Questions and Answers
Cranky Escort
Q. A couple of months ago, my car wouldn't start one night after work. I got a jump and it was fine. I thought that was the end of it. But since then, I'm starting to have more and more trouble getting it started. About every third or fourth time I start the car, when I first turn the key, I might get a really slow turn, it sounds like something is trying to wind itself up.
The second time I turn the key, it sounds like it is turning a little faster, and the third time it will normally start like nothing is wrong. Occassionally when it won't start, my clock and radio presets reset like the battery was dead or disconnected.
1995 Ford Escort
1.9 L
Automatic
75,000
A/C and P/SThere doesn't seem to be any pattern really, such as hot or cold, or time of day, or how long it's been driven then turned off. When I first try to start it, the lights will get very, very dim everytime whatever it is that is turning turns.
The battery is about a year to 18 months old. The battery terminals have been cleaned and the battery cables replaced. Any ideas? I'm thinking either the alternator or the starter. But I don't want to go to a repair shop acting dumb about what is wrong and get ripped off. I know that starters don't normally last that long after they start to go bad, and I didn't think alternators did either.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
RhondaA. It could be either the alternator or the starter, although from the sypmtoms I would look at the starter as the most likely culprit.
As starters get old they start to draw more current. Often to the point where it takes everything the battery has to give. This will cause the raido and clock to lose their memories.
To check this you need to do a starter cureent draw test. You place an ammeter in series with the starter circuit and, using a remote starter with the key OFF, crank the engine. The current draw should be between 140 and 200 amps. Any more than that and the starter is no good.
