1996 camry LE 4 CYCLINDER Starting Problem

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john - 12 Sep 2007 18:16 GMT

Hi,

I did not start my car for about two weeks. I started it on the day
before yesterday and it did not start at all. I switched the battery
with my other car and it started right away. I bought a new battery
and put it in the car. The car is starting good. My question is that
how can I know that it was the old battery problem and not something
else?

Please advice!
Thanks
John

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Nobody Important - 12 Sep 2007 19:16 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> how can I know that it was the old battery problem and not something
> else?

You might be leaking current because of a ground fault somewhere. The
way to test for this is to shut the car off and put an ammeter in series
with the positive terminal of the battery. You should see something
like tens of milliamps but not much more than that.

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john - 12 Sep 2007 20:01 GMT

Hi,
I will do it today. If there is a current leak then how will it get
fixed.
Thanks
John

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EdV - 12 Sep 2007 21:27 GMT

Double check your car first if some lights didn't go off when you
turned off your engine. My daughter occasionally leaves the lights on
in the rear seats. A current leak is hard to trace.

> Hi,
> I will do it today. If there is a current leak then how will it get
> fixed.
> Thanks
> John

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Nobody Important - 13 Sep 2007 02:13 GMT

> I will do it today. If there is a current leak then how will it get
> fixed.

I'd say you shouldn't worry about it unless you find that the leakage
current is relatively high. How high is that? It depends how long you
normally park the vehicle for. You don't want the charge in the battery
to drop much below 80% at any time, because its life will be radically
shortened.

To find the leak, you pull half the fuses and see if the leak
disappears. If so, you know that the leak is somewhere in the circuits
of the fuses you pulled. Replace half of the fuses you pulled. Lather,
rinse, repeat.

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