Anyone experienced with cars? I have a weird problem.

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erehwon

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I drive a 95 Dodge Intrepid and it's worked very well for me. A problem has come up and we're not really sure what is wrong. It will not start in the morning, but will later on in the afternoon. Turning the key will get the engine to try to start, but that's it. My dad thought it could have been the coil ignition box, but replacing that didn't help.

My brother has looked at it as well. He found were the fuel pump was and accessed it through the trunk. He had me turn the key a little bit and was able to see some fuel movement. So, it doesn't look like the it's a problem with the fuel pump. He isn't sure what's wrong. So, I'm looking for some advice.
 
Does it not make any noise at all in the morning? and does nothing come on? If so, there's probably a break in your battery circuit somewhere, and in the morning, they are cold so they shrink just a bit to not make contact. But then when it's warmer, they expand again, so there is a full circuit.
 
There's a billion things that it could be. But, check the simplest things first. Make sure the battery is charged enough, check the fuses and relays and check your normal fluids.

Also, how did your brother see fuel movement? Did he remove the pump? If you can't hear the pump humming, then it's not working. Also, if could be a clogged fuel filter. I had the same problem before and it was the fuel regulator.

It could also be bad spark plugs or the cap/rotor/wires. So maybe pull those and clean/replace them. (Assuming you can get to them easily. Don't know what type of engine an Intrepid has.)
 
Seems like a battery issue if you can't start it in the morning. Seems it can't hold a charge throughout the night.
 
[quote name='shosh']Seems like a battery issue if you can't start it in the morning. Seems it can't hold a charge throughout the night.[/QUOTE]

If the battery couldn't hold a charge, it wouldn't start working again in the afternoon unless someone charged it, I think.
 
[quote name='Rasen']If the battery couldn't hold a charge, it wouldn't start working again in the afternoon unless someone charged it, I think.[/QUOTE]

You do know that your cars alternator charges it when your car is running right?
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']There's a billion things that it could be. But, check the simplest things first. Make sure the battery is charged enough, check the fuses and relays and check your normal fluids.

Also, how did your brother see fuel movement? Did he remove the pump? If you can't hear the pump humming, then it's not working. Also, if could be a clogged fuel filter. I had the same problem before and it was the fuel regulator.

It could also be bad spark plugs or the cap/rotor/wires. So maybe pull those and clean/replace them. (Assuming you can get to them easily. Don't know what type of engine an Intrepid has.)[/QUOTE]

We think things are fine with the battery and electrical stuff. I have the starting issue in the morning and it will start fine in the afternoon. We've checked most of the fluids and other simple stuff.

I'm guessing the fuel pump is in the gas tank. My brother opened a lid in the trunk and was able to get to it. When I turned the ignition to where the accessories came on, he was able to see it moving fuel. I think he took one of the tubes off of it to see if anything was moving.

I don't think it is bad spark plugs or cables. We replaced those within the last year or so.
 
[quote name='erehwon']We think things are fine with the battery and electrical stuff. I have the starting issue in the morning and it will start fine in the afternoon. We've checked most of the fluids and other simple stuff.

I'm guessing the fuel pump is in the gas tank. My brother opened a lid in the trunk and was able to get to it. When I turned the ignition to where the accessories came on, he was able to see it moving fuel. I think he took one of the tubes off of it to see if anything was moving.

I don't think it is bad spark plugs or cables. We replaced those within the last year or so.[/QUOTE]

Just to be clear, your brother had done this in the morning when it doesn't start?
 
[quote name='Kilraven']Just to be clear, your brother had done this in the morning when it doesn't start?[/QUOTE]
Yes, it was around 11 AM.
 
[quote name='metaphysicalstyles']My guess?

You might need a new alternator.[/QUOTE]

Thats my guess also. Do you live in a area that has much lower temps at night compared to the afternoon? Or maybe a area that has a lot of dew or moisture in the mornings. I had a car that was much olderthan yours that would not start in the morning or on a humid day because the insides of the alternator would swell up ever so slightly with moisture. But later in the day if it was dryer out and got warmer it would start fine.
 
I live in NE Indiana. Temperatures have been getting around 40-50 at night and around 70-80 in the day lately. The last couple of weeks have been very warm, in the 90s. I'm not sure how much that would affect things.

That ignition coil we replaced didn't help things, so we must be having some kind of electrical or ignition issue. I'm not sure, but I think the alternator might have already been replaced. I remember something about that when we bought the car, though I'm not sure.

After talking to my dad, he thinks he might look at the relays next to see if something there is causing the issues.
 
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[quote name='shosh']You do know that your cars alternator charges it when your car is running right?[/QUOTE]

You do know that the car has to actually start so the alternator can start charging the battery right?

I like this game...
 
[quote name='shosh']You do know that your cars alternator charges it when your car is running right?[/QUOTE]

Right, and if he couldn't get it started, the alternator wouldn't be doing jack.
 
[quote name='Rasen']Right, and if he couldn't get it started, the alternator wouldn't be doing jack.[/QUOTE]

Oh I see. I thought had trouble starting it in the morning but just ran fine in the afternoon. In that case his thread is useless as we'd have to actually see what's going on. Even the best mechanic wouldn't be able to tell you over the phone and would tell you to bring it in.
 
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