cozmo2312

alright, electronics are not my thing, so excuse my ignorance.

my wife's del sol wouldn't start one morning, had to get it jumped off, it started, drove fine, but when she went someplace, turned it off again it wouldn't start again. this went on and on. finally we replaced the alternator and replaced the battery at the honda dealer. they also performed a TSB to update the AC wiring (a grommet to cover the wiring??) put new plugs/wires/rotor/air filter, and gave her an oil change (everything was free except the alternator replacement, but i digress.

the car STILL won't start. once you jump it off, it drives fine, lights work, AC works, radio works, which leads me to believe that the alternator is fine. we had it checked out at advance auto (don't flame) and they said that the Electronic Load Sensor was bad. now, i've never heard of this, so i called the honda dealer and they said that my car didn't have one of these, only older cars had them.

the honda dealer suggested that there is a slow draw somewhere in the system. i'm confused by all of this, because how could this just happen after 8 years (car is a 97). all of the electronics in the car is stock, no aftermarket sterio, no alarm, the motor is completely stock, right down to the air filter.

where could this slow draw come from?? where can i begin to look?? and is this even the problem??

any advice or suggestions would help, thanks!

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<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cozmo2312 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

the honda dealer suggested that there is a slow draw somewhere in the system. i'm confused by all of this, because how could this just happen after 8 years (car is a 97). all of the electronics in the car is stock, no aftermarket sterio, no alarm, the motor is completely stock, right down to the air filter.

where could this slow draw come from?? where can i begin to look?? and is this even the problem??

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It sounds like this could be the problem, or a crap battery. Since it starts with a jump, there's not enough CCA to get it going, there's either a draw, or the battery can't hold a charge. Do you have a multimeter to do some testing?

cozmo2312

nope, no multimeter, but i JUST got a new battery for it, so i HOPE that's not the problem. how would a draw just appear on an 8 year old car with NO mechanical or electronic modifications??

IVI

give the car a load test. take it to an auto store, i know we have it at sears.

what that does is when everything is off in the car, the machine measures whether or not any power is being consumed by something. a dome light, or anything.

it sounds possible that your having a drain. if it starts with a jump and stays running that shows that the wires , alternator, starter, etc is okay.

also are the inside of the battery contacts clean and free of corrosion? i assume yes since you took it to so many shops including the dealer.

since your battery is new i wont relate anything to that.
another way to load test a diffrent way is

does the car start back up immediatly after driving? if yes, then the next time you shut the car off disconnect the battery, and only connect it the next time you goto start your car. if there is a drain that will show it to you

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<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">give the car a load test. take it to an auto store, i know we have it at sears.

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That's what I was going to say next, since you don't have a meter. It could be that something is grounded now, or corroded in the system that's causing a draw. Maybe a contact or wire insulation has worn out causing it. It may be tough to track down the source


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cozmo2312 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nope, no multimeter, but i JUST got a new battery for it, so i HOPE that's not the problem. how would a draw just appear on an 8 year old car with NO mechanical or electronic modifications??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I have gotten a new bum battery that wouldn't hold a charge before. Either way, when you get everything fixed, exchange the battery under warranty. Every time a battery is drained it looses some capacity, and it's ability to hold a charge.

antiJDM

i say its your alternator, or starter

cozmo2312

cool, thanks for the help guys, i'm going to try and disconnect the battery after i drive the car and it's going to be sitting for a little while to see if i can plug it up and have it start again.

thanks again!

Lord Helmet

I'm betting on the starter because the starter solenoid could be bad causing the "plunger" inside the starter to not be able to get enough volts to turn the engine over. I know this is because my 95 civic had a problem exactlly like yours. I replaced a perfectlly good alternator for no apparent reason and only to find out the culprit was the starter. my car would never start unless I jump started it. I blamed everything else: alternator, battery,dirty/bad connections, clutch relay switch, hell I even though it was the ignition switch(expensive **** too: $240 thank god I didn't replace that thing!!!). In the end it was the starter.

BTW it's a starting problem NOT a charging problem. so cross off the rest of the charging system components.

cozmo2312

hmmm, i'll definatly check into that, thanks!