Is it My Battery?

For the last few months my car has been turning over and starting slower
and slower. Half the time, like when I first start it in the morning, the
car starts right up. But then when I drive to a local city twenty five
minutes away, turn off my car, go in to a store, come back out and start my
car it bogs down when it starts. It will start but it kind of sounds like
the battery is low on juice or something. It's been doing this about the
last three months. It wont' always do this every time I start my car but
it's doing it enough that I'm worried.

Well, a relative was thinking, since it hasn't failed to start yet but
has been bogging down sometimes, maybe it's the starter.

The last few weeks it seems to be bogging down more. So, today I turn
my car on and it starts right up. I drive about twenty minutes and turn it
off. I'm go do some quick business and am back in the car about six minutes
later. I try starting my car and it wont start over. It's like the battery
is almost dead. The engine will turn once or twice real slow, if you know
what I mean. Like "CHUG, chug, chuuuug, dead.........

Anyway, some nice guy saw that I was having trouble. He pulled up and
gave me a jump with his cables. My car started right up. I drove home,
parked. Then tried starting the car. It did start.

So, I'm wondering - what could be the problem with this car starting?
Is it a bad battery? Could it be the starter? Could it be the alternator
not recharging the battery? Could a loose battery cable be the cause? When
I got home my brother checked the battery and found one of the cables was a
little loose where it connects to the battery.

Tonight the car started right up. I drove to Wal-Mart and when I
restarted it fifteen minutes later it started right up. When I got home and
turned it off I restarted it with no problems. I turned it off again,
waited one minute, then started it again. It started right up. I went
inside, then ten minutes later went back out to see if my car would start.
It did. Then I turned it off. And tried starting it one more time. This
last time it bogged down a little when it started but it did start.

Opinions?

Thanks!

 

I always say that 2/3 of life's problems require a voltmeter to solve. This
is one of them. You can determine whether your alternator is working
properly that way, and you could also make sure you don't have a cell
shorted out in the battery. Getting at the condition of the starter is a
little more difficult.

Batteries don't cost much, so I don't worry too much about them. If it's
old, and I doubt it at all, I just get a new one. But only after using the
voltmeter to make sure the alternator is charging properly.

 

Sometimes starters die very slowly. Differences from one start to the
next may depend on the position within the starter motor itself.