just thinking. If my alternator was bad, wouldn't the car be cutting out while driving because it'd be running off the battery? It's never given me a single problem while driving. Just after I shut her off.

Yes, if the alternator was bad, your car would die on the road after it drained down the battery. It's got to be an ignition/starter problem.

So should I just pull the starter and take that in to get tested then? Would that put a constant strain on the battery when off for some reason?

Ok update ladies...

I took the starter out last weekend and got it tested. Advance said that it wasn't strong enough or whatever and was having issues in the tester. Ok, so I bought a new one from Pep Boys (only place where I buy parts from) and it starts A LOT better now. When I turn the key it doesn't even crank once, just turns right over.

BUT, last night when I went outside after a day of no driving, and the battery was dead again. Not completely dead but not enough to start. I want to take the battery in to get a full charge this weekend or very soon. Thing has been dying for half a year now without a full charge besides from driving so maybe that's still an issue.

I'm going to try again to see if something is drawing power. I realized all my gauges are hooked up to the cig lighter so I'm going to disconnect that and see if there's any change considering that'd be the only place pulling power if something was wrong. Ideas?

The cig lighter only gets power with ignition switched on so that shouldn't be a problem. You should have been recharging your battery all along. The alternator is only meant to maintain a battery, not fully recharge it.

Battery was charged over the weekend and was starting strong. I was also driving 100+ miles a day, so it was staying charged just from that. Yesterday I went outside and just decided to give it a start and it was nearly dead. She turned over, but took a while for it to crank. It was also only in the 40s yesterday, compared to the 80s all weekend.

I was thinking though today, my reverse glow lights are wired up directly to the parking lights on the steering column. Now, I don't know how I did it, but basically, just one wire from the faces are actually connected to the lights. The other is just there, taped up. Don't know what I was thinking there. The lights (parking/high beams...) can be turned on when car is off obviously. Would these gauge faces being improperly wired cause an issue you think?

If it's warm enough when I get home I may rewire that while doing some other things.

I wouldn't be surprised if you've actually fixed the problem, but the beating that the battery took in the meantime is causing your current problems. Batteries do not like to be fully discharged and recharged even several times, never mind the number of times yours has been. And constantly having to recharge the battery from next to nothing is a real quick way to kill an otherwise good alternator too. This is why so many people get stuck going in circles forever with charging system issues.

I wouldn't be surprised if you've actually fixed the problem, but the beating that the battery took in the meantime is causing your current problems. Batteries do not like to be fully discharged and recharged even several times, never mind the number of times yours has been. And constantly having to recharge the battery from next to nothing is a real quick way to kill an otherwise good alternator too. This is why so many people get stuck going in circles forever with charging system issues.

So are you suggestion replacing both the alternator and the battery then? Just start from scratch on both sides of the system?

Don't rechargeable batteries like to be fully discharged and recharged as it makes use of the "whole" thing? Why wouldn't that be the same for car batteries?

Car batteries don't like to be fully discharged. Completely different technology than smaller rechargeables like nicads, etc. If the alternator isn't putting out too much voltage, I would start with just the battery. I think you said it was two years old already anyway...