Hopefully I have the right forum for this question.

Details:

I have not started my car in 6 weeks as i've been away.
It has been kept in my underground garage during that time and it has gotten cold outside (not quite as cold inside), however, likely down to -8 celcius or so inside. It has since gotten warmer and I noticed the garage grime on the car has been replaced by condensation.

I tried starting the car yesterday (it has power, IE the battery is not dead), the first time or two it made a weak attempt at turning over, then just a buzzing sound.

I'm looking for a good diagnosis before I take the car in.
Any thoughts about this being a condensation problem (on engine parts etc) that will go away once it warms up (drys out).....or perhaps something in need of repair?

thank you,

 

Sounds to me like your battery has in fact gave up the ghost. Even though you see power as far as dash lights, radio etc, it just doesn't have enough power left to crank the engine. Just remove the battery in your garage, go to the parts store and get a new one. Or, if you are not convinced, most good parts stores have a battery tester machine that can measure the battery's amperage to see if it is dead or not for sure. Same thing happened to me this winter as you described. $80 later for a new one and she starts fine. Good luck.

 

 

Even before you get a new battery, try jumping the car first, maybe it just needs to recharge the battery because it hasnt been started in awhile. In my 93 prelude, if I dont drive for a week, I would need to jump it during the cold seasons. It would be just fine after leaving it on 10-15 mins driving it around. Being an older car/parts, reason why I would have to jump it during cold seasons. In the above freezing weather, I dont have any problems at all. Just my .02.

 

my car does the same exact thing where it has been cold here

except i drive mine everyday...

 

yea definately when its cold my car has a lil trouble turning over... you need to get a battery that has high "cold cranking amps" to get over it. a lot of people on the board have the same problem...its probably that your battery is shot...and just cuz the lights come on doesn't mean it has enough juice to crank the car.

like the one guy said...jump it and let the battery recharge..if it still does it..get a new battery.

 

Charging it may get you by for a while, but the reason it needs that is becasue the battery is done. Charging it is like putting a band aid on it. Then, it may crap out on you at a bad time when you have no jump available.

I changed mine over a month ago and since then we have had the coldest temps of the year. Usualy around 0-10 for weeks on end. The car has started up with authority every morning. Nothing like a good battery

 

yea i have a receipt of the previous owner buying a new battery about a year before i bought the car so thats why i really haven't had any problems...