i went to go start my car today at the station , i normally do a remote start when i get off the train and noticed that the car made a very weird noise , i went to turn the car manually and it wasnt working , just made some clicking sounds , then i tried again and the odometer was going crazy , starting flashing and stuff , it then tried to start it self at one point. I then asked a guy if he had jumper cables and he gave me a boost and it worked.


after i got home , i went to go start it up again to see if it would work , about 2 hours later , it worked fine. I then went inside and tried the remote starter and it didn't work. Went back outside and did it manually and the car started. Then tried the remote starter again and it wouldn't start. Then tried manually and the dash started going crazy again.

What i m not sure right now is if the problem is coming from the battery or my remote starter

battery has never been changed so its 8 years old . It was also a VERY COLD day today.

I did a voltage test using a multi meter, before the engine was turned on the battery gives 12.33 v , when turn out 14. something

 

Clean the battery posts, connectors, and ground wire in the engine bay with steel wool. Then redo your multimeter test but compare the battery voltage when the engine is idling with no electrical load versus idling with a large electrical load (headlights and vent fan ON). Under the latter conditions, the voltage should not drop below approximately 10 volts.

 

It does sound like a bad connection. Putting jumper cables on bumps the connections and may restore it for a while. Also the remote starter may not be as tolerant of low voltage as starting with the key is.

With the engine off, turn on the headlights and then measure across each connection in the system. For example, measure from the battery post to the terminal clamp. Do this on both the power and ground sides. Should be nearly zero volts everywhere.

Also with lights on and engine off, voltage at the battery should stay over 12 for quite a while. If it runs down quickly the battery is either not fully charged, or defective. Since you are getting 14 volts with the engine on it is charging.

Finally, just replacing the battery now as a preventive measure is not necessarily a waste of money. It is well past its expected useful life.

 

changed the battery , everything is fine , thanks

 

i would expect your alternator to go next so keep that in mind. one symptom is dimming lights and then brightening when you accelerate.