Starter or just a bad battery?

[OrangeBlossom]

Hey y'all. I hope someone can help me. I maybe know more about cars than the average female. . but not much. My '03 vibe won't start. won't jump. Lemme back up. Over the past six months or so, the battery has gone dead 4 or 5 times. All but one of those times, for no reason, in the morning. However, a quick jump, and everything is fine, for a few months. One time, about 20 degrees. Another time, about 90 degrees. So last night, went to store, then to walmart. Leaving walmart, car acted dead. Dash lights came on, ding came on. Nice guy tried to jump it. Nothing. Headlights turned on just fine. We tried to find the starter to bang on it, but couldn't find it. About to give up, asked for one last try with the jump, and she cranked. This morning, cranked ok. . but seemed kinda sad. Same thing a few minutes later, leaving store. Just tried to leave work - acted just like last night. Dash lights come on, dings, but no sound at all when I turn the key. Had a friend jump it. nothing. Revved up her engine. . nothing. So now i'm on the computer. . . looked all over generation vibe. . i see the battery issue.Tempted to just go buy battery (had to buy new one when i got car in Nov. 06, after it had sat a while)but i dont' want to do that if it is really the starter. help!thankssarah

[TONY TAT2]

Hi !You can get the old batt load tested to see if it's still goodcheck the pos & neg cables/corision/tightnessthe alt could be checked to see if's putten out enuff voltsthe starter could also be checked for amp drawstart with the simple/easy things 1st. Belt tensioner could be bad,causen the belt to slip & not charge also/just a fast reply,Im leaven 4 work soon.good luck & let us know what ya find

[star_deceiver]

Welcome to GenVibe!!! Sounds like the battery's about had it... or something elecrical is being left on or is stuck on.

[joatmon]

first thing is to check for corrosion on the battery terminals. The original battery never gave me any problems with that, but the replacement battery I have in there now grows blue and white powdery crystals like a factory.You said that this morning it cranked ok but "seemed kinda sad" How did it seem sad, in what way?If you turn the headlights on and then try to start the car, do the headlights go dim or go out, or are they unaffected? If the battery is going, I'd expect the headlights to dim when the extra load from the starter is engaged, and if they don't then it might be something other than the battery or a bad electrical connection.Is it a manual or automatic transmission car?

[OrangeBlossom]

Thanks y'all. I'll keep looking. It's an automatic. I haven't tried actually cranking it with the lights on. . . I'll see what happens. The weird part is there is no sound at all when i try to crank it - no click click or anything. Now that it's stopped raining i'm gonna try to crawl under it and bang on the starter like other folks have told me and see what happens. No corrosion on the battery cables. The cleanest i've ever had in a car of mine!And to make things even more wonderful, somehow, mysteriously, when i get back to my car today (parked on the street outside my office) the crack in the windshield on the passenger's side has mysteriously gotten about 18 inches closer to the driver's side. . jeez. I love my car but oh what a money pit!!!

[wallyuwl]

Sounds like a battery. What type of battery is in it now? Any prorated warranty left? Batteries are something I never skimp on, and even if they still work I replace them every six years.For your windshield, check to see if you live in a state where glass is 100% covered under comprehensive. A crack that big they'll just replace your windshield and won't bother trying to repair it.

[OrangeBlossom]

Boy I hope y'all are right and it is the battery! Thanks so much for the help. Now that I'm done working, about to go pull the battery, take it to advance/autozone and go ahead and have them tested. Great. It just started raining. . . oh well! gonna do it anyway. So if the battery checks out. . . I guess it's time for the starter banging. It's an ever-start, I think. Three year warranty expired in November.

[wallyuwl]

Good luck. Hopefully the battery doesn't check out OK. The three year warranty you are talking about is probably the replacement warranty. You should still be able to use the pro-rate portion of the warranty (those are something like 84 months, though I could be off a bit on that). And usually the Ever-start batteries (ES Maxx w/ three year replacement) are pretty good batteries, especially for the price.

[OrangeBlossom]

battery is 100% good, says autozone. Great. The test they gave me for neutral selector switch - it ain't that either. So now i'm just gonna find somebody with a diagnostic scanner 'round here that will walk over to my car. By the way - guys at AutoZone said they can test starter ON THE CAR. Alternator too, i think. thanks all y'all. When i finally figure out what the heck it is, i'll post again. So glad no one has towed my car. Good thing the meter maid likes me. . it's two-hour parking. No ticket yet!

[OrangeBlossom]

Well, it's the starter. At least so says the hammer test. Looks like $99 for the part and $175 for labor. Ouch. But the mechanic (2 blocks away) walked over to my car, found the starter, knocked it, the car cranked, and I drove it to his shop. He looked up the labor cost. Sounds high to me. . . but seeing as how he saved me a tow. . I guess I'm not complaining. sure hope that's the last big pile of money i have to lay down on my car! at least for a while

[TONY TAT2]

Glad ya got the problem resolved Thanks for comming back & letting us know .

[Water boy]

$99 for a starter is not real bad. Better than a starter for a diesel $$$$$.As related to the battery, at oil changes, always check the water level. I think 90% of the people don't and it shortens its' life. Unless the battery is 100% sealed, there is a way to check/add water.Even though you had to spend $ on your car, at least you got it fixed for sure as compared to just throwing $ at it.

[star_deceiver]

Glad you've solved the problem!!!