Car Refuses to Start (stored for 9 months)

[paranoidTSi]

my talon has been down for the last 9 months, sitting in my driveway. Last time I started it was before the cold came in, sometime in sept. oct., but I must have left a door open or something cause the next time I came to start it it wouldn't go because of a dead battery.

I tried jumping it with a 88 Nissan Maxima to no avail. Now, I tried jumping it today with a Mazda Protege5 2002, and it almost cranked over but then it killed my Mazda! I was able to start the mazda (BARELY).

I waited until my dad got home with the 4runner, we used that to jump it, you can hear the starter try to kick the motor over like a normal startup but it just never goes. I put some more gas in it to see if that was the issue, but it wasn't. I pumped the gas a few times, it seems like its not getting any fuel and a couple of times I got backfire at the rear of the car.

Any suggestions on what could possibly be the problem would be appreciated. I'm thinking either the battery is just too dead to be jumped or there is a fuel problem from sitting for so long. I'm leaning more towards a fuel delivery problem, but I was thinking the battery might be so dead it just can't crank it over even when being jumped, I also notice that the car is COMPLETELY DEAD after the jumper cables are removed, no gauge lights up at all.

 

[DevilSperm]

Definatly sounds like a battery issue to me. Try putting a little fuel into the uicp just to check for that first. but if you got it to backfire, its probably getting enough fuel and enough spark to make it at least do that much. Try robbing a battery off a different car and see if that helps

 

[brute]

i agree. after sitting for that long, the battery may just be flat out dead. if your terminals are dirty, it sometimes prevents 100% power needed to start, however, if they are clean, try another battery. but try not to buy one because that may not be the problem (but it most likely is) and it would suck to waste money on a battery cuz those babies ain't cheap

 

[joshohatesuall]

i agree.. its definitely a battery issue. if fuel delivery was a problem, it would still have power even without the jumpers. if you drained the battery severely, it's very likely it wouldn't crank either. as previously stated, jack a battery from a different car as opposed to buying one just to test.

 

[DSM_Obsession]

take the battery out and try to actually charge it and get one of those battery terminal brushes and clean your terminals and that should set you straight

 

[gsxrtalon]

I had the same problem when I stored my TSI, however, I messed with the plug wires and when I put them back in I had the order mixed up.(silly me) I am sure your battery is probably dead after sitting for 9 months unless you started the car every other week to recharge the battery and alternator. However, when you store a vehicle for a longer period gas does go bad and builds up a bunch of crap and deposits. When you store a vehicle especially in colder conditions I suggest using a fuel stabilizer(Stable) it reduces deposits and extends the life of the fuel you have in the gas tank. Otherwise, your car will have a hard time starting with all the build up in the fuel.

 

[No_Skillz]

Didn't you say you got it to crank after hooking up the jumper cables?

Also, jumper car should be on while trying to start the jumpee.

 

[femmeDSM]

If your battery turns out to not be the culprit, time to drain the gas and refill w/ fresh high octane.


....Man, seems like lots of people are having problems with old gas lately.....Haha.


Also... Try taking the battery to a place like Advance or Autozone. They can put it on the charger for you and tell you if it's stone dead or not. Usually when a battery has been dead for that long, it will be nearly impossible to get it to hold a charge again.

 

[Spoolin4Ever]

battery! EZ

 

[gsxrtalon]

Im with femmeDSM, drain your fuel, probably get a new fuel filter and put new gas in it. She will crank right up and run fine.