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Problems starting after standing


Guest Wayne Matthews

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Guest Wayne Matthews

I have a 94 VR6 which has recently undergone a full service, (including plugs) I have also put a new battery in (about 2 months ago), the car is now having trouble starting from cold after sitting overnight (or after a days work etc.). It will start, but it just seems like the battery is flat and it takes a bit of cranking.

Silly question, but do you think the alternator is knackered? If so, is there an easy way to check this? Anything else it might be?

Cheers

Wayne

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one the best way to confirm if your battery is flat / poor, is to turn on your headlights and then crank your engine. The lights will probably dim very slightly with a good battery but they certainly shouldn't almost go out. If they do then I would look at the state of your battery (possible poor connection), even new ones can be duff. The only real way to confirm if the alternator is knackered is to connect a voltmeter to your battery. it should read around 12volts before cranking, drop slightly between 9 - 11 volts on cranking then pick up to around 12 -14v (on some vehicles) when charging. If it doesn't go above 12 then you may have problems. (does your charging light come on at all?? If it is so poor sometimes you wont get above 12 as the cells inside the battery are duff. you can get a cheap volt meter from any car shop, very simple to use. What else was done on your service??? hope this helps. Mick

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wayne wrote : It will start, but it just seems like the battery is flat and it takes a bit of cranking.

Chances are that if it cranks then it most likely isnt the starter motor, unless the starter motor is the cause of a short circuit and is subsequently draining the battery!! Get the battery checked mate, sounds like a safe bet to me, if the terminals aren't secure then that could cause the problem too.

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