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Like much of the country we have had unusually cold weather here in Central Washington state. I didn't want to drive in the snow and ice and have gotten rides from friends. To my horror, after three days of my car(2006 Hyundai Elantra, 75K miles) left out in the cold, with lows below zero, my car wouldn't start. It turns over but won't start. Someone tried to jump me and it still wouldn't start but it sounded like it was getting close.
Everyone I talk to suspects it's the battery including a mechanic I contacted. My battery is four years old and the intense cold must have drained it is what everybody says.
I am getting a battery tomorrow and will be overjoyed if that's all there is to this. What is causing me much worry is I did some research and it said when the engine turns over but doesn't start, your battery and starter are fine, there are other issues.
So who is right? The masses who insist it's my battery or the articles I am reading. Have you ever heard of a car turning over yet not starting and not accepting a jump yet still having a battery issue? Does such a thing exist? Or could the frigid weather and the age of the battery still lead you to think it's a possibility.
If the consensus here is that it isn't the battery I won't buy one and instead will get it towed to my mechanic.
I used to design electronic integrated circuits for automotive applications.
I'm not sure about the Hyundai engine control system but in the GM system, the RPMs must be greater than 500 in order to initiate spark. If your battery is low enough that the car wont crank above 500 rpm, it likely won't start. That's a good reason to use synthetic oil, especially if you park the car in the cold.
After 4 years, most batteries need to be replaced. If I were you, I'd replace the battery.
While it is possible that the battery in this car is simply too worn out to deliver proper cranking voltage and that even with a jumper battery connected, the system voltage was too low (poor cables, poor connections at fault) ...
you will still be better served to have the car electrical system and battery properly diagnosed before simply replacing a battery which may not be the problem at all.
IMO, have the car towed to a shop where you can get the car checked out. What you don't want to do is to change the battery and have the car still not start ... and then tow the car to the shop where the tech now has to guess as to what was the original problem. Consider that the original issues could be a combination of events, such as thick oil keeping a low voltage supplied starter from proper cranking speed and a low voltage to the ECU and fuel pump/injection system keeping them from functioning properly. Could be as simple as a failed battery ... but could also be a myriad of other factors such as poor cable connections. Cold weather aggravates a number of factors and many cars that otherwise would work fine show up with niggling little problems that can keep them from starting and running properly.
While it is possible that the battery in this car is simply too worn out to deliver proper cranking voltage and that even with a jumper battery connected, the system voltage was too low (poor cables, poor connections at fault) ...
you will still be better served to have the car electrical system and battery properly diagnosed before simply replacing a battery which may not be the problem at all.
IMO, have the car towed to a shop where you can get the car checked out. What you don't want to do is to change the battery and have the car still not start ... and then tow the car to the shop where the tech now has to guess as to what was the original problem. Consider that the original issues could be a combination of events, such as thick oil keeping a low voltage supplied starter from proper cranking speed and a low voltage to the ECU and fuel pump/injection system keeping them from functioning properly. Could be as simple as a failed battery ... but could also be a myriad of other factors such as poor cable connections. Cold weather aggravates a number of factors and many cars that otherwise would work fine show up with niggling little problems that can keep them from starting and running properly.
Yup, it certainly could be caused by multiple factors.
But the way I see it is that batteries rarely last more than 4 years, so if the OP keeps the car that will have to be done no matter what. If that's it, no tow charge.
Usually, the simplest solution is the correct solution.
Yup, it certainly could be caused by multiple factors.
But the way I see it is that batteries rarely last more than 4 years, so if the OP keeps the car that will have to be done no matter what. If that's it, no tow charge.
Usually, the simplest solution is the correct solution.
