I have a hyundai 2004 elauntra and recently got i think just about everything fixed on it including a brand new engine. Its been sitting for 3 months now and i just recently tried to start it up. The battery was charged and when I tried turning the engine it immediatley shuts down. What’s up with that?
I had my dad take it to the mechanic yesterday and he said its the altinator. I think hes bullshiting.:smack: Could you guys help?
Get a second opinion.
What exactly do you mean by “The battery was charged”? Did you charge the battery with an external charger? Did you put a new battery in it? Did you assume that the battery was charged because the dome light came on and the dashboard seemed to work properly?
What exactly do you mean by “immediately shuts down”? It cranks, starts to run, and then sputters to a halt, or it doesn’t really run as soon as you stop turning the key?
After sitting for three months, I would expect you to have a dead battery.
It is also possible that at some point in the last three months, some critter has crawled into your air intake and clogged it up with something (possibly a nest). A critter could have also chewed through some wiring. Enterprising squirrels could have also packed your exhaust full of nuts. I had something similar once, but they got into a bag of wooden balls used for crafts instead of nuts. Cranking the engine caused the wooden balls to all go shooting out across the garage, and after that the engine eventually started.
A completely dead alternator will not stop a car from running. It will however not charge the battery, and the car will slowly kill the battery and then won’t run or start any more. From what little you’ve posted, there’s no reason at all to suspect a bad alternator (and plenty of reason to suspect a bad mechanic).
Good response from mr geek above. I had a car which I also left siting in my driveway for a couple of months, and when I tried to start it, nothing happened. Upon lifting the hood, I discovered that some critter had eaten ALL OF THE WIRING HARNESSES. I had the thing towed away as junk.
I hate Hyundais, personally. I made the mistake of buying a nice one, and the moment it was no longer covered by warranty, anything that went wrong with it cost over a thousand bucks, including bad spark plugs, AND no one at all in the DC area was capable of repairing ANYTHING on it in a lasting fashion. Never go near another one of those things ever again.
New fuel injectors? I’ve had an older car sit for a while and when i’d start it, the engine would start up for about a second then sputter off. It seems almost as if the fuel ‘gummed’ up the injectors. You can always take the intake and fuel rail off, take the injectors off and clean them by hand (dry them well) then put them back and see. Highly doubting anything to do with the alternator. Pretty much can be done with a 10 dollar combination wrench set (metric). Takes about an hour and a half at most.
I agree with **anomalous1 ** … this sounds like a fuel problem rather than electric …
I once asked my brother why he bothered to look at the engine every time before he started it up … he said he was checking for bird’s nests and the like … especially in a Cessna 150, just passed the runway while climbing out is a bad time to have your carb plug up … made sense to me …
It’s nice that your Dad complied with you telling him to take your car to the shop.
With the sketchy information you provide, it’s difficult to give an informed opinion.
My question to you is: Why do you feel your mechanic is bullshiting?
Perhaps if you took your own car to the shop and talked to the mechanic yourself, you’d be a little more cognizant in your question here.
Otherwise, ask Dad. I imagine he’s footing the bill.
He charged the battery with an external charger for 20 minutes so I dont think its the battery. When I stop turning the key the engine doesnt run. I do have suspicion however like anomalous1 said that it could be the fuel sitting for a while. I dont want to take it to a mechanic around here because theyre sketchy here and might say one thing and go in and purposley fuck something up then keep me coming back.
You have to keep the key turned (as in starting it) to keep the engine running? If that is the case it may actually be the alternator. If you turn it and let the key go and it runs for a couple seconds then dies out, then the problem lies within the fuel system.
I don’t see how it could be the alternator.
If the battery is charged, you can completely remove the alternator and the engine will start up and run. Of course, without a functioning alternator, the car will slowly drain the battery and will then stop running, but that takes a while (probably somewhere in the range of 15 minutes to half an hour, depending on how good the battery is and how much of an electrical load the car has while running).
A completely toasted alternator wouldn’t prevent the engine from running.
I am interpreting this as the engine is cranking but not actually running.
An old mechanic’s saying is that a car needs two things to run - fuel and fire (meaning spark). If you want to start diagnosing this yourself, go down to ye ol local auto parts store and buy yourself a can of starting fluid, and have someone spray it into the air intake while you crank the engine. If it runs as long as someone keeps spraying starting fluid into the air intake, then you’ve got a fuel problem somewhere. If it won’t kick over at all even with starting fluid, then chances are your problem is electrical.
The vagueness of your posts (you still need to clarify whether it’s kicking over at all or if it’s just cranking) makes me think that you’re not qualified to really troubleshoot this yourself. Your best bet is to find a competent mechanic.
Well it would be totally a five minute job to disconnect the alternator and then see if the engine can run off battery alone.
How about ask him for a video of that ??? video showing engine not working,
then mechanic removes alternator belt and/or electrical connection , and
then engine runs ?
How could the alternator do that ? Did it seize and the load prevents the engine getting faster than the starter motor ? Is the cars’ computer shutting down due to detecting the alternator not working properly ?
But as to what the problem is, if its not the alternator ? The problem could be anything, eg no fuel in the fuel line, so you are going to have to trust the mechanic…
I was assuming ( I need to stop that) that because he had to charge his battery that it was weak, and if the alternator is not working then the battery drops after a crank or two. But what you said, engineer_comp_geek, is definitely the way to go. My money is always on something with the fuel system if the car cranks at all, but won’t keep the engine going, (i’ve driven a few beaters) If it turns out to be something with the fuel system, don’t let the car sit around for so long unused, but most importantly, put a $3 bottle of gumout fuel injector cleaner, or techron, or a couple ounces of marvel mystery oil in with your gas every six months. Especially if you get really cheap fuel from off-the-wall stations. If your car has a fuel filter that can be changed, by all means do it.
If I am ever able to afford a small plane, I will do this every. single. time. 
One good rule to follow when trouble shooting and no exceptions is to start with a fully charged battery before making a diagnosis. You don’t have a fully charged battery.