Whats wrong with my car???

[Tek 10+ year member]

My cars electrical system is going crazy. Most common problem is after the car sits outside overnight, when i go to start it it takes about 5 seconds. Other weird things:sometimes when I turn it on, the radio is on AM evern though when I turned it off it was FM, and once, the interior lights didnt turn off for like 10 minutes.

I'm thinkin the alternator went bad or I need a new battery. I want to get these problems delt with before I install my new head unit. Any help appreciated.

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[drkodin 10+ year member]

first off, i bet your battery is dying. this could explain the radio station and starting problems. if the batt has a low charge, it is probably taking all the power to start the car (hince the 5sec start). so, since there is no more power for the radio (low priority) is has no power and loses its memory. most radios, when first installed, will be on an AM radio station.

as for the light problem, since it only happened once, i'm thinking either it was just a fluke or it wasn't 10min but just felt like it.

 

[drkodin 10+ year member]

one question, did this just start to happen? if so, how cold is it there?

 

[Tek 10+ year member]

No, it definitely was for at least 10 minutes.

I'm gonna go try to get the battey and alternator tested, I know a place where they do that kind of stuff for free.

The radio keeps its presets, it just goes to AM.

Over the summer it sometimes took longer than normal to start, but not like it is not. It probably has been around 10 degrees at night here lately and when it is, it takes about 5 secs to start.

 

[drkodin 10+ year member]

well, with it being that cold it isn't uncommon for a bad batt to have a hard time starting the car.

i dont think it is your alt because all of your problems seem to happen when the car is off. the alt isn't even working when the car is off, so you can eliminate that as a source of the problem.

i still think, if even a small part, it is still your batt. going bad.

 

[drkodin 10+ year member]

Originally posted by Jmac Battery or starter motor ....

would the starter cause the AM station and light problems?

who knows, maybe it is both.

one thing i forgot to ask. what kind of car is it? how many miles? how long has it had a system in it? how has it been treated over the years?

 

[Tek 10+ year member]

1993 Olds Cutlass Ciera, just hit 60K miles.

Brought it in today to get it tested, it's the battery.