I would have loved to have had you as a customer in my Denver shop ... replacing a car battery every 4 years as in "have to be done no matter what". Ka-ching, Thank You very much. I would have foregone the core charge credit with my wholesale battery supplier and kept your battery as a shop service one if it passed draw testing on my Sun VAT load tester. We usually had a rack full of such used batteries in the shop for loaners/substitution in customer cars ... especially in the era of german cars with minimal voltage spike protection which could lose essential electronics functions when jumped, such a customer's car where the trunk lid hadn't been closed and the battery totally discharged before the customer realized the problem; it was far better to install a serviceable battery than to jump the car to bring it to the shop for the customer's battery to be recharged/tested. Maybe even we installed a used battery for the remaining service life in a dealer car that needed to hit the lot as inexpensively as possible ... those guys would chisel every nickel they could out of a used vehicle for sale.
Not in my experience in over 40 years of working in the Denver marketplace was 4-yr max battery service life true for first-line battery merchandise, even 40 years ago with customers that frequently traveled from the Front Range to their mountain homes or recreation. Their cars reliably provided transportation in these weather extremes. I did a lot of road calls into the mountains, frequently to Aspen and in later years to the Vail Valley where in 1982 I purchased a 2nd home so was there many weekends per month for years. I drove a lot of customer vehicles in that environment with batteries lasting 5-6-7 years ... in both gas and diesel cars. (and just for reference, even my 1964 Ford Custom 500 w/289 and a wimpy generator ... not alternator ... had the original battery in it for 7 years in Colorado before that battery needed replacement)
The real "proof of the pudding" about battery service life in our region is to go to the boneyards and select used batteries from their pull-outs and put them into service for another few years for $15-30 per battery. I have a neighbor to this day that does this in a fleet of used cars for his family (8 kids still at home, 6 driving ... and he keeps personal cars in addition to his plumbing service business trucks). I recently bought a Toyota Celica from him (it was considered "too tatty" even for his youngest daughter in JrHigh with a school driving exemption at 14 to drive, $120 ... it's going to you or the boneyard). The battery in that car sported a label from a local boneyard indicating he'd bought it 4 years ago for $25 and it was a 2009 date coded battery, still working in the car.
The fallacy in car battery service life is that most folk think that cold weather is the "death" of a car battery. While Cold weather operation will reduce the CCA available from a battery ... it's in Hot weather operation that most car batteries fail.
The key factor in this thread is that the OP's car would not start even when being "jumped" from another car ... we'll presume that it was a running vehicle at the time; ie, full system voltage and plenty of cranking amps available. Effectively, that's as good as having installed a new battery in the OP's car from the perspective of available electrical energy to crank over the engine, run the FI pump and the ECU functions. There would have been no advantage gained in that circumstance from having installed a new battery over the jumper supplier power.
Agreed, "simple" solutions have their elegance ... but consider if the OP's battery isn't the fault here, then they've wasted that money and they still will need the car to be towed in to a shop for diagnostics.
Thanks for the feedback. One thing I should add is the jump wasn't from another car but from a portable device a nearby tire shop brought. Not sure if that makes a difference.
I just thought of another tidbit of info. They tested my battery when I got my oil changed last month and said it was still good but the charge was low. They did not recommend a new battery. How can the battery be good if the charge is low??? And could this have anything to do with the car not starting?
I was looking for the phone number of my mechanic and found an extremely disturbing review. Someone paid them for a steering pump, the car still wasn't running right, they took it to another mechanic and discovered the same old, dirty steering pump was in the car.
This gets me worried that they didn't really change my timing belt a couple months ago.Not sure if timing belts break due to cold weather? That would be a worst scenario in my car model from what I have read. I was going to tow my car to this mechanic but now I don't know what to do.
next battry make sure to get one that is rated with higher amount of Cold Cranking Amps region that experience extreme temp either heat and cold shorten battery life significantly 4 years is about par for the course.
Have AAA or auto insurance with roadside assistance (I currently have this)? Or a cell phone contract (I used to have this with Sprint)?
Or a friend with any of the above?
If so, call them out for a jump. They have the proper equipment to jump start, either the truck itself or a very serious portable unit. That would answer the battery question quickly and without cost to you.
Age alone for a battery doesn't necessarily mean anything. I live and work in the Twin Cities. Though winters have been mild the past few years, we still a a stretch of sub-zero days/nights or two every year. I have had batteries going on 7 or 8 years do well through Minnesota winters without an issue.
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