So I have an 04 grand prix. Every morning I get to my car and it won’t start. The lights work. Locks. Etc. I have to put it on the charger for awhile to get it to start. Sooo could it possibly be a bad connection to the starter or is something just draining my battery enough to make it not start? I just had a lot of after market wiring removed and it didn’t do this until it got cold out. Helpppppp!
Original battrey?
If so, have the battrey and the charging system tested.
Tester
Steph0726
If you “have to put it on the charger for awhile to get it to start” . . . that sounds as if your battery is the problem
Either the battery won’t hold a charge, because it’s old
Or you’ve got a parasitic draw
Or the alternator’s not doing its job
Should be be pretty straightforward for a mechanic to figure this out
BTW . . . how old is the battery?
The battery is 3 months old. I had my Alternator tested too. And I had a bunch of wiring removed. Only thing I can think of is the alarm.
If you haven’t cleaned the battery connections I suggest you do that first using a battery clamp cleaning brush. I assume that when you say the lights work you are talking about the headlights. If they are nice and bright that would seem to indicate the battery charge is okay. See if the lights will stay on when you try to start the car. They might get cut off in the START mode though. If they do stay on bright this would mean the trouble is with the starter circuit. If you hear a fairly loud click in the START mode this might mean the starter solenoid contacts are bad and the solenoid is most likely built into the starter on your car. Replacing the starter would be the best thing. Your vehicle is getting to the age that sort of problem can happen. Ten years old usually the point at which things like this occur.
It could be a bad connection to the starter along with the ideas mentioned above. Or the starter could be on the fritz too. It’s not unusual for this kind of problem to show up this time of year when it gets colder. If my car, here’s what I’d do. Load test battery. If ok, clean battery connections. And clean starter connections. Still no reliable crank? Measure the voltages at both starter electrical terminals (thin and thick wire), between terminal and starter case. During attempted cranking. Both over 10.5 volts? Starter is most likely bad and needs replacement.