Team-BHP - "My Car Won't Start"

There is a pinhole leak somewhere in the battery casing so that the acid + water mixture inside the battery boils out when the car is running and the water in the battery heats up. The acid + water mixture deposits as metallic salts by rusting (well, oxidising) the battery terminals

Just get a pro rata replacement based on the battery age and get a new battery by paying not all that much extra. Amaron is fine actually .. quite reliable and good service network. Check www.batterywale.com as it is their own portal

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya (Post 5001387)

The Amaraon installed on my Thar CRDe in 2018 went so dead today morning that even the lights went out on the cluster. This was really strange for me as I have seen batteries getting weak and die but never like this - forget cluster lights, even the cabin light was not working.
Initially thought a terminal might have come loose but nothing of that sort. Managed to jump start and checked the condition - it was discharged completely! Without any lights or load on. The charging volt shows 13.7 so my alternator is ok; Water level in battery also ok.
The last time I used my vehicle was 2 days back and there is no possibility of it getting discharged like this in a daily use vehicle.

Other issue I know since last 1.5 years is the positive terminal getting that white flaky deposits. This was so bad that I had to change the positive cable as it was corroded beyond repair. Since then I regularly clean it and spray with a protector or use petroleum jelly.

My Battery shop told me that this is a common problem with Amaron and he has seen many such cases of corrosion on positive terminal. This usually happens if it is overcharging. Has anyone faced this in Amaron?

I took my family last night to Khan market, delhi and parked my Harrier for 15 minutes, came back and the car wouldn't start. Called emergency service & within 30 minutes help arrived.
He attempted to jumpstart the car without success. I had to finally resort to manual push in 1st gear and it came back to life. I drove back 20 kms and it doesn't start again now.
The battery looks fine as the horn, head & cabin lights work. The motor doesn't crank just produces click sound.
Car has done 5000kms, has sufficient fuel and DEF.
The towing service is on the way and I hope it's nothing serious. Hate it when it happens to a new car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamkathy23 (Post 5005034)

The battery looks fine as the horn, head & cabin lights work. The motor doesn't crank just produces click sound.
Car has done 5000kms, has sufficient fuel and DEF.
.

Motor produces a click sound when the battery doesn't have enough juice to turn it. I believe it is the battery but shocking to know it is new!
Which make is the battery? Poor Tata ; another feather in the cap of unreliability :disappointed

Quote:

Originally Posted by KkVaidya (Post 5005112)

Motor produces a click sound when the battery doesn't have enough juice to turn it

Err... appears to be wrong diagnosis. Because -->

Quote:

... attempted to jumpstart the car without success. I had to finally resort to manual push in 1st gear and it came back to life. I drove back 20 kms and it doesn't start again now.
The battery looks fine as the horn, head & cabin lights work. The motor doesn't crank just produces click sound.

<-- jumpstart failed, push start worked and other electricals work.

Mostly likely the problem is with the starter (motor) - the 'click, click' sound could be that of the relay trying to power the starter.

Could be as simple as a loose connection?

Issue was resolved. They were able to pin it down to a leaking fuel injector in one of the cylinders. Ford initially recommended replacing that single injector to resolve the issue, but later on updated me that they would be replacing the injectors in all 3 three cylinders. Got it done all under warranty.
A couple of weeks have passed since this work was carried out and the issue is gone. For what it's worth, the car seems tad smoother and averaging better fuel efficiency.

Also, the Ford service has been great. Really glad that I decided to trust the brand and also hope that they don't leave the country as mass manufacturers now.

Also, thanks to you guys and kudos to the community. Team BHP helped in understanding and ascertaining the issue and provided that much needed confidence that a first time car buyer needs when faced with an issue.
clap::Cheering:

Hello guys,

We had come for a vacation to Pondicherry on a friend's Innova Crysta 2.4G. The vehicle was behaving weirdly today afternoon when it would suddenly refuse to start but we were able to start and resume our journey.
Now when we tried to fire up the car there is absolutely no response from the vehicle. Absolutely no crank nor any click sound. All lights and horn is working fine.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelBallack (Post 5021192)

Now when we tried to fire up the car there is absolutely no response from the vehicle. Absolutely no crank nor any click sound. All lights and horn is working fine.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

The battery seems to have died. Try to jump start with another battery. If it starts, it's surely the battery.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swissknife (Post 5021320)

The battery seems to have died. Try to jump start with another battery. If it starts, it's surely the battery.

