Over the last 2 months, my car has refused to start about 4 or 5 times. Everyone of those times except twice, all it needed was a jumpstart. The other two times, it started after a couple minutes of waiting.
So this morning it didn’t start again, so I went and bought a new Motomaster Eliminator 700Amp battery and hooked it up. The car still wouldn’t start, so I got some friends to push it down the street and I bump started it… Car came to life, but died within a couple of seconds… We tried this again and I was able to keep it running for a moment, but only if I mashed the throttle in and out continously, and it eventually died anyway. The car won’t run at a steady RPM, and the started wont turn over.
I’m going to try to bum a charge off someone tonight, but this seems weird that even though the car started, the alternator wouldn’t keep it running. The car feels like it’s getting very limited fuel, or very limited spark… Both of which are completely likely if the battery is weak (electric ignition and injection and fuel pump), however the alternator should be providing juice enough for this…
Any tips before I call a tow truck in the morning, if the battery charge doesn’t do it?
My little brain thinks that maybe mashing the throttle keeps it running because somewhere I’m creating an air fuel ratio lean enough for a weak spark to creat ignition… that or the weak fuel pump is able to “prime” the system between mashes… Other than that, the car ran fine all day yesterday and last night when I parked it.