Car Electrical Problem
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007 - 10:18am
New decent-quality battery in crappy old Volkswagen Golf last winter. Now car won't start unless I jump it. Once I turn it off it will not start again (unjumped) even if I let it run long enough to charge the battery.
Bad battery?
Bad alternator?
Certis?
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Either alternator or Certis. Kick Certis, and if that doesn't help, replace the alternator. Then, kick Certis for not giving you an alternator.
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If it starts when you jump it, then the charge is getting from the battery to the engine. Instead, your battery doesn't have charge. This either means it's not getting charged, or it's not holding a charge.
I'd guess a good way to check would be to jump it, run it for a little while, turn it off, and then try to start it right back up. If it's not holding a charge well, it should still have a little bit left after a couple minutes of turning it off. If it's not charging, then it shouldn't start.
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If you have an AutoZone in the area, I think they'll test your battery for free.
Yep. http://www.autozone.com/in_our_stores/free_testing.htm
Check the battery first (easy to check and replace), then the alternator...
The car runs fine after it's jumped?
Assuming the battery hasn't gone bad surprisingly quick, my guess is the voltage regulator on the alternator itself. For some cars, that entails replacing the entire alternator. If the regulator is supplying too much voltage to the battery, it's possible that it's also ruined the battery in the process.
If you have a multimeter you can check the battery voltage (should be ~12 volts) after running the engine for a while. As others have suggested, maybe the battery isn't getting charged by the alternator.
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Battery tests are free and can be found at most auto parts places like gudanov said. Get that done. If the battery tests out ok, like others here have said it's almost certainly the alternator. Should be anywhere from $100 - 300 to replace.
Alternators aren't quite as easy to replace as batteries, and usually they just require a friend to help (Basically its a real pain in the rear to torque the tensioner while trying to fiddle around with the alternator belt, so have a friend apply the pressure to the tensioner while you change the alternator belt.) or some jury rigging/special tools. batteries are a breeze, oh and knowing you live in MN get one that has ~800+ CCA if you replace the battery, trust me in the winter you won't be thanking me (because your car will start and you won't think about it), but you also won't be swearing at your battery for freezing either
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