October 10, 20214 yr My Hilux Vigo battery is sometimes "lazy" for last 6 months. Or is it battery? Today I started (OK), drove 60 minutes straigh. And was unable to start it again (battery should be full right?). It barelly turned over once. So I got a guy to jump start me. And everything is OK again. Cars starts and everything. Is it even battery? Sometimes car sits for 2 days and is OK. Sometimes it sits for 2 days and it barelly starts. Sometimes I drove for 1 hour and it starts as new. Sometimes after 1 hour of driving it barelly starts. Or doesn't.
October 10, 20214 yr Batteries are good for three to five years. If it's more than three years old, buy a new one.
October 10, 20214 yr Check that the battery is 'earthed' properly. This is usually where the negative terminal is attached to the car somewhere.
October 10, 20214 yr Take to a local shop and get them to check it, sounds if it's not holding charge ,could be on its way out .while you are they check the alternator ,but I would say that is not the problem . Check fan belt ,should be about 3/4 inch of play in it . Check battery leads, clamps to the battery posts ,loose or corroded and the earth strap ,is it earthing to the chassis.
October 10, 20214 yr As others said clean and check all connections. Then, check for electrical drain or short. Maybe a bulb somewhere is shorted, some sneak short can suck out 1 or 2 amps of current. God forbid something worse in some wiring harness. Hard to isolate. If you like to fiddle, get a clip on amp meter. And see what if anything is leaving the battery. I had a 2 amp solid drain on my buick I could not isolate. I pulled all the fuses one by one, the relays, etc. I ended up installing a cutoff switch. When I parked the car for any length of time, I just turned the switch and completely isolated the battery. But newer cars often tend to NOT like having the battery totally disconnected. It upsets the clocks, chips, and other parts of the electronic systems and you often then have to restore things, re set electronic locks or whatever else.
October 11, 20214 yr How old is the battery? As others have said, they don't last long, they are cheap, easy to check and easy to replace. B-Quick or any of the other chains will check the battery and charging system free. You can watch them check it and they will give you an easy to understand print-out. It is a good starting point, and if the battery is weak, it won't hurt replacing it even if it does not solve the problem.
October 13, 20214 yr On 10/11/2021 at 9:02 AM, transam said: Don't dismiss the starter motor/solenoid.... Yes! We had almost exactly the same kind of issue with our old Ranger, new battery sort of improved it. Then it decided one day to just go "click"! Starter solenoid dead, contacts had been cooking for a while by the looks of it. Replacement solved the issue and it's been fine since. "I don't want to know why you can't. I want to know how you can!"
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