I figured I'd ask here because i suspect most of you do their own car maintenance, I'll try to find a car forum too if no one has any idea (if anyone has any good car forums suggestions I'm open).
**I do not know a whole lot about cars, I'm learning as I go
So i have a 2003 Hyundai accent 1.6
Randomly the car has trouble starting, but it always starts. I don't use the car a whole lot. Like once every 1-2 weeks, some times a little more, but not a lot.
When I start it after it has sat a while, I don't remember it ever having any trouble starting. If I go run an errand, when I come back (the car has been stopped, 20-30 minutes); sometimes the car won't start right away. The motor cranks sluggishly and after a couple of tries, it usually starts.
The battery is 2 years old, when tested I get a little under 12 volts (11.6-11.8) when the car is stopped, and over 12 Volts (like 12.6-12.7 volts) when the car is working. So I'm guessing the battery and alternator are okay.
I haven't had the time to check electrolyte levels in the battery yet (not sure if this can be related)
Yesterday I had a lot of errands to run, so I took my multi-meter with me. I made 5 stops before I had the problem. I tested the battery at each stops and it was getting charged. When starting the car, i tried to turn the key so the electronics would light up, wait a couple of seconds, then start the car, to see if it would change anything.
On my 5th stop, I had the problem. The car cranked sluggishly, I got out of the car after 1 try, tested the battery, and got 11.8 Volts. I went back, tried a couple of times (one of which i filmed, you can listen to what the car does here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4DFSwUfNqk).
On the times it did it more, I noticed the cd player starting back at track one, And if I remember correctly the short term odometer reset. Not sure about the clock, I can't remember.
Does anyone have any idea what to look for? If the battery is okay, can it be the wiring (i cleaned the leads on the battery), or a starter problem?
I'm rushing to finish everything I have to do on the house before winter, I won't be able to really check the car until maybe two weeks. I figured I'd use that time to see if anyone has any ideas what to look for to solve this.
Thanks for any help!
J-S