Thank you swissknife. Your diagnosis was correct and we were able to jumpstart by calling RSA service.

I am unable to comprehend how come a car's battery which has been running continuously could just die. All the lights were properly turned off and even the 12V adapter had been taken out of the socket when we had turned off the car.

How could this have happened?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelBallack (Post 5021368)

I am unable to comprehend how come a car's battery which has been running continuously could just die. All the lights were properly turned off and even the 12V adapter had been taken out of the socket when we had turned off the car.

How could this have happened?

You may need to check the alternator output as well

If alternator does not charge the battery, battery would not get charged and hence may die.

If alternator output is good, then battery is the only culprit. And it would be due to ageing

Quote:

Originally Posted by gkveda (Post 5021397)

After the jump start, we have driven the car around for a few distance today and the car seems fine. The vehicle is around 1.5 years old and have done 32000 km due to the work nature of its owner. I know it kind of feels like a noob question but still will a car’s battery fail this soon?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelBallack (Post 5021399)

Night driving, extra accessories such as aux lights powered from the battery etc will use the battery so it may die out sooner.

Top it with distilled water regularly every few months and it lasts a bit longer.

Hi All,

My sporadically used Chevrolet Optra LT Petrol has a starting problem once in a while. It doesn't start once in a while. My mechanic tried to troubleshoot the car and could find no issues. It has this issue once in a while. Couldn't find out what causes this issue.

1) Engine is getting cranked but not getting started once in a while.
2) Fuel pump has been changed just before 1 year (before Covid lockdown). Korean model, not the original one.
3) I could hear the fuel pump working (whining noise from the rear of the car) when I turn to ignition & could feel small vibration in the fuel intake line to the engine.
4) Battery voltage shows around 12V in a multimeter. The crank is also happening. Hence, I believe that this is not a battery problem.
5) Once, the vehicle starts. Then it is not at all an issue. It works like a charm.
6) My mechanic has opened one of the spark plugs and checked if there are any issues in the generation of sparks. No issues with the same.
7) Engine Oil has been changed recently. Still, the issue persists.

The car has reached around 92k kms until now.

The trouble is there are very less mechanics working on Chevrolet vehicles these days and the dealers are quoting pocket burning values for repairing these vehicles. Please suggest some tips to troubleshoot this car.

^ Sporadic non-starting could be due to (a) vapour lock and (b) clogged injectors / fuel lines.

Vapour lock could be because of a leak somewhere - difficult to pinpoint the exact cause (similar erratic behaviour was noticed in my friends Alto - after multiple attempts at cranking, the car will start and run normally. One indication we used to look for is a faint smell of petrol during this time - after which the car will behave normally!)

If car was sitting idle for long time there is a likelihood that petrol has 'cracked' and has resulted in clogging of the line / injector. There is a fuel line check valve (likely to be near the firewall) which can be tested to verify whether the fuel pump is working normally. Else, check the injectors.

When was the fuel filter last replaced?

Thanks, @vrprabhu for the suggestions. Will check the same.

Had driven the car yesterday for around 280 kms, to hill ranges in cold climate. (to Idukki district & ilaveezhapoonchira). No issues popped up yesterday. My car was parked in the sun last few times it had the starting trouble. I doubt if the heat is causing the problems.

"If car was sitting idle for long time there is a likelihood that petrol has 'cracked' and has resulted in clogging of the line / injector. "
I generally keep the petrol tank fueled up to the brim. I also, use this car once in a week generally, mostly for 50 km+ rides. Hence, the fuel is getting changed quite often. So, if it was the petrol cracking, the issue would have gone in during the last few times that I refueled. Don't think opening up fuel line is DIY. Will ask my mechanic to check the same.

I will also ask my mechanic to check for any leaks (for vapor lock). No fuel smell is present before starting the car.

I asked my local mechanic if fuel filter need to be replaced last time when we changed the fuel pump. He told that it is not required. Not sure, if it had been changed in the previous services.