I have a 2003 evo. Two days ago everything was running fine, and starting up fine. Then yesterday it was having a little trouble starting, it would turn over slowly a few times and then start up. Today, it tries to turn over but can't so it wont start. I tested the voltage on the battery and it was 10.4. I cleaned off the terminals and checked again and it was 12.6. It started right up and was running for about 45 minutes with the SES light on before I turned it off. About 2 hours have gone by and it wont start again. I can hear it trying to turn over but it just wont. The starter and alternator look good so I'm hoping its just the battery that can't hold a charge?

 

So it died while running? Even if the battery was bad the vehicle would still run if it had already started once. If you shut it off and the vehicle failed to start back up after 45 mins, then itd be your battery.

 

Yeah I turned it off. I just wasn't sure because the voltage seemed normal. Does a dead battery cause the SES light to come on?

 

Very well could. To me it sounds like a dead battery. Or a bad connection to the terminals. 45 min of run time would have been sufficient to enable another restart.

I would test the battery voltage, jump it, let it run for 20 mins, check battery voltage, turn off while looking at battery voltage and see how far it drops. Chances are, its not wanting to hold a charge.

 

Sounds like a weak battery.

 

I replaced one of the terminals that was corroded. Turned it on and the rpms were climbing slightly up to about 2100. Shut it down and look at the exhaust and there was some vapor. Not really whit smoke but definitely something

 

Any ideas? I don't know what would make the rmps rise like that and then cause smoke

 

So now the battery is fine? Be more descriptive. Sounds like you have multiple issues.

 

It's still the same battery. I took off and replaced the left terminal, charged up the battery and started the car. The charger was still hooked up to the battery and the rpms went from normal (around 1500) and slowly climbed up to 2100 at idle before I shut it down. Then I looked at the exhaust and it was smoking. It wasn't heavy white smoke and it didn't look blue either

 

And the radio kept turning on and off

 

Swap the battery, report back.

 

Find a priest and have the demons sent from the car.

Change the battery

 

Sounds like it could be a battery // alternator issue honestly. Either the battery is bad, and not holding a charge. Or the Alternator is not charging the battery which would cause the car to die slowly.

 

Or you got electrical gremlins in the kick panel.

 

Replaced the battery, both terminals, and cleaned out the throttle body and everything seems to be fine. I think the rpms climbing was due to the reset from removing one of the terminals and it needed to "relearn" what normal idle rpms were. Im guessing the smoke was unburnt fuel that was leftover from trying to crank it without it actually turning over. And I have no explanation for the radio freaking out, other than possibly being possessed, but its working fine now