Starting problems
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:12 am
This is a bit of a long story so I apologize in advance.
I've been having some trouble starting my XTerra the last couple of weeks. Rather than giving you a detailed play by play, suffice it to say that initially I was able to get a boost to get the vehicle started and i was then able to drive around and perform multiple errands without difficulty. However, when I charged the battery with a charger for a couple of hours, the car started immediately but the battery was flat and unable to start the vehicle the next morning, strongly suggesting it was unable to hold a charge. I consulted a friend and he asked how dirty the battery was; I admitted it had a lot of dirt/crud on it; he suggested cleaning it with a solution of baking soda, which I did. I also found quite a bit of corrosion on the battery terminals and cleaned that up too. Then I charged it for a couple of hours. The next morning - and every time I tried it for a few weeks - the car started fine. I didn't actually have anywhere to go though given the lockdown so I basically just turned the car on, let it run a few seconds and turned it off, aside from one trip to Princess Auto and Canadian Tire to price batteries.
A few days ago, I had to make another drug store run. I hadn't even tried to start the car in a week or so. I tried boosting it, which had worked before but this time, no dice. This time, the car wouldn't start. I got a bunch of clicking but nothing more. Tried it a second time; more clicking but no starting. Tried one more time, got a single click and no starting. I connected a battery charger to see what it said about my voltage levels; it said the battery was fully-charged.
I began to wonder if my alternator, solenoid or starter motor was fried. I found some diagnostic procedures for starting problems online and the first step said to make sure the key was off and measure the voltage between my battery terminals with a voltmeter. I did that and got 0.0!
Does that make any sense? I was expecting to see SOME charge still in the battery but for the number to be somewhat below 12V. Could it really be completely and totally discharged? (In case you're wondering about a meter malfunction or that I had the probes in the wrong places, I found a new AA battery in the kitchen and measured it with the same meter and same DC Voltage range and got 1.6V, proving the meter and the operator were NOT the problem.) Apparently my battery really is completely flat, despite the battery charger meter saying it was fully charged. (It's a very old battery charger, probably 30 years old; maybe the meter isn't very reliable any more.)
If this makes sense so far and my battery really is completely flat, does that now explain why the car won't start even with booster cables? Have I conclusively proved that my battery really is toast? I wouldn't find that hard to believe since it was on the vehicle when I bought it in 2016 and may have been there for years before that. I simply don't know enough about how cars work to see if the symptoms I've had match up with my diagnosis.
Now, on to the second part of my question. I was going to go buy a replacement battery yesterday on the theory that if it didn't fix the problem, I could just take it back. But I had one HECK of a time finding one that would work. Apparently, I need a battery from Battery Group 24, which is a common size. But every battery I saw or could find online had the positive terminal on the right; my positive terminal is on the LEFT.
I thought I could possibly deal with that problem very simply: just rotate the battery 180 degrees so that the positive terminal was now on the left but when I asked a friend, he said that couldn't be done but I didn't quite understand WHY. I'm pretty sure the XTerra cables, especially the positive one, won't reach if the positive terminal is on the right. Has any XTerra owner actually made their positive connector reach to a right-hand positive terminal without having to replace the positive connector with a longer one? What exactly is the problem with just rotating the battery? Obviously, the writing would be upside down but I don't see that as a significant problem.
If I can't rotate the battery and have it work, can anyone suggest where I can find a Group 24 battery with the positive terminal on the left? I've done a lot of googling and came up empty. (Princess Auto had one a couple of weeks ago but they don't show that one in their list of batteries for my vehicle any more. Canadian Tires batteries all have the positive terminal on the right. Walmart doesn't offer any way to search for batteries based on year/make/model: they just show you 15,000 batteries and let you look at each one to see if it is the right one! TSC didn't have any batteries in stock that would go in my vehicle.)
