Wish Me Luck

[Hoovie]

I saw a 2004 3-door Granite on there for under £4k !!

I wish I needed another car as I would snap that up like a shot :D

[rambler]

Well.....see if i can upload a short vid of an attempt to try and start it earlier.......

http://s895.photobucket.com/user/jamierav/media/31-03-13rav4slowstarting.mp4.html

Well...can't find a way of loading the few seconds of vid,so link will have to do.

It took several of these before it fired.......just

[anchorman]

The Battery needs testing first and if that is OK, you need a new starter.

Much cheaper than a new car!

[rambler]

The battery needs testing first and if that is OK, you need a new starter.

Much cheaper than a new car!

Ah ....thank you so so much Don........had my local village garage test the Battery in last few weeks Don,the test showed 98% capacity........

Still recommend the Denso ?....is there a higher KW available,i seem to remember a hot starting thread on here somwwhere,where a member obtained a more powerful one ?

[DjRav]

it would have to be blue and preferably diesel

Very strange priorities you have there!!

Dave

[Big Kev]

Well.....see if i can upload a short vid of an attempt to try and start it earlier.......

http://s895.photobucket.com/user/jamierav/media/31-03-13rav4slowstarting.mp4.html

Well...can't find a way of loading the few seconds of vid,so link will have to do.

It took several of these before it fired.......just

Something is draining the current oot that Battery, Seamus......earth point very clean....?

[anchorman]

Not necessarily Kev, if the Battery proves OK then the starter could be drawing too much current. I would certainly test it again though!

[Big Kev]

Not necessarily Kev, if the battery proves OK then the starter could be drawing too much current. I would certainly test it again though!

Wasn't allowing for the starter motor draining the Battery current, but certainly disnae sound like a 98% ok one to me.....

[Plutus]

A couple of years ago I had poor starting. A service was due so I asked the dealer to test. Said it was fine. Problems continued so I replaced the Battery. Been fine since. For what it costs it's worth a try.

[rambler]

Well ,this morning i have just tried to start it.....from cold.

IT STARTED.....with 2 or 3 cranks as usual,as it has been for last few weeks,slightly slower crank rate.....but better than the hot start vid shows.

So running it on front garden for an hour ,just to get some more charge in Battery.....i dont' know,it may help.

I'm curious,re the hot engine thing,i assume a hot engine would take more cranking effort then ?,due to engine parts expanded etc,needing more effort to turn over ?

I'd always thought a cold engine on a cold morning was the....." real test "

Think i will obtain a Yuasa Battery,and get that fitted during work tomorrow....start with that....see if that makes any difference.

You know folks,i really appreaciate all your inputs as usual ,this is what i need,helpful advice,encouragement.

Another reason why i just love my Rav4.....because i have folk on here that help me...a very active forum.

[anchorman]

Getting the Battery is a belt and braces approach but if the original has been there for some time it won't be a waste of money. You never know, it might just kick the starter enough to defer the purchase of a new one for a while.

[rambler]

Getting the battery is a belt and braces approach but if the original has been there for some time it won't be a waste of money. You never know, it might just kick the starter enough to defer the purchase of a new one for a while.

Don,the Halfords hb334 Battery has been on there for almost 5 years,its not the original,but it does have a high CCA ( 740 cca) which is what i wanted.....and only just fits on the bettery tray ha ha.

I wanted good strong cold cranking power for cold winter mornings to ensure it started....,i've a feeling a i've had the best out of it anyway,which is the reason for a replacement....only wish i knew of a Yuasa distributor ,trading today,where i could source one.

Or it may have to be another hb334 again from Halfords today ( fit it myself).

[voyager t180]

Rambler buy or borrow a multi meter tester (£30 app) and easy to use.
You can then easily test the batteries function.
With the car running the meter should show 14+ volts.showing the alternator is charging properly.
Also test the Battery itself which should show 12.45 volts from cold.
Testing for a drain requires sysematically pulling out fuses until the meter shows a correct reading.

Once you get used to it the testers quite easy to use.
There are loads of guides on google..but 'eric the car guy' is one of the best imo.
5 yrs is about avg for Battery life anyway.
As you say COLD starting is usually the sign of a duff Battery.. HOT starting prob sounds more like an alternator or fuel/engine issue to me..I'd check that out before spending £90 on a new battery
Hope this helps.

[firemac]

Jamie, it might be worth hooking the Battery up to a Battery conditioner (Optimate etc.) if you have, or can borrow, one. As far as I'm aware your alternator will only charge the Battery to its normal state, e.g. if it wasn't fully charged when it was newly fitted (say it was only 80%) then the alternator can never charge it beyond that state. A conditioner however will bring it up to as near 100% as age & quality will allow. Might be worth a go before spending on anything else.

For what it's worth, the original battery in our 02-reg was 9 1/2 years old when I replaced it - more out of fear of it going flat in the anticipated bad winter weather expected at the time.- although it was still working fine.

[rambler]

Ok dokey folks.

Have decided to keep the current Battery,as it was only tested in last month or so.

