Or so it seems. The weather has gotten cold here in Jersey. Is there a reason why my car doesnt start in the morning, but when i get home from work it starts right off? Ive noticed that my battery reads below the 12 V mark when i put the key in the "ON" position. Does that sound like enough juice? Or too drained plus cold equals no start??

HELP!!!!!

Thanks.



Oh, yeah its an 85 GSLSE with about 173k miles. New spark plugs(2nd gen type). Everything else. Who knows.

 

Sounds like the battery isn't like the cold weather, cold weather does significantly reduce the cranking amps of any battery. Sounds like you are due for a new battery.



That would be my bet anyhow.

 

My voltage always reads like 11.5-12V if its in the on position with the engine off. I don't think stock guages are very acurate. If you take a digital volt meter and hook it to the battery, you'll probably find its like 12.2V with everything off when its really cold out. Just pull the choke, pump the gas three-five times and then turn the key. Works everytime from a cold start for me. My battery has seen five winters and counting. Batteries typically last five years, so I'm guessing its going to die sometime? They tend to go bad though pretty quick. I started a Caprise a warm day in May and drove 150miles and got out and got back in the car after a quick break on a road trip. Got back to the car and the battery couldn't even crank the engine. They fail in weird ways. I had someone jump it and it ran, so I turned it off. Tried to start without a jump and the same thing happened!

 

Thanks guys. Ive finally(crossing fingers) resolved the problem. A little $24 sensor was replaced and it seems to be working fine. It was the water temp sensor.

later