Car Strut (dead battery or starter) help
Controller_7
4,052 Posts
I've googled everything, I've tried most things, and everyone has a different idea, so I am turning to the Strut for some extra insight. After years of living in the city and not having a car, my girlfriend and I decided to take back her old car that nobody was using anymore. We've only had it for a week now and it's now dead. According to her family, it was fine before. When we picked it up, I commented on the fact that it didn't turn over right away. Sometimes you would have to turn the ignition twice to get it to turn over. My girlfriend said "it's always been like that" so I let it go. Then I had a few times where it was much worse. Yesterday I went to move the car and I got nothing. I got a few weak wurrs and then it stopped. After many attempts it got to the point where I won't get any wurrs, just a click. I tried charging the battery, but that didn't work. The lights, radio, etc. come on, but I still don't get anything out of the engine. We tried to jump the car, but I don't have 100% confidence in the jumping because the other person's car was newer and the battery had some sort of concealed terminals that made it very hard to connect to. I thought it was the battery because I used to get some wurrs, but after repeated attempts all the wurrs are gone. It's only a click now. It made me think that the battery just lost it's juice and can't muster up even a weak wurrr. I thought the battery charger would work, but people we ask seem to have little faith in that. I checked the fuse for the starter. It's fine. We're just trying to figure out what it is before we have to take it to a shop. Hopefully we'll get a good jump tomorrow and figure it out. Someone's coming by to take a look. Any ideas? I'll breakdown the main points in case anyone can help:1. 1995 Nissan 200sx2. Car was not used on a daily basis in the past month or two. It was used periodically though. 3. Car started for us all week, but seemed to struggle at times. It would take two tries to get it to turn over. 4. Car made a weak attempt and then would not turn over. The wurrs slowly died to nothing but a click. 5. I removed the battery and charged it until the light turned green and said it was charged. That did nothing6. We live in San Francisco, it's parked on a slight grade, the tank is 3/4's full.Thanks for any help.Cars... 
Comments
Also, if the car has not been used much you should replace the spark plugs, oil, and o2 sensor.
here's some extra info which I forgot to mention.
The battery is less than a year old.
I cleaned the terminals with a wire brush and everything looks good.
yeah, this is what I am most concerned about. I am trying to find prices for starters online. It looks like they are $100 or less for my car. What is an average labor rate? Is it hourly or just whatever the hell they want/
I've had older Hondas (80s/90s) and the battery cables have become loose in the past - bolting the battery down properly and/or replacing the cables could cure this.
I recently had my car giving the same signs as yours - lights/radio on but not enough juice to start the car - and was told that I needed to add water to the battery. I added water and the car was successfully jumped, but wouldn't start again on its own until the battery was replaced.
If the battery is that new, and the connections are definitely good (your battery is not moving when the car is) it could be the starter... labor rates are hourly, which is basically whatever the hell they want... see if you get a couple estimates to compare...
Around here, Advance Auto will test your battery power/connections for free... I'd advise making absolutely sure that your connections/power are straight before pursuing other options...
I've seen used starters sell on the sr20forum sell for around $70. For a new one I think they are over $200 and labor usually goes by the hour. I think they estimate how many hours it will take multiplied by their rate.
Get w/ Serg. Dude is a mechanic I think
this is not correct, the alternator only powers the car when it's running
Even if the car has issues starting up it should still crank with significant power, if that's week you have starter/battery issues If your battery is good(have it tested to be sure, cause I've seen shit batteries fail after 6 months)then it's pointing at the starter. From the sound of shit it doesn't sound like you have the capabilities to pull it but if you know someone have them pull that shit and test it at a Kragen/Autozone. I would offer but I'm heading out of town right now, if you got time to wait until next week then holler.
Another thing you can check if the batter is good and you've cleaned the terminals then crank it and feel the (+) battery cable and see if it's getting hot, if it is then you have a bad cable.
