I just purchased this 2013 Hyundai Elantra so I do not have a history for the car. Everything was fine for a few days until one day it would not start. When I went to jump start it, I saw that the positive terminal end was broken and someone had put a screw into the positive terminal post to try and keep everything tight. Well, once we got it started it ran fine. We put a battery charger on it overnight, but it would not start without being jumped the next morning. I had the battery tested and it showed a dead cell. So, I bought a new battery and a new terminal end and put them on the car. No changes. Car still will not start without being jump started.
Check both battery cables for proper continuity. Check that each end opposite the battery has what it should… 12 volts for the + (red) terminal and zero ohms from the battery to the end of the - (black) cable. I’ll bet at least one of them is bad.
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Sounds like current isn’t getting from battery post to battery terminal because it starts when jumped only. Clean battery post and clean or replace terminal as needed. Also good comments to check cable integrity above.
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You use the word “end” in the singular. Does that mean you only replaced the one cable end?
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Yes, just the positive end was broke.
Turns out that the starter was bad. Got new starter and installed it and the problem was solved.
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Bad battery, bad cable, bad starter. Interesting a bad battery was fine on test drive.
Starter motor failure is not nearly as common as it used to be so I hope the bad starter motor diagnosis is correct and this was not a waste of money.
What if the no-start condition was caused by a faulty neutral safety switch or another cable end and the problem resurfaces; making this all a coincidence.
Just curious, but I wonder how this was diagnosed? A starter current draw test, a guess and assumption that starter no work/ergo must be starter?