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Old 08-15-2012, 09:14 AM
tirod tirod is offline
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Get a volt meter and check the voltage across the battery terminals. If it's less than 12.3 volts DC it likely hasn't enough juice to spin the motor and get it started. If the car has electronic ignition, the system must have a minimum voltage to power the electronic package, and the car has to spin fast enough the crank sensor can accurately count it - or, it won't start.

Driving the car for an hour does about 30 -40 amps of charging. The battery is rated over 500CCA, at 40 amps an hour - a high rate - it will take over 12 hours to charge up. At the more battery friendly rate of 10 amps, it will take 50 hours to charge.

Put the battery on a float maintainer and avoid the problem in the future. It's no different than a boat at the lake dock. Non use drains the battery. Changing the battery to another one is no cure, especially if that battery has been sitting around, too. A dead battery isn't a bad battery, it only needs a charge.

Once the battery is FULLY charged, then crank it. If it won't start, check to see the carb is squirting fuel down the venturis. If not, the issue is lack of fuel - the pump may have lost prime sitting around for months, and the lines are empty. The fuel pump has to siphon gas from the tank, and that takes cranking it a lot to pull fuel all the way up to the carburetor.

Cars don't sit idle for months well, they are designed to be driven daily. If it needs to sit, it needs to be started and used weekly to make up for it. Otherwise, it should be drained of all gasoline, put on jackstands, the battery removed, and stored. There's not much middle ground. That doesn't stop the clock ticking on all the rubber parts oxidizing due to contact with the air, including upholstery, too. They can't be frozen in time.
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