Difficulty starting

[stevie_b]

Hi all,

 

This morning I had a problem starting the supra. I hadn't used the car over the weekend at all. Turned the key, and the starter motor sounded VERY sluggish. Sounded like the battery was able to turn the engine over a couple of revolutions, but then just gave up. I tried again, but barely got a crank out of the battery. Waited a few seconds and tried again: the engine cranked over slowly, but luckily fast enough for the engine to fire. It's fine when it's running. I then drove 30 minutes to work. When parked at work, I tried re-starting the car immediately just to see what would happen. First attempt, a feeble crank but didn't fire. Wait a few secs, then a second attempt which gave a sluggish crank but did fire.

 

I've done a search on this, and came up with many threads including the following:

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=63805&highlight=battery

 

I'm guessing it's either the battery or starter motor. How do I know which one without trial-and-error? I could test the battery voltage, but is that reliable? I mean, a battery can appear to have a good voltage when not working, until you actually try to use the thing (i.e. crank the engine over).

 

My frequency of supra-driving has recently changed a bit (not using it for small journeys at the weekends much now), so maybe the battery got used to the old frequency and is finding it hard to adjust. I've had this happen on a different car.

 

PS If I need a new battery, which one should I ask for at Halfords?

 

TIA,

Steve

[JustGav]

Speak to Graham S, and asking him if he can get you one, either that or get one of those halfords chargers and give it a good top up over night, and see if it any better.