Battery Problem or Not?

This past week my car has struggled a little starting when you turn the key. Once you turn the jey, it seems that the car will weaken a little then all of sudden crank up. I dont know if it's the battery of not. One time last week, I may lost total power for a split second on startup because I lost all memory on my radio channels and had to reprogram the buttons. Is it the battery or something else? My battery was bought from the Toyota Dealer two years ago. Thank you!

 

you may want to take your car up to a auto zone or discount autoparts store they will test both the battery and the alternator for free you don't even have to take it out of the car... hope this helps

 

Before you head to the store, make certain that the battery terminals are tight and clean - on both ends.

 

Ya, before I'd spend money on a new battery I'd check/clean all the cable connections - replace any cables that might be iffy. A 2 yr old battery should still have plenty of life left but.......

 

Others have already implied as such, but I'll go a step further: It's _definitely_ a connection problem. The #1 clue here is that you said you lost your radio memory. Even if the battery was "pretty much" shot, you wouldn't lose your radio channels at all, and CERTAINLY wouldn't be able to start your car. Therefore I'd say definitely a problem with the connection between your battery and the rest of the system.

Again, as others have said, clean the cable connections, especially on the battery itself. They didn't go into much detail, so if you haven't already done so:

Buy a battery terminal cleaner from any auto parts store for $1.99. Remove the battery clamps from the battery, brush out the insides of them until shiny, and do the same for the posts on the battery itself. Then re-install and tighten them down tight. (Within reason) The only reason I've bothered to say this at all is because cleaning the the connection without disassembly will of course do absolutely nothing.

That's the #1 cause, based on your info. The #2 cause (in my humble non-pro opinion) is a wiring harness. I had a Geo Storm a while back which would completely DIE when I went over some rough railroad tracks. Turns out it was a rather large wiring harness in the engine compartment, and the plastic clip holding it together had broken. I drove it for MONTHS before definitely narrowing down the problem and "solving" it. (Simple wire-tie fix here.) So it was just a miracle that it held together well enough to power the car at all. Temp changes would definitely affect that.

Your battery is likely fine, and I would NOT recommend going to an auto parts store for any dicey automated test of theirs. All that would prove is that your system is operating properly at that moment. And according to Murphy's law it will be.

Just clean those battery connections inside-and-out and that _may_ solve it. If not, you _may_ have a connection problem elsewhere. Failing that, for Pete's sake the auto parts store isn't going to do you much good, based on your information.

Hope this helps somewhat.

P.S. Is it suddenly getting cold where you are? Sure is here in Iowa. Cold temps will, of course, affect batteries but not in the way you describe. I'm thinking more along the lines of brittle plastic being snapped, contracting plastic connectors, etc. Could be a number of things temp-related.

 

Core - Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely disassemble and clean everything out first.

It is getting a little colder here in NJ. Down to the 40s at night. I really need to get this fixed since this problem is not allowing me to start my car from the inside with my remote starter and having to wait outside in the cold for my car to warm up defeats the purpose of the remote starter.