2011 Toyota Matrix, 145,000, automatic, no OBDII codes found on scanner.
when I turn on the ignition in the morning it start right away, after Ive started it the four time of more that day it takes several seconds for the ignition to start the vehicle. I put a new battery(EverStart) in the vehicle two weeks ago. Autozone tested it and said the alternator and starter appear good but battery is going bad. I don't know how to diagnose why its starting slower and slower. thank you any!
Pick yourself up a multimeter. (around $15) You can also get ones that plug into your cigar lighter.
Measure the battery voltage before you start the car at various time throughout the day.
Also measure it with the engine running. Tell us what you see.
So I bought a multimeter and took some readings:
When the vehicle is turned off getting a batter voltage of 12.6
when I started the vehicle in park it dropped down to 11.2, then remained around 13.9-14.1
I plugged in the cigarette lighter one and got some readings:
while driving it started around 13.9 and after driving 45 minutes it was consistently staying around 13.2-13.3
after driving awhile I parked and accelerated the engine to around 1500RPMs and it would go up to 13.4, then stayed around that 13.2-13.3 range.
I'll have to see if the reading I get later in the day match or not.
ok I think the alternator is charging well enough. Keep taking readings throughout the day when the engine isn't running. Most helpful will be the battery voltage before you experience the extended cranking problem.
It can only be three things - battery - alternator - starter. MM Joe has the excellent plan.
