This may sound Newbie'ish but Just wondering because just today when it was colder than usual, the car will take alot longer before it fired up. It only happenes afer the car has been off for a long period of time so Im assuming its the cold temp? after the car has been warmed up and I restart it, it will start up fast like it supposed to.

edit- Also, my gas tank is very low when I noticed it so would that cause this? low fuel pressure?

 

Have you had your battery checked for voltage?
Battery's seem to want to die around winter time because of the cold.

Mine starts right up regardless of the temperature/humidity etc.
I've had that happen when a battery was operating at normal volts yet it was on the way to its grave a few months later as it totally died.

Dave

 

yes your battery is affected by temperature, usually you dont notice it much. they'll teach you this in electrical class....heeh

 

Not to worry, I think it's your fuel level, not the battery. Fill up the tank to at least half and see what happens. The CCA on the battery is at 0F, so you're right a good battery should not be any different unless you're talking negative degrees.

I let my tank run into reserve and this am it took 2 tries to start it. Usually I don't do that, just haven't had time to stop and get any 86 octane unleaded.....ahaha

 

My car always takes longer to start when the fuel level is low. Fill up your car and check for hard starts in the cold with a full or half-full tank and see if the problem continues. I betcha it goes away. If not, then perhaps the battery is the problem.

And yes, the availble amps of any battery changes according to it's temperature. That's why batteries are rated in cold cranking amps (under cold conditions...I think it's 32 degF).

 

Ponder me this. If batteries aren't as good when cold, why do we put batteries in the frig?

I suspect it's because the engine is harder to turn over but whatever!

 

Used to put carbon zinc batteries in fridge to reduce using up chemicals when not in use. These type type batteries would wear out on shelf. Alkaline batteries don't deplete as badly, they have a shelf life of 5 years. The cold temperature affects the amount of current the car battery can produce. As the temperature of the battery goes down so does it's efficiency. Combine that with oil thickening and the starter cranks slower so the car is harder to start. That is why synthetic oil is a good idea especially in a cold climate!

 

this may shed some light

I don't think that's car batteries, didn't some people do that with duracells?

Anyway, a long time ago, I suspect when our grandparents were getting married, there was a scandal with car batteries and cranking power. As the legend goes, there was a co. called Monkey Wards out of OH?? that gave their batteries ridiculous ratings, yet nobody could start their cars in cold climates. Because they measured the amperage in FLA not Québec. That's why now, when you say CCA you're talking 0 degrees F. That's cold, and even in Canada that would be cold. So if you're above say 550 you're pretty much good.

That 's why it was pretty ignorant for that dude to call me cheap for installing a 2 year-old battery that was sitting in the basement because it was used only a month and is a "sub zero" made by Exide. What wears the battery out is vibration and the charging and discharging where eventually the plates disintegrate. A battery in use for a month didn't get any of that wear. As a matter of fact, here are words from the horse's mouth, his hero, the makers of the Red Top:

Check for freshness.

Learn to interpret battery date codes, or ask your retailer to make sure you purchase the "freshest" battery available. A battery that has been sitting on the shelf for extended periods can lose some of its charge and may not provide the performance you need during its first use. Long term performance probably won't be compromised however, as the battery can be returned to its original levels of performance with either in-vehicle charging or by using an external charger.

Lastly, what I find hilarious about the Red Top is that there are properly sized batteries that provide more power than the Optima (try Interstate and Exide). Group 35 is simply the wrong size for my car, but I'll live with it. The Red Top has to be modified to become a 35. 24F is the correct battery!!!!!!! I have the original Nissan sitting in the garage, and it is a 24F!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Another note i forgot to mention,
I've always bought the biggest battery's for my car's
My other car has a 750(if its really cold)/950CCA battery, and as for my maxima, it has a stock nissan battery, not sure what the CCA is on it, but it works just fine.

Dave

 

Hmm... perhaps it could also be the wires being used because I do know that when the temprature is either really hot or really cold, it loses conductivity.

 

Yeah as long as you can secure the battery it'll work. I didn't pay for mine so that's why I say I'll live with a group 35. That's what all the people in the forum said is the correct battery. Wrong. All you have to do is measure the one that came with the car. yet they went to extremes to modify it to hold it down, plastic adapter, etc.

The Nissan is about a 585CCA, so 950CCA is way more than required. Wont hurt anything, just costs a little more. And the **** is a 24F if you ever go out and buy one. Just another fyi the 24F weighs alot more than a group 35, and in the same category (gold, silver, 72 mo, 60 mo etc), has more CCA. Same category costs the same no matter what size, so the skinny is you get more CCA for the same money. Forum steered us wrong on group 35 recommendation for sure.