# Car won't start

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start/54496>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** nissan, sentra\
**Created:** [September 1, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start/54496 "2010-09-01T12:12:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![HDavey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@HDavey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/HDavey)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start/54496/1 "2010-09-01T12:12:55Z")

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About a month and a half ago, my car wouldn’t start. The repair shop installed a new alternator. The car started that afternoon and the next morning, but it wouldn’t start the next afternoon. The shop told me that they had installed a defective alternator, so they installed another alternator. In the month and a half since, the car was fine until this morning. The car started this morning, but as I was driving it, the windshield wipers seemed a little slow, and the radio and air conditioning went in and out. When I got to my destination, I turned off the engine and tried to start it again, and it wouldn’t start. Is this just another bad alternator, or could there be a more serious electrical problem?

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**Author:** ![tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tardis](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tardis)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start/54496/2 "2010-09-01T13:10:37Z")

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It sounds like another failing alternator. Perhaps the shop you went to is using low quality parts. There are a lot of bad alternator rebuilds out there.

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**Author:** ![ignoramus9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@ignoramus9](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ignoramus9)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start/54496/3 "2010-09-01T15:42:27Z")

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how old is the battery? it sounds more like a dead cell in the battery than a failing alternator to me.

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start/54496/4 "2010-09-01T16:25:43Z")

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Both of the above comments have merit. Many auto part stores will do an batter - charging system check for free. Have it checked.