1995 hyundai sonata problem

Sat in the car today tried to start it and power went off completely. Had to
jump it to get it to run. Worked for 8 hours sat in car it turned on fine
what is the problem? Thanks for any help!

Anthony

 

| Sat in the car today tried to start it and power went off
completely. Had to
| jump it to get it to run. Worked for 8 hours sat in car it
turned on fine
| what is the problem? Thanks for any help!
|
| Anthony

Sure sounds to me like your battery is run down. This could be
due to two reasons:
- Your battery is too old and should be replaced.
- Your charging system isn't putting out enough juice.

Batteries deliver far less power when they're cold. It's possible
that your car sat in the sun all day and the battery became warm
enough to start the car, but is still low. You also may have an
intermittant short circuit or a switch that fails to turn off in
an always-on system (such as an electric antenna motor). Loads
like these drain the battery slowly or quickly.

Once the motor has started, the car's electrical requirements are
extremely low. You can almost run the car on a few flashlight
batteries once the engine is running. Of course, that's without
the headlights, blower motor, and that 200 watt stereo that's got
enough power to blow your mother-in-law clear to Alpha Centuri.

A voltmeter is a a cheap and handy investment. For $15 or less,
you can get a simple multi-tester that will show you your voltage
with the engine running. You can read across the battery, or
between almost any circuit that's "on" in the car and ground
(exposed chassis or body metal). Normal battery voltage at rest
is 12.6 volts. The battery can only be charged by a voltage
that's higher than that, so when the engine is running, you
should typically see a voltage of around 13.4-14.4 (numbers very
approximate -- I've forgetten the precise regulated range).

I use a handy little digital voltmeter that was marketed by
Whistler (the radar detector company). It plugs into the
cigarette lighter socket and gives a continuous readout of system
voltage while you're driving down the street or across the
continent. These may be imported by other companies, too. Cheap,
too. This little gizmo is very, very cool. Get one!

Richard

 

so my alternater then? just replaced the battery a month ago. Thank god it
was under warranty still. Thanks for the fast reply!

Anthony

 

| so my alternater then? just replaced the battery a month ago.
Thank god it
| was under warranty still. Thanks for the fast reply!
|

No. The alternator is _one_ possibility. It's the most likely
one, but not the only one. It's also possible that your battery
is being charged just fine and is being drained by one of the
car's components or a "minor" short circuit.

There are some devices in the car that are _not_ turned off by
the ignition switch. In the "old days," such a drain could be due
to a faulty mechanical clock. These were wind-up clocks, wound by
a strong electric motor. A switch on the spring told the motor
when to go and when to stop. If the switch were faulty, it could
stick in the "go" position and deplete the battery. This circuit
was always live so that the clock would be kept continually wound
up and accurate, even if the car wasn't driven for a few days.

So, be open to the possibility that the cause is something else.
And consider buying one of those great little voltmeters. If you
see less than optimum charging voltage while driving, the finger
will point toward the alternator with more certainty.

Richard

 

hmmm still thinking alternator seems charge on battery is gone at 9-10
hours. Gonna take it to autozone before the charge is gone this time and
see what they can pull up but alternater so far the main culprut thanks man!
Gonna get one of those volmeters while I am out to


Anthony

 

Or it may be something as simple as Anthony having replaced the
original battery terminals with those $.98 temporary bolt on terminals
I see installed on so many cars. Those are a guaranteed point of
failure.

 

True true I took it by MIDAS and see if they could trace the problem down
figure let them have the head ache haha so wish me luck everyone! Also my
care lately has been hesitating and I here a click inside the car and the
check engine light pops on but goes away any idea whats wrong their?


Anthony

Sorry for the questions but u guys are experts!

 

Is this 9-10 hours of driving or 9-10 hours of sitting, turned off?

 

BTW the problem was just a loose connection midas said. Said the charger
and everyhting was working fine

 

First, I'd scan it to get the codes. You may have difficulty finding a
shop with equipment to scan your car if you go anywhere but a dealer.

 

yeah ugg dealer here i come then LOL