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Car won't start

P

perner

New Member
Hello, my car has been sitting in a garage for some months now due to snow and cold winter here in Sweden. The battery has been out and fully recharged at home.

Now Im trying to start the car up and it wont turn over the enginge. Can it be that my starter motor has gone during this time off or has it something to do with my imobilizer? Worth mentioning is that booth power windows are really slow but everything else, interior lights and so on works well.

Can I remove the imobilizer o check it somehow or is it some "first time procedure" I have to do once the battery is out of the car for so long?

Thanks,
Per
 
That the windows are slow would indicate a battery problem either the connection is not good or the battery has had it. I had to change my battery this year after a lay off too, it would not hold enough charge to turn over the engine.
 
Just try this and see if it works. When you initially turn the key and wait for all the lights to go out. Then wait a little longer about 30secs to a min (you may here a strange noise in the engine bay like something turning on) then turn the key fully and hopefully it might start. A few times my vee hasnt started and this does the trick. (I dont drive the vee that much for the last six months - no secure parking where I work)
 
Thanks for all the answers!

Im gonna start by saying that when I turn the key to ignition posision the lights dont fade out, they stay there. When i turn the key I hear that something is "calibrating" itself or atleast is sounds like it. I also here a whinih noise, fuelpump maybe?

Im gonna take the battery home and recharge it, can it be that the battery charge up normally but it actually dead? It was fine before and I have had it at home and fully charged.

Im gonna check the front lights a little better, but interior light and so on is normal locking in brightness.

How sensitive are these cars to different types of batterys? I have a 97 corolla that i drive in the wintertime, what if I borrow that battery and tried, nothing that can take damage?

Thanks,
Per
 
Your startup noises sound quiet normal. Weak battery would be my guess also.

The battery is type 65AH 720A
 
The reason you should check the main car light is they use more current, interior ones use a small amount. The battery may be 'dead' but still have enough power to light the interior. Just guessing as its hard without checking in person.

Hope you sort it soon.
 
I had nearly the same problems last year after my clio was in a garage for a couple of month.
i tried to start the clio, but the battery was low.
After that i charged the battery and tried to start the clio again but first it didn´t start.
Finally it worked when i tried to restart the engine for about 30sec.
 
Hi Guys same problem i believe my battery has gone.

If i try to change the battery myself, does anyone know if the car will be ok after that or will alarms and immobilsers give me problems?

Thanks Rob.
 
The thing is, I didnt have the battery in the car during the garage time. I took it home as soon as I left the car and charged it to max, then before I got it back in the car i hade it on charge again that night (about 2-3 months after first charge).

Can the battery take damage because of the charging or am I having some other problem here? All the fuses are ok, no loose wires and all ground points seem ok and tight.

Thanks,
Per
 
Ive just changed my battery for a new one, the cold weather and not driving it for a few weeks finished the 8 year old original battery off. :rofl: im amazed it lasted so long!!!

took 2 mins tops, the only thing you need when you turn it back on again is the radio code. alarm etc were unaffected.
 
well that should be ok then got an after market stereo anyways!!

Just had these visions of me standing next to my chubby little reno with lights and alarms going off all over the show looking guilty and awkward!! :rofl:
 
Isnt there som "starting procedure" for the imobilizer? Like a combination you can press for example turn ignition 3 times then press the imobilizer or something? I know it sounds silly but I have to know alla possibilities before I start taking the car apart.

Thanks,
Per
 
Questions:

Does your immobiliser key work? You recently said you had to wait 30 seconds after pressing the key then lock the doors before the car starts? which sounds unusual.
Do you have an after-market immobiliser fitted? (there was some odd device near your clock)
 
I have 2 keys, each with an imobilizer/alarm button on extra plastic thing (not the one on the actual key). Both keys worked before and have done so since the car was importet to Sweden (have spoken to the 2 owners before me).

I really dont know if the imobilizer is original or not (we dont have many of these cars in Sweden to compare against, 5 maybe?), but if you said that the thing on my dashboard is not an original item then I guess the imobi is not. I havent got any paper or history of the alarm/imobi so can not say 100%.

But when it did work, I had about 30 seconds to start the car once I push the button to open the doors otherwise the imobilizer went on again.

Hope that helps.

Thanks,
Per
 
It was the battery after all, strange way of showing it though. Normally when I have had a batery problem the starter sounds very weak and the interior lights dim when trying to turn the engine over and so on.

I saw what James wrote about battery specs on these: 65AH 720A, must the car have a battery with exact this or can I buy lets say an Optima Redtop (wich is 50AH)? Allways wanted one of those and now I have an excuse to buy one :-)

Let me know what you think, anyone with an Redtop that can tell me if it works good?

Thanks,
Per
 
I have some input on this as ... you guessed it ... my Vee has started to start poorly when hot ...

The battery indicator was green but when tested it was kaput ... but wait - there is more ... a new battery, in fact 2 new batteries, did NOT fix the issue but merely disguised it ...

When VERY hot the starter turns slowely due, I now know, to a combination of increased electrical resistance and a degrading starter ... a big battery can help but the fundamental issue is typically starter (and in other cases faulty earths or wiring) ... when the engine cools down all is fine again ...

I am playing safe and looking to replace the starter rather than risk any starting issues ...

Also see post Starter Thread

Martin
 
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