Starting problem.

cavaliers60 · 02-14-2013, 09:20 PM

I'm thinking its the starter, but want opinions... Recently the car has been having a really hard time starting. I turn the key and it barely cranks but just enough to get going... Lights and everything stay on so I don't think it's the battery. Once it is running, everything is fine. Drives great and everything which also makes me confident it's not a battery issue... Ideas?

03glgold · 02-14-2013, 09:24 PM

does it start easier when the car is warm,cold, or is it pretty much the same regardless...when mine had a bad battery it seemed to be working fine except my clock kept resetting until one morning that was a little colder I went out and it barely started...other than that it was running just fine, and the lights and everything responded as they should have

cavaliers60 · 02-14-2013, 09:27 PM

If I shut it off and start it back up, it has no problems... The battery was bought back in early 2010 when I was in Arizona...

03glgold · 02-14-2013, 09:31 PM

I believe it is the battery...what brand is it because my battery was a duralast gold and it was from 2010...it showed no signs of a problem until that one time and since I had to drive home 160 miles the next day I went to have the battery and alternator tested and the problem was the battery...it is free to get oriellys and probably autozone to test it for you

cavaliers60 · 02-14-2013, 09:41 PM

I want to say it is a duralast, but not 100% sure. I'll check it tomorrow. Thanks!

rustyballs_69 · 02-14-2013, 11:12 PM

Sounds like a battery to me also. Might have a bad cell.

Nas Escobar · 02-14-2013, 11:38 PM

Best way to know if it's the battery is if the lights flicker when you have your heads on and you turn on your blinkers or any other accessory. My Cutlass was doing that, and it would be hard to start, sometimes needing a jump and it turned out it was the battery, then the idiot at the parts store didn't put the cable in right so it became a battery issue to a connection issue.

Moral of the post... have your battery and alternator tested at Auto Zone. Don't go to Advance Auto Parts since they don't test alternators.

cavaliers60 · 02-15-2013, 07:13 PM

Not the battery.... Changed it today but it still has problems starting.... At least I have a new battery. LOL

cavaliers60 · 02-28-2013, 04:05 PM

So tune up didn't work as well as a new battery. So I'm positive it's the starter going bad... It still struggles to crank. Occasionally, when it starts, it will idle rough for a few seconds due to a hard start... I really don't see it being anything else as it runs just fine when driving... It's just getting it to start...

zzyzzx · 03-01-2013, 09:04 AM

Are you sure that the alternator is working?

cavaliers60 · 03-01-2013, 06:39 PM

If it was the alternator, I would have thought the car would die while driving it... But it runs just fine while driving.

Something happened last night that made me sure it was the starter. It tried to start, but couldn't turn over. The starter started smoking real bad and made a weird noise. Did the same thing this morning, but the car started.

I replaced the starter this afternoon, and it definitely seems to have fixed the problem. Fires right up with no problems, and no long, hard starts.