Will not stay started?

TONYA HOWELL

MEMBER
2012 KIA OPTIMA
2.4L
4 CYL
AUTOMATIC
135,000 MILES

I pulled up in my yard, shifted the transmission in park but car was still running, and I noticed dashboard lights begin to flicker on, so I turned the vehicle off. I tried to crank the vehicle-start process was normal meaning lights, dashboard, A/C would come on but would not crank.
The next morning, I jumped my vehicle and it cranked, however, as soon as I removed the jumper cables it would shut off again. Every time I jump it, it will start but will again shut off as soon as the jumper cables are removed.
Two things that happened prior to today.
FYI: Several days of cranking the car (push button start) it would be sluggish, yet it would start up.
And I gave a gentleman a jump and he mistakenly reversed the cables on his car while my car was running. He noticed that the negative cable on my car was smoking. Removed the cables from both cars which were very hot by then. This happened about a week ago.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,901 POSTS

Hi,

The first thing that has caught my attention is the jump start issue. Something may have damaged the alternator and what you are experiencing is the result of a nearly drained battery.

Here is what I would like you to do: Remove the battery and if you can, recharge it. If you can't, take it to a parts store and have them do it for you. The important thing is I need to know if, once charged, it will pass a load test.

If the battery is good, return it to the vehicle and install it. Start the vehicle and we need to check the alternator.

Here is a link that explains how that is done. All you will need is either a voltmeter or a multimeter.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

Let me know the results.

Take care,

Joe