2002 Mitsubishi Galant Car won't start

JOLSEN79

MEMBER
2002 MITSUBISHI GALANT
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
105,000 MILES

So, I drove just fine this morning about 30 - 35 minutes down city streets (stop/go). I let it sit for about 5 hours and drove 5 minutes to lunch, where it sat for about an hour. When I came out to go back to work, I put the key in the ignition with the door open and got the "ding" for a second or two until I tried to turn it over. At which point nothing happened. No lights, no dings, no clicking, nothing.

The longer it sat the more power I got back. With a jump, I was able to start the car with no problems. However - I started to drive it back to work, and when I hit my first stop, it died again, and I had no power. Not even enough juice to turn my hazards on. Again, the longer it sat, the more power it got.

Any ideas as to the cause? I haven't metered it yet, which is what I plan on doing next, but I thought I would ask here too in case anyone was around to give me an immediate answer.

Thanks!

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,737 POSTS

Hi Jolsen79. Welcome to the forum. This sounds typical of loose or corroded battery cables. In addition to the loss of power, the slightest resistance in one of the connections will make it look to the voltage regulator as though the battery is fully charged so it will tell the generator to reduce its rate of charge.

When you take your voltage readings, you should have near 12.6 volts if the battery is fully charged and you must have between 13.75 and 14.75 volts when the engine is running. Measure right on the battery posts, not the cable clamps.

Since it sounds like you know what you're doing with a voltmeter, when the engine is off, turn on the head lights and if they are dim, use your meter on the lowest scale and measure the voltage between one battery post and its clamp. It should read 0.0 volts. Same is true for the other one. You can follow both battery cables that way, looking for excessive voltage drop while something is drawing current and the problem is acting up.

Caradiodoc