Another thing is if you can find the starter which on a SR20 I think is on the backside of the motor, over by the firewall. Hit it with a hammer a couple time and then crank it. It sounds hokey but sometimes they seaze up when they don't get used and the tapping knocks them free enough to turn over
...this sounds like an electrical wiring problem. And with electrical problems, 90% of the time it is a grounding issue. However, it could be something simple at the ignition switch going bad. If you are able to bypass the switch (ie: hotwire), I would try that. Also make sure that you have a fully charged battery.
There's all sorts of tricks, but it doesn't sound like a starter to me. If you buy a Haynes manual (or equiv.) then you can try all the tricks to check-
Jump start the effer (try someone else's car w/ battery terminals you can get at.) This next step is not recommended to anyone scared of dying: when you hook the wires to their car, a real easy way to check if it's hooked up is to take the ends that will attach to yours and touch them together real quick. Sparks flying everywhere? YOU GOT JUICE!
If it jumps, it's obviously not the starter.
Another way you can test the starter is look at the wires going into it. It's body grounded and has two terminals (and maybe a test terminal w/ a small wire coming out of it- don't worry about the little one) The two mains are both positive, one is a constant hot (should be hooked either directly or via fused link) to your battery, and the other is a remote. Using a jumper cable, touch the + lead to a battery and then to the remote terminal. The starter should crank over. Again, don't do that if you're afraid of being disfigured, or if the car is in any gear besides "park" or "neutral".
If it's not the starter, it's the battery or alternator:
The easiest thing to do is take out the battery and bring it to a Kragen or AutoZone or Napa or whatever and say: "test this POS please!" and they do it for free. If you need a new one, they tell you, and you buy it, and go home and put it in, and your lady thinks your sexy for gettin' grease on your hands.
An easy way to test the alternator requires that the engine be running (via jump start or new battery in your case). When the engine has been running for five minutes or so, all nice and warm- leave it running and disconnect the battery completely (always remember when connecting or disconnecting: positive first! it minimizes sparking). The car will still be running with the battery completely disconnected. Hell, go turn on the headlights/radio/etc. pump the brakes. Honk the horn and yell funny things at your lady, whatever. The vehicle should be able to run completely on the power of the alternator once it's established a normal idle (not lean warm up idle) If it dies or sputters out slowly and dies, congrats, you need a new alternator- which on most nissans is a royal pain to fix. But, it's a common procedure, and that's why you have got the haynes manual, and rebuilt alternators at kragen are cheaper (remember your core!) and have a lifetime warranty!
good luck w/ the whip.
Doesn't sound like a dead starter.
did you try cleaning the termninals at the starter/solenoid? most times, it's not the starter, it is the solenoid that would need replacing if anything. follow the cable from the battery to the starter and clean those terminals. if your battery is still drained, get a jump. holler on the pm if you still need some help this afternoon.
peace-
The only problem with testing the battery is that the Kragen is two bus transfers away. I guess I can do it. It just sucks because we got the car to make things easier and now it's more of a pain in the ass. I'll see if the corner gas station can test the battery for me.
I'll post again and let you know what happens.
I just want to get this over with. The worst part is that we just got engaged and my lack of car knowledge and my frustration is kind of making me look bad in front of her parents. We're doing all this talking on the phone and there's miscommunication and it's frustrating me because it looks like I am incapable of handling situations like these. the reality is that I am sort of pussy footing on it because we just got the car from them and they seemed to have all these opinions on it and I felt like I needed to go along with what they said. Otherwise I would have just gotten it fixed and not looked like a weenie in front of them.
think of this as a test to how you handle stress. you only need a new starter, its not like a new transmission.
get two more opinions/estimates choose the best price and act fast. work smarter not harder and you'll come out smelling like a rose. you can even look online if your going to buy a refurb, you can also go to a salvage yard but that's pretty "manly". you'll have more of this if yr getting married.
oh shit anna, you been got. You going upstate to the clink?
Banging on a starter is actually the right thing to do. A lot of times it's enough to get it going.
Starters are usually easy to replace. Typically located between the engine and the transmission. You can usually just unbolt it and slide a new one in. It's one of the easier things to do. Get yourself a Haynes manual and have at it.
not ALWAYS true, I've had starters start to go on me before and I've still gotten lucky and been able to jump them.
but yeah, what the dude above me said. Changing a starter is generally a piece of cake.