I'm charging the battery now, though it seems to have enough juice. When I crank it, I just hear teeth grinding, and engine won't turn over. 2 yr old Duralast battery. Seems like this happens when it starts getting cooler, which in my part of the world means low 30s deg F.
"Zilla" wrote in news:kSPWi.1382$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews9.bellsouth.net:
could have a bad starter,not engaging the flywheel,or stripped flywheel teeth.Or the drive gear engagement plunger/mechanism is sticking in cold weather,not fully pushing the drive gear into the flywheel.
"teeth grinding" is NOT good.
Sticky plunger would be my first guess too, although a weak battery could also do it, as cold will affect its capacity, and if it's already marginal on CCA...
Most mechanical and battery shops will test the battery for free, so that's an easy way to rule out (or confirm) the battery.
Hmmm, Better check out the whole thing; charging, battery, starter, any possible current drain while car is parked, etc.
I charged the battery overnight and it did start, and left it running for 20 mins to charge, then turned it off, but it won't re-start, pointing to a weak battery, which BTW was 4 yrs old, not 2 as I mentioned earlier. So off to Autozone to get a pro-rated priced one for the 7 yr warranty.
-Zilla
"Zilla" wrote in news:md2Xi.60991$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews8.bellsouth.net:
seems to me that if the battery has enough juice to turn the starter motor,it ought to be strong enough to pull the drive gear into the flywheel and turn the motor.Generally,if the battery is too weak,it just makes the solenoid click,not "teeth grinding".You may still have a sticky plunger.
BTW,4 years is about average for a car battery to last,IMO.
Ok thanks; I'll take it to the shop for that since it's still under the
109k warranty.MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.