Will have a new starter motor fitted a s a p,....see what happens.

Could someone please reccomend me a SIMPLE ,but with a digital display,multimeter...as looked on Amazon....and very confused i am,and one that will do this task.....

And i will order one again a s a p.

Thank you all.

[voyager t180]

As you say its a bit confusing,there are many available.

The one I have is a basic 'Draper Digital automotive analyser'..stock no.50024.

Its simple to use and does everything the average person should need.

I've used it a lot on my own and friends cars to find a drain,often saving an uneccessary Battery change.

Oh and how do you know the starter is faulty?

One small tip..whenever buying an off the shelf Battery,always give it a long trickle charge before fitting.

You dont know how long they've been there,so they aernt always fully charged.

[rambler]

As you say its a bit confusing,there are many available.

The one I have is a basic 'Draper Digital automotive analyser'..stock no.50024.

Its simple to use and does everything the average person should need.

I've used it a lot on my own and friends cars to find a drain,often saving an uneccessary battery change.

Oh and how do you know the starter is faulty?

One small tip..whenever buying an off the shelf battery,always give it a long trickle charge before fitting.

You dont know how long they've been there,so they aernt always fully charged.

Well.....i did mention that i took my rav to Mr t last week,and on their advisory form it said " requires starter motor ",and i trust Don's input on here, i put the link to the vid in a previous post on how badly it starts.

If he can tell from a few seconds of film,thats good enough for me.Although i would just like to be able to test the Battery for myself ( and other uses in the future ) by buying a multimeter.

That meter you have,looks very informative....but tbh,it still looks too indepth for me, i'm only a simple bloke ha ha....think i would be scared to use it.....any other recomendations ?

[voyager t180]

Haha..I'm no mechanic either.

I promise you if I can use it anybody can.

Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

I didnt see your earlier post re starter motor..

But if you suspect the starter motor I would have an auto electrician test it first.

IMO if it is the starter then I would look at a (half the price), reconditioned one first.

[rambler]

Haha..I'm no mechanic either.

I promise you if I can use it anybody can.

Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

I didnt see your earlier post re starter motor..

But if you suspect the starter motor I would have an auto electrician test it first.

IMO if it is the starter then I would look at a (half the price), reconditioned one first.

Had a bit of luck.

A local and good friend of mine contact me this afternoon,he is also a very good car electrician,he's going to test it for me tomorrow at work ( provided my Rav starts first thing tomorrow ) and gets me to work.

So ,just have to see what happens,he's already made me feel more confident though,which is what i needed.

I will though buy a multimeter thingy......for the future,cheers for that Paul

[anchorman]

Testing a Battery might require a bit more than a multimeter Jamie. A meter across the Battery terminals will show about 12V with the engine off and should rise to about 14V with the engine running. If you measure the voltage when the engine is cranking it shouldn't drop below 9.6V and if it does that is the starter at fault. It won't test the Battery for you though. For that you need a heavy disharge tester. Having meters is one thing but having the right one is another. For instance, if you try to measure the starter current across the terminals you will struggle without one of the moving coil meters with a needle because a digital meter will be all over the place - they are too sensitive.

You are right to let your mate look if he knows what he is doing.

[rambler]

Testing a battery might require a bit more than a multimeter Jamie. A meter across the battery terminals will show about 12V with the engine off and should rise to about 14V with the engine running. If you measure the voltage when the engine is cranking it shouldn't drop below 9.6V and if it does that is the starter at fault. It won't test the battery for you though. For that you need a heavy disharge tester. Having meters is one thing but having the right one is another. For instance, if you try to measure the starter current across the terminals you will struggle without one of the moving coil meters with a needle because a digital meter will be all over the place - they are too sensitive.

You are right to let your mate look if he knows what he is doing.

Cheers for that Don,Dudley is actually semi retired,been an auto electician for years and years,he is highly respected amongst most garages in Colchester and he knows my local village garage who i use...very well.

He won't let me ' waste my money ',he's one for an honest answer,possibly expensive........but honest.

Infact my local village garage recommend him for electrical issues to all thier customers.

[crofter]

Way to go Jamie, an electrician with a good number of years under his belt is not likely to be a "just fit a new one and see merchant" but someone who will take the trouble to find out exactly what is wrong with your own starter and sort it out,which may cost less than you think.

Del

[rambler]

Well folks

I think its very bad news......for me.

Had a new Yuasa professional battrey fitted today whilst at work,just to be sure.

My auto electrician done his bit,multimeter worked,showed 14 1/2 volts whilst engine running ,so its charging,and it started 3 times easily in the hour he was with me.

We even got the engine to temperature,turned it off....waited 10 mins then re-started,no problem.

BUT.......on way home from work tonight,smoke pouring out the exhaust whilst accelerating, turbo cutting in and out ( can feel it ),and also now can hear a slight jangly noise when i rev it on the driveway,i think its coming from the turbo :(

Also have a very distinct howling from it now,even when i start to reverse.

Could the little fins in the turbo be coming away ?...

Would a blown or blowing turbo make it smokey ?........help please.