GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I am trying to sell a 2001 Kia Sportage for a 93 yr old woman. The battery is shot I am sure as it sat uncharged in a long cold winter here. My batter charger has a 50 amp setting - that is supposed to "start" a car - still resulted only in "clicks" when I tried to start it. I a thinking of just getting a new battery and seeing if that works but once I buy it I think I am stuck if it doesn't. Any thoughts?

Come to think of it, a battery is about 600 cold cranking amps so maybe that is my answer. I don't know how many amps those units you can buy at Sam's Club put out. Guess I will check. At least I would have something I could use if the car won't start even with a fully charged battery.

How about jumper cables?

Yeah, try jumping it from a known good battery.

kumquat wrote:Yeah, try jumping it from a known good battery.

Where this car is I'd need 25 ft jumper cables. Don't want to push it out as the tags are long expired.

You could bring a known good battery to the car, I guess. Or bring the car's battery to a local shop for testing.

I got a 58 battery at Costco today for $66.99 + $9 core deposit. I am reasonably confident that is the problem.

Some battery chargers need to "see" some amount of voltage before they will activate.

Water boy wrote:Some battery chargers need to "see" some amount of voltage before they will activate.

Yeah, They call them "Smart Chargers"; What a JOKE!

I put the new Costco Kirkland battery in yesterday - though the car sat idle for 9 months it started right up - no hesitation or unusual noises. I made sure the oil level was o.k. before I did that. Now going to try to sell this Kia Sportage 4 dr AT A/C with 80,900 miles for this 93 year old whose body is frail but her mind is 100%. I am hoping to get $2,500. I would grade it on the high end of "fair" condition per the KBB guide.

Originally she was going to give this car to her grand niece - but that grand niece's father recently passed away and her mother now has a 2005 Matrix she is offering to her. Lucky girl.

In case anyone is wondering - this is a volunteer effort on my part. Just last week I sold her 800 sq. ft. home - for the grand total of $11,500. She had lived there since 1950 and except for a a roof I don't think anything had been done to that house since. I am not accustomed to this level of poverty. She moved to her slightly younger sister's home in another state. A win-win as her sister has some dementia and needs some assistance.

This lady is fortunate to know someone like you