07 wont start in freezing temp 4.0 liter

[Danger Ranger69]

Battery is new in may 24. Charging 14.3 volts. Doesn't seem to have enough CCA(590) when temperature is freezing. It's been-25 here. When I hook up my little booster starter, it springs to life. Just checked battery 12.4 volts. On trickle charge presently for 3 hours. Could it be the CCA? My 4 cylinder pt cruiser had 650CCA. Warming up to -2 tomorrow to do a parasitic draw test. Any help would be appreciated thanks

 

[franklin2]

What exactly is it doing? Turning very slowly? Not cranking at all? Making clicking noises and not cranking? Cranking ok but not firing?

 

[Brain75]

Is that -25c or -25f, I see you are canadian (I know once you get that cold it doesn't matter much, but the true breakeven is like -42).... cause that is pretty dang cold, here in Colorado that is about the point most gas cars wont start (that is quite unusually cold for here, records are like -30F)
I'd say it is CCA - the more cylinders the more CCA you need.. the newer / "tighter" engine you have the more CCA you need... so your cruiser might have a 300k km engine that has significant blowby and cranks easy, the ranger has a 30k km tight motor that just takes more umph to push... battery heaters, block heaters, parking in the garage... ways around it

 

[Danger Ranger69]

What exactly is it doing? Turning very slowly? Not cranking at all? Making clicking noises and not cranking? Cranking ok but not firing?

Tries turning over then clicks. I've got a small battery booster that when hooked up starts instantly. The local battery shop is going to test it tomorrow. Had this problem months ago in summer. Alternator was charging but overnight dead battery. First time ever driving at night my alternator died and wasn't charging. Replaced it and then no dead battery again. But now in this cold weather it's every day need my booster. Drove 45 minutes yesterday and was out if vehicle for 10 minutes maximum, same thing. See what battery shop says tomorrow. Thanks for reply appreciated

 

[Brain75]

know how to do a cell to cell test?
each cell should measure 2.3 volts, look for a dead cell, weak cell... I would bet that even if you have a 14.3 charging and a 13.8 fully charged battery you got a weak cell or a bad battery... the fact a booster fires it right up, that is the diagnostic that says bad battery.

 

[Bgunner]

Check voltage of battery before trying to start it in the morning to see what it is reading.

Symptoms point to battery or a draw while sitting. Batteries just don't live as long as they used to.

I know the 3.0L V6 requires at minimum a 550 CCA battery I run a 750 CCA but I use the extra stored charge as the truck sits for long periods without starting.

Being -25° I wouldn't go less than 650 CCA battery but this is a personal preference for my truck.
Looking up what battery yours requires it recommends a 590 CCA battery for a 4.0L engine. For this I would do no less than a 700 CCA battery for your low temps.

As Brain75 said, there are ways to reduce how hard it is to start your truck in the morning that are Free to do. Like parking out of the wind, if this is not a possibility nose the truck up to a wall to help block the air flow. Parking between other vehicles helps block some of the airflow also.

On the paid side you have block heaters for overnight parking with the advantage of getting heat in the cab sooner for defrosting or less run time in the am. before heading to work, saves a little gas money. Also a battery blanket to help keep the battery from getting as cold. Cold reduces the amount of charge that is in the battery and one reason why CCA's matter. The down fall to these options is that you need to park close enough to an electrical outlet to run an extension cord to the truck which in some cases is not possible.



EDIT: Story Time,

I used to work for a company that had both box trucks, Diesel, and Chevy 1500 OBS pickup's, gas engines. During the winter we would park the the pickups between the box trucks with them all nosed into the wall. The only time we had a hard time starting any of the pickup trucks was when the fuel lines froze from water in the fuel. Temps here will hit a low of -10°F. We learned that parking like this saved a lot of trouble in the AM. getting the fleet up and running. The diesel box trucks had block heaters so those were the ones on the outside used as a wind block.

 

[MaicoDoug]

During/after the charge is the battery warm? If so, that would be a shorted cell. Remember a lead-acid battery should have 1.8 - 2.2v per cell. When it's a cold spike or the first cold spell and battery problems start (and not the motor), 90% of the time it's a battery issue. Along with fresh connections & a proven charging system. Hard to look for a charging voltage value (14.4 V) when the battery is drawing that down. Just imagine giving the whole problem a new battery. Would it cure the issue? The only way to find out is throw a new battery in. How old is this thing anyway? AGM batteries are expensive, but without them, life gets rough especially when the non AGM batteries fail much more often, especially in harsh conditions.

