Slow starting on my DB...starter already replaced

ASSISTANCE Stock Engine-Bay Components
1

Ok well i have a Odyssey battery, as far as i know stock alternator, and as of yesterday, replaced reman’d starter.

My car has been starting slow for the last couple of weeks for no reason…i though for some reason something was draining my battery and it ‘wierdly’ was a result of the new USB i got in my car, but it’s not. So i went to 2 different advance auto parts and had them test the battery/alt, both times alt came up showing good numbers and the odyssey battery showed (188/196 CCA…spec’d at 220 CCA) which i guess is ok, i’d rather see above 220 CCA.

So i had them test all 3…manager came outside and mentioned starter…i remember when my maxima had the slow starting problem, i kept driving it until it wouldnt start anymore as i had already pulled the alternator and had it bench tested (it was good) replaced the battery 3 times in it thinking it was a bad battery. So when it wouldnt start anymore, i pulled the starter, had them bench test it, turns out the starter was weak.

So this is what i thought the issue was, replaced the starter yesterday, same issue. The car starts slow every single time…even if i run around at high rpms for a few minutes or run a hr up the road at highway speeds and turn it right back over, it’ll start slow. any ideas?

2

I am assuming when you say, “starting slow” you mean the engine cranks, [turns over] slowly, not that it takes a long time to start, engine cranks, [turns over] multiple times before it starts, is that correct?

If so, check your main grounds, [batt. post and cable clamp, batt. to chassis ground and chassis to engine ground] also check the batt. pos.(+) cable connection to the starter motor.

You can do a “quick test” with a set of jumper cables, connect ground clamp to batt. neg.(-) post and other ent to any ground point on the engine, this will be a little harder, connect the pos.(+) clamp to batt. pos.(+) post and the other end to the starter motors batt. terminal, is there a diff. in starting “speed”, if so, disconnect the pos.(+) and try again, if still OK, redo the main grounds. 94

3

that’s correct, and thanks for your response

wouldnt doing that ‘test’ be the exact same as the setup on the car is right now? i mean the (+) goes from the battery to the fuse box to the starter right now…just taking the fuse box out of the equation.

4

Using the jumpers foer power and ground to the starter motor just adds a known good power and ground, it does not bypass the fuse box.

If the starter cranks proerly with the jumper cables connected, you know you have a power or gounding problem. 94

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yesterday leaving work, wouldnt start up…got a jump, fired right up of course, thinking bad connection, i got some battery terminals and redid all of that, it’s damn near worse. put my brother’s battery up there to test it out and see how it’d start…FIRED RIGHT UP!!! bought a jump box, had to jump it this morning, got to work (30 minute or so drive at highway speeds of 70mph+) parked it, turned it off and attempted to restart it…NOTHING!!!

This Odyssey battery has me fukin pissed to say the least right now. the company will know my disdain today.

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Did you not say you had the batt. tested? 94

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Also Aren’t those CCAs a little low? I think mine is about 550

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yes in the OP i said i had the battery tested…CCA are rated at 220A, it was shown at 188 one time and 196 another. i had no issues prior w/ the car at all…it just randomly started starting slow. we had cold days prior to and no issues, if i remember correctly it actually started on warm days…i dont know…

i’m calling Odyssey today, at lunch. in the meantime i’m putting my factory brackets back in so i can put a stock size battery in until Odyssey decides to send another on, maybe. hopefully their customer service is worth something

9

waiting to hear back from Odyssey…to phone calls, no answer…

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I bet the battery is the problem, I’ve seen batteries test bad right off the shelf, and those battery testers they use at sears, advanced auto, etc might say the battery passed the test but it can still be a crappy battery and simply be “border-line” good, if that makes any sense…I would try swapping it out with a friends battery to simply see the difference in start up. Also, like somebody mentioned already, those CCA ratings seem weak. Our cars come with a group size 25 and are usually rated about 500 CCA or more depending on the manufacturer

11

Just checked out the Odyssey battery website, looks like this is the one for your car… http://odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1400_25.htm
Group size 25, they list the CCA rating at 740, and is listed as a PC1400. Is this the battery you have?

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220cca for an odyssey battery?? Is it a riding lawnmower or motorcycle battery? That doesn’t sound right at all

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well you have to remember, that odyssey batteries especially the one you have (rated at CCA 220) and similar size batteries are meant for racing or off road application. The only thing needed for them is to have enough CCA just to crank the motor and that’s it. These batteries are not recommended for cars that we daily since they do not have enough CCA to compensate for the additional luxuries that we use in our cars that take additional amperage. So most likely the battery is your problem. Either you have to trickle charge the battery occasionally or swap out to a better battery. I would recommend a miata battery as it’s relatively compact and it’s sealed to an extent.

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I can imagine the conversation with Odyssey.

" what is your car sir? OK… and the battery your using? Uh huh…hm it seems that battery is made for ATVs and not compatible for your car. Good day"

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[QUOTE=Delmar;2282184]Just checked out the Odyssey battery website, looks like this is the one for your car… http://odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1400_25.htm
Group size 25, they list the CCA rating at 740, and is listed as a PC1400. Is this the battery you have?[/QUOTE]

yea…the battery is the culprit guys, unfortunately. it’s my fault for thinking that this odyssey battery had super magical powers. it was fantastic during summer/fall months… 2 weeks after cold it’s trash. i’m thinking optima being the source of my battery relocation to the trunk, anyone else have any dry cell battery recommendations?

[QUOTE=TegFan;2282196]I can imagine the conversation with Odyssey.

" what is your car sir? OK… and the battery your using? Uh huh…hm it seems that battery is made for ATVs and not compatible for your car. Good day"[/QUOTE]

if i could even get that far w/ them sigh

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[QUOTE=TegFan;2282196]I can imagine the conversation with Odyssey.

" what is your car sir? OK… and the battery your using? Uh huh…hm it seems that battery is made for ATVs and not compatible for your car. Good day"[/QUOTE]

:rofl:

17

my buddy has the small odyssey on his ITR, and just has a trickle charge plus thing connected all the time and then at night just plugs his car in from under the back bumper lol

18

Sounds like a bitch to have to do that every day. I’d opt for a slightly larger battery if it were me.

Unless it’s an all out drag/track car, let’s be real, 10lbs more for a battery isn’t going to adversely effect anything… Besides maybe an ego :wink:

19

any recommendations for a reputable dry cell to do a relocate to the trunk? i hate looking at this big battery in my bay after not seeing one for close to a year

20

Just get a bigger odyssey or optima yellow top. I had a red top relocated to the back and it never let me down. Maybe you can just get another one of those small batteries and connect it in series? Maybe not in series? Ask FCM for the right term/ configuration as I think that if you do run them in series, you’ll have 24v instead of 12.