Car was dead this morning, but now it's not....

FourSixPony

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My GF's 14 Kia Soul was completely dead this morning, all you could hear was the starter clicking, the lights came on but there was zero chance to start, I tried to jump it but it didn't matter, it was the same shit... 13 hours later when I get home from work I was going to take the battery out and go buy a new one but for fun I tried to start it and it fired right up without hesitation. I tested the battery, it was at 13.2 volts while running and 12.4 volts after I turned it off, and I let it sit for over an hour and checked again and it was still at 12.4 volts which from my understanding is a little low but still about 75% charge. Her car was dead about two weeks ago but I jumped it without issue and this is the first time since then that she has had a problem... does it sound like it is just the battery?.. I just don't understand how it could be completely dead and 13 hours later be fine and fire up without a problem. Any advice? I didn't buy the battery yet because I want to get some opinions and make sure it's all the battery before I buy a new one.
 

MG0h3

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Could be numerous things but Id bet its the starter contacts/solenoid or a bad connection to them.

A quick test to see if the starter is trying to draw power is to watch the headlights/dash lights when you try to crank. If they dim, the circuit to the starter is likely good. If not, the starter isnt drawing power for whatever reason be it a poor connection or a faulty solenoid.

Sometimes a light tap on the solenoid with the handle of a screwdriver or something similar will do the trick. Helps even more if someone is trying to crank and causing the "click" rapidly while you tap on it.
 
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derklug

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Batteries can recover some charge, but I would check the ground connection at the block, and the power connection at the starter.
 

CobraBob

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Could be numerous things but Id bet its the starter contacts/solenoid or a bad connection to them.

A quick test to see if the starter is trying to draw power is to watch the headlights/dash lights when you try to crank. If they dim, the circuit to the starter is likely good. If not, the starter isnt drawing power for whatever reason be it a poor connection or a faulty solenoid.

Sometimes a light tap on the solenoid with the handle of a screwdriver or something similar will do the trick. Helps even more if someone is trying to crank and causing the "click" rapidly while you tap on it.

I bet it's starter related as well. My wife's 2012 Hyundai Azera did the exact same thing over a 6 month period. The dealer changed the battery twice but it didn't help. My wife had to carry a battery jumper in her trunk. I finally said enough is enough and had the dealer tow the car to their dealership and told them I didn't want it back until the real problem was uncovered. I also suggested to them that they test the starter and starter cable. Guess what? 3 days later we get a call that the dealership found the problem. A bad starter! Just as I thought. They replaced the starter and no more non-starts. So definitely check your starter and starter cable.
 

CobraBob

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Let us know what you find out, to help the next guy with a similar issue who might see this thread. :)
 

BlueSnake01

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My Cobra’s alt went to crap and killed the battery, car turned off on me, wouldnt start. Came back later on to try it agan and turned on like a charm.

My brother in-law’s Kia also had a similar problem, the cable to the alt or starter? was loose and sometimes it would get contact and other times it wouldnt.
 

SirShaun

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Just because the battery has enough voltage, doesn't mean the battery is good. The cranking amps could be falling off if the battery is old enough. If you can find a second set of hands while you stay on the volt meter you can see voltage drop on the crank. I had a similar issue in my F250, except 2 batteries to complicate things, ended up replacing both batteries to fix it.

When cranking the voltage was dropping significantly, I think to around 8.x volts, which wasn't enough to turn it over. Definitely do the voltage drop test on crank before making your battery/starter decision.

After replacing both batteries, on crank it was staying above 10 volts.

I had found a better video, using only a basic multimeter, but can't find it now. This will give you an idea though. Your using the cranking action as your load test, instead of a button on tester.

My truck was showing similar problems, seemed to only start when it wanted too. Jumped it a few times, it started on its own at other times. The fact you can jump it and it starts, is indicating a weak battery, and voltage drop is your culprit. I would be surprised to hear a 3 year old starter has went bad, but hell I've been shocked before.

[video=youtube;3QiKyjWWiRo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QiKyjWWiRo[/video]
 
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DHG1078

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Just because the battery has enough voltage, doesn't mean the battery is good. The cranking amps could be falling off if the battery is old enough. If you can find a second set of hands while you stay on the volt meter you can see voltage drop on the crank. I had a similar issue in my F250, except 2 batteries to complicate things, ended up replacing both batteries to fix it.

When cranking the voltage was dropping significantly, I think to around 6.5-7 volts, which wasn't enough to turn it over. Definitely do the voltage drop test on crank before making your battery/starter decision.

After replacing both batteries, on crank it was staying above 10 volts.

I had found a better video, using only a basic multimeter, but can't find it now. This will give you an idea though. Your using the cranking action as your load test, instead of a button on tester.

[video=youtube;3QiKyjWWiRo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QiKyjWWiRo[/video]

+1

batteries can be finicky. My dad just had to replace the battery in his F250. We think the cells in the battery were going bad. We were trying to diagnose his seemingly transient non start issue. Truck would start no problem for a while, then all of a sudden stop starting. We went out one morning to diagnose some more, and could hear the battery sizzling, even though it hadn't been used in a couple days and it wasn't hot. We tested it at like 7 volts or something. Took it to walmart to replace it, and they tested it at 12.6 volts. We think the vibrations from driving it off road and spending some decent amount of time right next to the ocean did it in. Getting jostled on the way to the store just aligned everything up just right where we couldn't get it warrantied.
 

nxhappy

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definitely test both the battery and the alternator at the parts store. I bet one of them is faulty...
 

black92

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I-am-not-saying.jpg
 

blk02edge

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I had the same thing happen, ended up being broken plates in the battery.
 

L8APEX

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The acids they use in lead acid batteries are now also not as strong as they once were, and the plates use less lead/ surface area... All while more demanding electronicnics get stuffed into vehicles. Makes any weakness in the electrical system much more likely to cause a complete failure.

Sent from my HTC 10
 
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SonicDTR

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Bad connection somewhere. My truck has done this a few times. Go to start, click click. Hook battery charger up and immediately fires up. No problems again for months and does it again. Hasnt happened in quite a while so i'd say having alot of the cables and grounds off/on fixed it somewhere.
 

Crazycarl

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My wife's 2010 Soul did this. More often when cold. One day it just stopped doing it. Traded that damn thing soon after. No one could find what the issue was when it was doing it.
 

FourSixPony

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Well I did some research yesterday since I had the day off and seems like the battery ground is terrible on these things, I came across numerous threads with my same issue and about 90% said the sanded the paint off of the shock tower where the grounding point was and that solved the problem.. so yesterday I did just that, seemed like it started stronger, and haven't had an issue with it yet, so hopefully that was the problem.. otherwise I'll follow the other advice I've been given here. I appreciate all the help guys. Thank you.
 

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