How much of a temperature change are we talking? Large changes in temerature (ie cold) can cause metal to contract and break some connections.
But in reality, it sounds like it's your blinker fluid.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Car Help - Won't Start
- Thread starter dukebound85
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How much of a temperature change are we talking? Large changes in temerature (ie cold) can cause metal to contract and break some connections.
But in reality, it sounds like it's your blinker fluid.
I don't remember what the old one was. It was time though. Must've been 5 or 6 years old! If I'd realized that, I probably would have replaced it before last winter!!lol, the EXACT same thing happened to me almost a month ago (except I was able to borrow a jump box). My battery was fine all morning until I went for gas in the late afternoon... it died of catastrophic failure in a span of 5min. what type of battery did you have?
That could be a problem - keeping the car hot all the time.
a five year old battery and the car not starting in october when the weather starts to get colder?
yep, been there, done that
Yeah, I think we've already established that it's the battery. Why are we still batting symptoms around?
got a new batt and it starts right up!
Thanks guys
Took a little more effort installing it than I initially figured lol
Yea, I was thinking blinker fluid as well. Had to go top that off too lol
Thanks guys
Took a little more effort installing it than I initially figured lol
Yea, I was thinking blinker fluid as well. Had to go top that off too lol
It would be a good idea to stock up on prop wash while you're replacing the fluid.
Not on every vehicle yes most alternators if not all have the diode built in but there are still a few models out there with VR's that are separate mounted the side of the wheel well or firewall along the charging circuit and cover regulating not only charging voltage but also the amounts of electricity going to the other vehicles systems and not integrated into the alternator itself for just that reason--depending on how it fails everything could go dark slowly as a switch overheats and disconnects or it could cause every bulb in the vehicle to blow if a switch inside the solid state electronics fails to open (stuck closed completing the circuit) and there is a sudden surge in power from the alternator.
well crap
now I have the batt symbol light up on my dashboard and I replaced the batt a few week ago
bad alternator? even though I just replaced it within the year?
effing car
getting a tad frustrated lol
I do have warranty on the service of the alternator when I had it replaced in NY. I talked to them and they will honor it but gave me some scenarios/options
1) Pay the core charge for new alternator and ship back alternator to them and get refunded on that and the labor
2) Buy the alternator here in CO and not have to ship anything back to them and just get refunded the labor
She said she is trying to work with me as I am no longer in NY, it would be a delay in getting refunded and would have to deal with paying for shipping (from co to NY) and pay the core charge as I would not be handing the alternator over to the place I will be buying it from . These charges could very well eat into what ever I would be saving if I just did the second option below and not have to deal with the hassle
vs
just buying the part out here with new warranty, not have to deal with a core charge as I would give them my old defective one and instantly be refunded the labor charge and not have to mess with any sort of shipping
What would you do? Part of me would like to avoid the hassel and just do the second but is it the wiser option?
now I have the batt symbol light up on my dashboard and I replaced the batt a few week ago
bad alternator? even though I just replaced it within the year?
effing car
getting a tad frustrated lol
I do have warranty on the service of the alternator when I had it replaced in NY. I talked to them and they will honor it but gave me some scenarios/options
1) Pay the core charge for new alternator and ship back alternator to them and get refunded on that and the labor
2) Buy the alternator here in CO and not have to ship anything back to them and just get refunded the labor
She said she is trying to work with me as I am no longer in NY, it would be a delay in getting refunded and would have to deal with paying for shipping (from co to NY) and pay the core charge as I would not be handing the alternator over to the place I will be buying it from . These charges could very well eat into what ever I would be saving if I just did the second option below and not have to deal with the hassle
vs
just buying the part out here with new warranty, not have to deal with a core charge as I would give them my old defective one and instantly be refunded the labor charge and not have to mess with any sort of shipping
What would you do? Part of me would like to avoid the hassel and just do the second but is it the wiser option?
Last edited:
I will tell you this right now about alternators. You can go threw a batch of them pretty quickly. On my old car I replace 3 of them with in 1 year. The last one was working working for the remaining 4 years on the car before it was sold.
It is one of those parts that is either going to bad in a short time span or it is not going to go bad. There is a reason why they carry a life time warranty and that is because they either are going to go bad in the first year or 2 or they are not going to go bad for life of the car.
I would buy the part at your location and just have the labor refunded. Alernators on most cars are fairly easy to do yourself. (I say most cars because apparently I have heard the ford focus require an engine puller.)
It is one of those parts that is either going to bad in a short time span or it is not going to go bad. There is a reason why they carry a life time warranty and that is because they either are going to go bad in the first year or 2 or they are not going to go bad for life of the car.
I would buy the part at your location and just have the labor refunded. Alernators on most cars are fairly easy to do yourself. (I say most cars because apparently I have heard the ford focus require an engine puller.)
It's pretty clear--what you need to do is take it to a shop, have it properly diagnosed and repaired.
No offense, but if installing a battery is difficult for you, there's really no sense in trying to troubleshoot an intermittent electrical problem on your own. You only stand to lose more time, more money, and incur more expensive towing fees.
The vehicle has a definite problem, take it in and get it fixed and be done with it.
Plan to on Monday to confirm its the alternator
I never said it (the batt) was difficult, just took longer than I had anticipated
. I have swapped out my alternator before on my own. I have also changed my own spark plugs/wires, etc, starter coil, replaced an automatic window motor, replaced my brake pads, rotated tires , installed new seat belts, oil changes and suspension and numerous other "projects" on my own. Just pointing out how I am not intimidated to work on my car as long as I have the necessary tools
Point taken. I am thinking about just doing option 2 as well
Last edited:
That is frustrating!No worries, just hope you get it all taken care of and behind you Monday...I know how bad intermittent problems can be--took NINE shop visits over 4-5 shops before my fuel pump was finally diagnosed once upon a time.
I remember last year my car was oscillating its idle at 700-1800rpms and bouncing between them like once every 2 seconds (resulting in a check engine light). Took it to toyota dealership and they could not figure it out. Apparently my car was spitting out like 20 error codes with the OBD 1 system ranging from too lean to too rich and all sorts of stuff. They wanted to keep it for a day and quoted me an estimated of ~900 just for diag on a 20 year old car. I said no way
Turned out to be a bad distributer lol and that was diagnosed at a home grown shop in the area for a fraction of the cost