[jimmyjones10]

Second time battery died (new batt, had it checked, still good).

Mechanic said starter is bad (he said it failed intermittently).

Now it does not want to start/has a hard time starting.

I turn the key and it flickers the dash and makes a clicking sound.

Can a bad starter cause a repeatedly dead battery? I was thinking maybe the alternator isn't charging the battery. Car runs fine when it does get started.

My question is, if it's a bad starter, wouldn't it not be able to start even with a jump?

edit*: 04 Path, 33k miles.

-JJ

 

[dvdswanson]

not necessarily, pull the starter and have autozone test it. it is free. if the starter acts up, try tapping the side of the starter with a hammer, it works, bad starter. starter wouldnt cause a battery draw to drain the battery. if the car runs fine your alt is working, you could have that tested at autozone also with it in the vehicle.

 

[MattyDK23]

If the alternator is acting up, the battery light on your dashboard should be lit up while you're driving. You can also test the voltage of the electrical system while the car's running... the battery alone puts out about 12V, while the alternator will put out 13.5V - 14.5V.

Either the starter is acting up or, even simpler, there's a draw on the battery while the engine is off. If you're able to jump-start it easily, like you're alluding to, then it's almost certainly a draw on the battery. Are you leaving the lights on (it's easy enough to slip the headlights from 'auto' to 'on', or bump the switch on the cabin lights so they're on all the time)? Anything plugged into the cigarette lighter, any aftermarket electronics (e.g. security system, remote starter, gps, sat ratio) installed recently?

 

[jimmyjones10]

Took it to diff mech. Draw tested starter alternator, everything fine (it's not that old...or used...33k miles). Figured there was something wrong wiht the harness. Sure enough cut enough of the sheathing off to find corrosion nearer the terminal end. Yikes! He cut and redid the end of the harness (nissan dealership said its $400 for a new one) for 100 bucks. Works like a champ now.

Thanks all. Great forum by the way. Gotta love the power of the internet.