Hey all,

I know there are a lot out there and I didn't want to sift thru them

I was hoping to get a personalized answer

Anyway, this is my daily driver and it's been running great this winter (I leave it outside) even with occasional freezing temperature

Last night I went to visit my parents house.

Upon leaving the car would crank and turn over but wouldn't start

Checked the battery and it was at 12 volts with multimeter (not even a 3 year old battery), jumped it anyway

started with gas, ran it for a bit, but would kill if i let off the gas

after about 15min it was running fine again, is this a sign of something else?

No/bad spark or fuel pump?

Thanks guys

 

http://www.2carpros.com/articles/how...-a-car-battery

12 amps or 12 volts? measured with the dash gauge or multimeter?

 

volts sorry, with multimeter

 

do the tests in the link I gave before and report back.
and check the water in the battery, if low only fill with distilled water

 

A marginal battery can absolutely give you the symptoms you describe.

It is NOT at all unusual for a three year old battery to fail.

Yes, there are more complex issues, but you should have the battery LOAD TESTED before looking into them. Any parts store will do this for you. A voltage test is very inconclusive and doesn't mean that much, it is the load test that tells the story.

And when the vehicle is running, what does the voltage gauge on the dash read? A healthy battery and charging system should get you a reading in the 13.5 to 14.0 volt range, give or take a smidgen. If you're not there, you may have a problem with your "charging" system.

Let us know what you find!

 

I checked out my battery and the cells are full, about 12 volts when off.

a bit over 14 when on

I heard batteries in Minnesota do not last long, so it could very well be the case, just concerned if there is any deeper issues

 

tjwalker, it is my understanding a load test can only be done on a fully charged battery. Often this is not possible if the owner does not have a charger. That's why I suggest the simple volt test untill the owner can get the battery charged (if possible) then take it to be load tested. If I'm wrong please educate me. OP at 12 volts your battery is at ~25% charged.

Battery Approximate Average Cell

Voltage, State-of-charge, Specific Gravity

12.66, 100%, 1.265
12.45, 75%, 1.225
12.24, 50%, 1.190
12.06, 25%, 1.155
11.89, 0%, 1.120

http://www.type2.com/library/electrip/batfaq.htm

 

went to the shop today, found nothing wrong

no codes set off, plugs good, battery good, wires tight, fuel pressure good

just a mystery i guess, maybe a piece of carbon in the ports that I blew out?

 

dirty idle air control motor or port.

 

I've got the exact same thing goin on in my 98. I've preatymuch ruled out the batery. had it load tested, cheked the alternator(fine), replaced my neg batery treminal, seafoamed, giggled wires, reset ecu, and still nothin I'm thinkin fuel delivery problem at this point. simply because I know fuel pumps do weird thngs when they start to go out. but if anyone has had/fixed these issues b4. input would be good.

 

I was told that the check engine light would go off if that was the cause

 

I don't think a dirty IAC port would set off a CEL. TPS could be another option I would think.

 

Well I think you were right all along Tj. I didn't think it would e so simple. everyone said it was a fuel problem but I think it was a bad cell in the battery that would only pop up once in a while and by the time I had it running to do a load test etc. it showed up as good.
Got a new battery and has not happened since. Thanks!