Run car around city making 2-4 short trips...will not start for the next trip, radio and lights go on but car acts "dead". Car starts on its own after 1-3 hours of resting

10

Asked by telecha May 22, 2015 at 07:52 PM about the 1992 Toyota Corolla

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Battery, starter, neutral safety switch
replaced...diagnostic testing and electrical
inspection indicate all is ok,3 mechanics
don't know what to do, problem repeated
itself with them also, what to do?

4 Answers

You don't mention alternator being tested. many short trips, start/off - start/off cycles are hard on a battery and alternator, It may even have a perfectly good alternator and regulator but just doesn't have time to re-charge battery. Normally it takes about 5 minutes minimum to re-charge battery after a start, and if it's even a mildly long crank time, doesn't start at the first bump of cranking.... exponentially longer. Now, a battery will 'recover' on it's own after a rest sometimes. Drive your car on a highway for at least 30 minutes at least once a week. Your issue may disappear

2 people found this helpful.

There is more. If you never drive for at least a half-hour on occasion, moisture builds up in crankcase. It gets just warm enough then when cooling between starts, the constant temperature changes are not good. Condensation gets worse with each cycle of on/off. The car doesn't get hot enough to evaporate the moisture out, and even if it did get to operating temperature it takes time for the PCV to do it's job. That 30 minutes is a bare minimum. Preferably longer.

1 people found this helpful.
10

Battery, starter, alternator all replaced within 11 months. I could drive 3 to 4 miles one way, shop for 20 minutes, will not start for 1-2 hours Or, I may drive 10 miles, stop for 10 minutes, drive another 5 miles, stop, again...Car will not start...thank you for your time.

10

Battery, starter, alternator all replaced 3 times within 11 months! Car ran well for 8 weeks, problem resurfaced. Forgot to mention - sounds as if fan is running when attempting to turn car on, then silence...radio and lights on, but car makes no sound whatsoever...will start with a jump start, or I wait 1-2 hours for car to start on its own. A huge THANK YOU for your time and effort.

1 people found this helpful.

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