#Car will start randomly

24 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

bleak sand
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Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 2015 2.4 ES, will only start randomly.

When I turn the key, sometimes it will start fine, but more often it will initially struggle to turn over and after 3-4 attempts just be silent. I've checked the battery and it's good, took it to the mechanic (who is my brother-in-law) and we figured it was the starter as it had all the signs to a bad starter. When we hit the starter with something, it helped to turn over the car, so we both figured it was the starter and he replaced it today. It started up fine and just before he left I joked I should start it again, and it had the same issue with a brand new starter.

Also, if it does start, I can drive it like normal without any issues. I can also turn the car off, and immediately turn it back on without any problems. We can do this repeatable and it starts like a champ, but give it a few minutes and it *might *not turn over.

Does anyone know what could be the issue? He said it might be electrical which worries me greatly.

polar charm
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What was the test method for the battery?

bleak sand
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Voltage

polar charm
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Ok, perfect. It’s possible you have ok voltage but it may fail a load test - I had a similar situation myself last year. See if you can get it properly load tested, parts store should be able to do this.

turbid lotus
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If the voltage goes below ~10v when cranking the battery is bad.

pulsar tundra
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Good luck finding one anymore but they make a thing called carbon pile, holy shit that thing can kill the car engine if you push it enough, connect to battery, start it and push, will simultaneously test engine under load, alternator, and battery

bleak sand
polar charm
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Oh holy cow. I would have thrown money on a bad battery…. But that’s why I don’t bet 😂

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Next up, follow your battery cables, look for loose fasteners or rust and corrosion. Especially where the negative battery cable grounds to the frame or body.

bleak sand
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So it's interesting, they said the battery was good, but just did a 45 minute test and said it's fully charged, but it's at it's end of it's life. I just cleaned off the connectors of any dust or battery acid.

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When I put it back into my car and tightened everything down, tried starting it and nothing. But a minute or two later it started and keeps starting.

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So weird.

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I do have a warranty on the battery, but not sure if Walmart will exchange it if the test comes back that it's good.

pulsar tundra
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ignition uhhhh not cylinder, the other part

bleak sand
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coil?

royal lindenBOT
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GG @bleak sand, you just advanced to level 1! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!

bleak sand
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If you meant coil, you'd think my check engine light would go off if one coil was not working..

polar charm
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Ignition relay or starter relay may have been what he was thinking

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Often it’s on the starter itself so when you replaced the starter that got replaced too

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How’s the other ends of your battery cables?

bleak sand
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So I think I figured it out, somewhat. It's my keys. Just realized I have been mixing them around when I go start my car. Just tried one and it didn't work, then the other and it worked fine. This was repeated 6-7 times with the same results.

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I feel so stupid that it's the damn keys I think.

polar charm
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That’s some good troubleshooting haha. Weird but at least mystery solved

pulsar tundra