I have an 86 trans am with a 350 tpi bored .030 over swapped into it. It has an upgraded cam but everything else is stock. I'm away at school with my daily driver so I'm only home to drive the TA on the weekends. The car has been sitting a little over a week and the weather has been pretty cold (in the teens and single digits with windchill below zero). I went to start the car yesterday so I can put it away in a garage but when I turned the key it cranked really slow and each time slower and slower until it wouldn't crank any more. I figured the battery had drained from sitting in the cold. I put the battery in my house for like two hours to warm it up and tried it again. It started up the first time but stalled bc the car has some cold start fuel issues. When I tried to restart it did the same thing as before where it wouldn't turn over. I tried to jump the battery and also bought a bar and new one and neither changed anything. It tries to turn the engine but just feels like it can't. My friend is a mechanic and said if it's not a battery issue he thinks it's just too cold and it should start when the weather gets warmer. Anybody had this issue before?

 

You bought a bar and a new one??? Bring the battery in the house and get it warm, then charge it. If a chevy truck can start in the dead of winter so can your trans am. If it, continues the starter may be weak. Cold engines are much harder to turn over than warm engines.

 

Yeah, I suspect the battery was low, just from sitting around in the cold. Put a good charge on it, and the car should fire right up.

 

It might not have enough cold cranking amps. I had a crappy terminal end that always loosened up on mine and it wouldn't start if it was a little loose. Check that too. Batteries are expensive today and sometimes when you cheap out they don't work as good and most don't last more than 4 years now from what I experienced.

 

That's why I always buy the biggest, baddest, meanest, battery that will physically fit. The battery in my truck is six years old, and still going great.