I'd really appreciate some advice on these two points:
I've been having some trouble starting my XTerra the last couple of weeks. Rather than giving you a detailed play by play, suffice it to say that initially I was able to get a boost to get the vehicle started and i was then able to drive around and perform multiple errands without difficulty. However, when I charged the battery with a charger for a couple of hours, the car started immediately but the battery was flat and unable to start the vehicle the next morning, strongly suggesting it was unable to hold a charge. I consulted a friend and he asked how dirty the battery was; I admitted it had a lot of dirt/crud on it; he suggested cleaning it with a solution of baking soda, which I did. I also found quite a bit of corrosion on the battery terminals and cleaned that up too. Then I charged it for a couple of hours. The next morning - and every time I tried it for a few weeks - the car started fine. I didn't actually have anywhere to go though given the lockdown so I basically just turned the car on, let it run a few seconds and turned it off, aside from one trip to Princess Auto and Canadian Tire to price batteries.
A few days ago, I had to make another drug store run. I hadn't even tried to start the car in a week or so. I tried boosting it, which had worked before but this time, no dice. This time, the car wouldn't start. I got a bunch of clicking but nothing more. Tried it a second time; more clicking but no starting. Tried one more time, got a single click and no starting. I connected a battery charger to see what it said about my voltage levels; it said the battery was fully-charged.
I began to wonder if my alternator, solenoid or starter motor was fried. I found some diagnostic procedures for starting problems online and the first step said to make sure the key was off and measure the voltage between my battery terminals with a voltmeter. I did that and got 0.0!
Does that make any sense? I was expecting to see SOME charge still in the battery but for the number to be somewhat below 12V. Could it really be completely and totally discharged? (In case you're wondering about a meter malfunction or that I had the probes in the wrong places, I found a new AA battery in the kitchen and measured it with the same meter and same DC Voltage range and got 1.6V, proving the meter and the operator were NOT the problem.) Apparently my battery really is completely flat, despite the battery charger meter saying it was fully charged. (It's a very old battery charger, probably 30 years old; maybe the meter isn't very reliable any more.)
If this makes sense so far and my battery really is completely flat, does that now explain why the car won't start even with booster cables? Have I conclusively proved that my battery really is toast? I wouldn't find that hard to believe since it was on the vehicle when I bought it in 2016 and may have been there for years before that. I simply don't know enough about how cars work to see if the symptoms I've had match up with my diagnosis.
Now, on to the second part of my question. I was going to go buy a replacement battery yesterday on the theory that if it didn't fix the problem, I could just take it back. But I had one HECK of a time finding one that would work. Apparently, I need a battery from Battery Group 24, which is a common size. But every battery I saw or could find online had the positive terminal on the right; my positive terminal is on the LEFT.
I thought I could possibly deal with that problem very simply: just rotate the battery 180 degrees so that the positive terminal was now on the left but when I asked a friend, he said that couldn't be done but I didn't quite understand WHY. I'm pretty sure the XTerra cables, especially the positive one, won't reach if the positive terminal is on the right. Has any XTerra owner actually made their positive connector reach to a right-hand positive terminal without having to replace the positive connector with a longer one? What exactly is the problem with just rotating the battery? Obviously, the writing would be upside down but I don't see that as a significant problem.
If I can't rotate the battery and have it work, can anyone suggest where I can find a Group 24 battery with the positive terminal on the left? I've done a lot of googling and came up empty. (Princess Auto had one a couple of weeks ago but they don't show that one in their list of batteries for my vehicle any more. Canadian Tires batteries all have the positive terminal on the right. Walmart doesn't offer any way to search for batteries based on year/make/model: they just show you 15,000 batteries and let you look at each one to see if it is the right one! TSC didn't have any batteries in stock that would go in my vehicle.)
I'd really appreciate some advice on these two points:
- is it definitely my battery that has the problem AND
where can I find a group 24 battery with the positive terminal on the left (once it is installed and I am facing the battery from in front of the vehicle.)