During the winter of 75-76 in the UP Michigan, -80F wind chill for weeks. Everyone had to have block heaters, even then only the GTI Volkswagens would start. I'm having a PTSD flashback. Good luck.

 

[Danger Ranger69]

know how to do a cell to cell test?
each cell should measure 2.3 volts, look for a dead cell, weak cell... I would bet that even if you have a 14.3 charging and a 13.8 fully charged battery you got a weak cell or a bad battery... the fact a booster fires it right up, that is the diagnostic that says bad battery.

You were absolutely right. Had it tested and it's bad. It actually started today fully charged when it warmed up to-3 today and didn't need booster. Want to personally thank you and the others for the help and advice you gave me it's greatly appreciated. Glad I didn't start doing a parasitic draw test. Was told new battery when I bought truck in May. Guess it was a new used one. Cheers everyone

 

[Danger Ranger69]

Is that -25c or -25f, I see you are canadian (I know once you get that cold it doesn't matter much, but the true breakeven is like -42).... cause that is pretty dang cold, here in Colorado that is about the point most gas cars wont start (that is quite unusually cold for here, records are like -30F)
I'd say it is CCA - the more cylinders the more CCA you need.. the newer / "tighter" engine you have the more CCA you need... so your cruiser might have a 300k km engine that has significant blowby and cranks easy, the ranger has a 30k km tight motor that just takes more umph to push... battery heaters, block heaters, parking in the garage... ways around it

Thanks for reply. Bad battery diagnosis. Cheers

 

[scotts90ranger]

You were absolutely right. Had it tested and it's bad. It actually started today fully charged when it warmed up to-3 today and didn't need booster. Want to personally thank you and the others for the help and advice you gave me it's greatly appreciated. Glad I didn't start doing a parasitic draw test. Was told new battery when I bought truck in May. Guess it was a new used one. Cheers everyone

In the last 5 years especially new doesn't mean good... everything is a crapshoot anymore...

 

[Brain75]

I will also throw out that a lot of places just say "bad battery" right away so they can sell you a new one... The only place in the last 10 years that took the time to actually test it completely was Napa. The counter person sent out a gal with a hand meter and she had me leave it running (I came up to the store running and didn't shut it off), then headlights+ blower on max, then >2k rpms, etc etc and she told me the numbers she got every step... She claimed my battery was ok.

It was a Napa battery with a 2yr warranty that was 2.5 years out so it would have been an easy sale anyhow A) it was the PO's purchase and I didn't have receipt B) it was past the 2yr mark. If she had lied and said it was bad, I would have had no choice and just plunked down the money.
(Dead battery was my fault, and I detailed that over in my cruise control thread.)

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I will also throw out that a lot of places just say "bad battery" right away so they can sell you a new one... The only place in the last 10 years that took the time to actually test it completely was Napa. The counter person sent out a gal with a hand meter and she had me leave it running (I came up to the store running and didn't shut it off), then headlights+ blower on max, then >2k rpms, etc etc and she told me the numbers she got every step... She claimed my battery was ok.

It was a Napa battery with a 2yr warranty that was 2.5 years out so it would have been an easy sale anyhow A) it was the PO's purchase and I didn't have receipt B) it was past the 2yr mark. If she had lied and said it was bad, I would have had no choice and just plunked down the money.
(Dead battery was my fault, and I detailed that over in my cruise control thread.)

Ive always "heard" (but cant confirm) autozone on their battery tester/alt/starter tester that on the screen it asks if its an "autozone" brand or "other"...

If its other it generally tests bad....if its autozone it loosens the test parameters so they dont have as many warranty claims,

Not sure if its true...but i did work there for a short while and the machine (at tbat time....almost 20 yrs ago) did ask that question.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I’m moving this over to the electrical section since that’s what the problem seems to be…

 

[Danger Ranger69]

What exactly is it doing? Turning very slowly? Not cranking at all? Making clicking noises and not cranking? Cranking ok but not firing?

Everything Aok after new battery. Starts up perfectly in -30+ weather now. Was told when bought it there was a new battery installed. Think he meant new USED battery