I replaced the battery in my car but when I went to start it it still wouldn't start.

So I have to jump it to get it to going and then it's okay. Why would this be going on? It seems to run okay other than that. Do I need to replace the jumpter cables that attach to the battery?:confused:

Bet some bozo didn't fill all the cells with water.

Does it try to turn over when you turn the key? Could be a bad starter... if it does turn over but just won't start and eventually goes dead.. could be a bad alternator.

Well it did start okay this morning. It started just fine so I will wait and see if it is consistent. And as far as filling the battery cells with water, I thought that car batteries did not need to be filled with water today.

You're right TDC, car batteries today are maintenance-free and do not need to be filled with water. And a bad alternator wouldn't cause a no-start condition.

Where did you get the battery from? Are the cables on tight?

Sorry, not all batteries are maintenance free. The better batteries, in my opinion are fillable. In many cases the batteries are shipped dry. Acid is added to make them live. That way they have an infinite shelf life.

My mother just had the scenereo I described happen to her. New battery and a week or so later, car would not start. One cell had zero water in it.

Okay KISS... I will definitely double check my battery for just that. I stand corrected. I learn something new every day. I got my battery at Walmart so we'll see!

Mantenence free batteries in my opinion ASSUME your going to trade the car in 5 years. New cars are shipped with them as a marketing ploy. Batteries should not loose water. They only time they do is when they are discharged heavily. I do suggest a bettery test about every 3 years and yearly thereafter.

It just saves being stuck on the road. I can do a load test. I have the charger that can. So it's no big deal for me. Also my dealer provides this free. I just have to remind him to give me the paperwork. They just assume I can't understand it. But I get 15% off list on parts and service and have a really good relationship. I had them change how they report amount of material left on the brake shoes. They not rport it in 1/32" increments left.

I digress:

I can't get everything I need from them, but. They will sell me a transponder key and cut it. I have to program it. What fun.

They will order non-stock parts for me such as tires. SO I'm in good shape.

I'll order parts rom them and have them do the work. Like replace bleeder screws and bleed brake system.
I can do the work, just don't have the time. So for 9 years, I haven't done hardly any work on my car or my mother's. Including oil changes.

Recently, I repleced a blower resistor on her car and diagnosed the seat heater problem. So I know what the problem is.


Lights are weird on my car. If the hand brake is up they won't come on. When you exit the vehicle, they go off. You really have to watch leaving the lights on if you sit in the car. To turn off the lights, you have to stop vehicle, pull hand brake and restart vehicle.

My leather seat busted, so I could throw money and time at that problem. I threw tape at it.

I like the car. Wish it has a subwoffer and a GPS. Both are moving targets. Wish it has a k40 radar detector, but again a wish list.

More annoying than anything is that I cannot see the brake light because of the steering wheel position. I want a system that will look at the speedometer sensor. Frequency convert it then use that output for a frequency switch to activate a buzzer if the brake is on. It's in the works.

Furthermore, I would like an oil level monitor. This might be something I have to do myself. By mounting a thermister on the dip stick, it should be possible to determine if the oil is low using self-heating. It would not be real-time, but would happen at each start.

I'd love an ammeter and or voltmeter too with a cut off beep.
May not ever happen.

Batteries are just odd things and lots of things can go wrong with water an untightened terminals being two.

Hey, I had a muffler put on twice backwards because the kid thought it fit better that way. He didn't pay attention to the arrows. Turned out the pipe was defective. I could tell it was wring by the sound of the engine.

If the battery is new, especially if Wal-Mart installed it, you may just have residue or dirt left on the inside of the connectors. This could cause intermittent starting problems, and also explain why a jump-start works This is assuming that the jumper cables get clamped to the cables (more accurately, to the OUTSIDE of the cable connectors), or one to the + cable and one to a good ground.

Anyway, I would pull the connectors off the battery and clean them with a wire brush or a cleaning tool, and reinstall them, making sure they're secure.

I have the same problem with my car.

Be sure to clean the battery cables connections, both where they attach to the battery and to the body of the car. I would also clean the connections going to the starter motor, after disconnecting the negative. Battery cable. Remember, even new batteries should be charged, prior to installing them. The can be surprising discharged.