YACT: Sable (battery?) trouble.

LordMorpheus

Diamond Member
Aug 14, 2002
6,871
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So I go out to my 1991 Mercury Sable this morning with the idea of going to school in my head, right? Well, I put my backpack in the trunk and climb in and insert key, and all this goes without a hitch.

But when I tried to start it . . it didn't work.

Here is what happened: the engine made maybe 1/4 of a turn and stopped, if I held the key in start, the various blinky warning/diagnostics/seatbelt lights would slowly fade out (so did the clock). So, I think its pretty safe to assume battery trouble, right? Well, I called a friend for a ride because my parents were asleep and getting a jump in time was a bit out of the question. As a side note, battery trouble maybe a little less likely, because when you switch to electrical power position on the switch the CD player and interior lights would do their thing without obvious signs of power failure.

Anyway, I go to school, learn stuff, and come home, at which point I go to give myself a jump from my mom's van . . first things first was to try my Sable again . . and it turned over a little sluggishly and started. I was very pleasently surprised. But also perplexed. How could my car have been able to start at 4:00 in the afternoon when it couldn't at 7:30 that morning? After I drove my car for a bit it was starting fine w/o major sluggishness.

my real question is this: should I have my battery replaced? The car doesn't have that great of a history with batteries (4 years ago the battery exploded when I tried to start it . . and I still have a nice acid trail underneath where the car had been parked for anecdote material) and the current battery is within 400 miles of its projected replacement . . . should I go buy a new battery?

Other maybe relevant information: this morning it was probably in the 50-60's, when I got home it was probably in the 70's. Would this affect the batteries capabilities/the cars ability to start ( I know cold weather starts can be tough, but it wasn't very cold at all this morning)

And if it is a new battery I need, where to buy one and which one to buy (don't the die-hards have lifetime warranties or somesuch?)

 

JC

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2000
5,833
64
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I would start by cleaning the battery terminals and cable ends. Could be as simple as that.
 

Quixfire

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2001
6,892
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Goto a place that offers free starting and charging system testing, like sears, and have them tell you what is wrong. It does sound like a dead or dying battery.
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
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Could be an alternator going out running the battery down. And, not starting in the morning...what was the temperature at 7:30am vs. 4pm?? Colder weather adversely affects a battery's performance.