Car hesitates to start on cold spring/summer days.
06-19-2015, 07:03 PM
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Car hesitates to start on cold spring/summer days.
Hi!
I recently noticed that my car hesitates to start on cold spring/summer days.
I moved from FL to DE. And here in DE we had "cold" morning in April and May when it was 48F+. And it seems that engine cranks with some hesitation.
I don't have a perfect video and unfortunately currently is pretty warm in the mornings, thus I can't catch that problem. But when temperature goes down that hesitation appears again. Basically, it takes about half a second longer to start the engine. I clearly hear that. But again when it's 68F in the morning then hesitation is almost invisible.
My car is 2012 Honda Accord V6. Current mileage is about 38 500. I have an almost new battery which I purchased and installed in March 2015. It is OPTIMA RedTop, Group Size 35, 720 CCA. Also I haven't replaced spark plugs yet. I know that they should last long, but according to my dealer's service guide I should replace spark plugs every 30K miles (really?). And I know I like drive fast and accelerate hard. On warm days my battery has approximately 12.60 volts. I don't remember it's voltage on cold spring/summer days. And I know that it's about 5-5.5 miles between home and work. I can't check the available capacity, because battery is sealed. Also I recently changed engine oil (I change it every 3-4K miles), but it didn't affect hesitation at all.
At this time I'd like to try to charge my battery overnight and check if hesitation appears again.
I really don't know if 720 CCA is OK or too low. According to this article it should be fine since I'm writing about 48F, but not 32F or even 0F temperatures:
What does Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) mean? | OPTIMABATTERIES
So anyway I wonder if the problem is in my battery or maybe I should start troubleshooting other parts? And which first?
I recently noticed that my car hesitates to start on cold spring/summer days.
I moved from FL to DE. And here in DE we had "cold" morning in April and May when it was 48F+. And it seems that engine cranks with some hesitation.
I don't have a perfect video and unfortunately currently is pretty warm in the mornings, thus I can't catch that problem. But when temperature goes down that hesitation appears again. Basically, it takes about half a second longer to start the engine. I clearly hear that. But again when it's 68F in the morning then hesitation is almost invisible.
My car is 2012 Honda Accord V6. Current mileage is about 38 500. I have an almost new battery which I purchased and installed in March 2015. It is OPTIMA RedTop, Group Size 35, 720 CCA. Also I haven't replaced spark plugs yet. I know that they should last long, but according to my dealer's service guide I should replace spark plugs every 30K miles (really?). And I know I like drive fast and accelerate hard. On warm days my battery has approximately 12.60 volts. I don't remember it's voltage on cold spring/summer days. And I know that it's about 5-5.5 miles between home and work. I can't check the available capacity, because battery is sealed. Also I recently changed engine oil (I change it every 3-4K miles), but it didn't affect hesitation at all.
At this time I'd like to try to charge my battery overnight and check if hesitation appears again.
I really don't know if 720 CCA is OK or too low. According to this article it should be fine since I'm writing about 48F, but not 32F or even 0F temperatures:
What does Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) mean? | OPTIMABATTERIES
So anyway I wonder if the problem is in my battery or maybe I should start troubleshooting other parts? And which first?
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