battery won't start when really cold
 

Hey Whopper - why not be an educator rather then close a discussion where I'm not given enough time to do what you suggested?

I presumed the parts store mgr was using a testing tool with a voltmeter in it. And wouldn't he had wanted to tell me my battery was bad and sell me a new battery rather then tell me it was OK?

The car doesn't crank at all when really cold, 26 degrees. It's much warmer by the time the store opens, and maybe by then, it would test OK. Maybe I should buy a voltmeter and test it myself when it's 27 degrees and won't start? Would that be a truer reading of the health of the battery?

Thanks for your help Whopper.

No. The voltage is just one of the things looked at when testing a car battery.

P.S. One reason for whopper closing your earlier discussion was because it was misplaced. That thread was about engine surging but you had strayed it to your no start issue.

thanks for that info. I don't understand the electrical stuff much, I skipped the day they taught that.

However, I just tried to start the car again this morning, it's 29 degrees and it started fine. Thinking there might be just enough water in the gas tank to freeze overnight I added a small bottle of Lucas gas treatment last night and drove it about 15 miles to mix it up good. And parked it under a narrow deck over the driveway, thinking it would reduce the temperature mabe a few degrees.

I'll get the car over to my repair shop this week and have him test everything.

Here is a chart; notice the difference between 32F and 75F annd it continues the colder it gets.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...aef534f165.png

Hmmmm..... I can't be the only one, so I'll say it... I don't understand this chart, what does it mean?

What it means is 12V is a dead battery.

That is actually a diagnostic chart used to determine if you can save the battery with a charge. The %Charge numbers mean the opposite of what it seems.

My last battery showed 12.2 volts, alas it was still dead, perhaps a cell maybe two, the OEM was similar, 12.1 volts but no cold cranking amps, dead cell.

Bookdoug - if you go back to that thread - you will see that we were asking questions to clarify what the cause of the problem was. However it seems you did not read them, and did not give answers to the questions.

I asked about the no-start on the 24th - Rj asked again on the 27th after you had made 2 more posts - then you finally stated it didn't turn over at all. Now we had the whole story - we offered a number of suggestions on getting the battery tested, and I also included a link to an article on Why Do Car Batteries Go Dead (ie: EDUCATING!!!)!!!

And then what do you do? You repost the same post you had posted earlier saying it does not turn over.

and you get upset at me?

Just curious bookdoug.......

Where do you live, approximately, in Chandler.....to recognize 26 degree weather? I live in Mesa and haven't had anything under 40 degrees this "winter".

Oh, and get a battery, you probably need it. Your reported 26 degrees is not a significant threat to a well maintained and charged battery. I travel to the "high country" frequently and never experience problems with any of my vehicles in the reported low 20 degrees.

Last week we were at 14 F , no starting problems , and Oldblue is an outside HHR!