Turning over trouble

Hi Jeff,

How did you test the battery? The reason I ask is because everything you described is a caused by a weak battery.

The lights going dim are one of the last things that happens because they don't require as much voltage as the starter does to operate. The give away is the fact that it starts just fine when it is jumped.

Here is a guide that walks through the type of test that we need to do. It is called load testing. Most parts stores will do this free of charge.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

My wife's car is doing the exact same thing right now. It is slow to crank and sometimes it takes a couple times of cranking in order for it to start.
It has 12.5 volts when you measure the voltage on the battery but the cold cranking amps is very low. The cranking amps is the key number and the only way you can get that number is by testing the battery as described above.

Let me know what happens and we can go from there.

Can you please shoot a quick video with your phone so we can see what's going on? That would be great. You can upload it here with your response. It sounds like a weak battery to me too.