1985 Park Avenue 4dr sedan: Everything was running fine other than the ac and heat, but the battery was getting weak so I put a new battery in the car and now it won't start without being jumpstarted each and every time. If I jump start it, it will run, albeit rough for awhile, but if I turn it off, it has to be jump started again. I returned the battery and got another one and the same thing happens. Any thoughts on what's going on?

 

Well,,,,,,,,,,, If the engine starts when the charged battery is installed , that should mean the cables and connections are ??acceptable.
That would lead us to suspect the alternator is not doing it's job of keeping the battery charged.

I believe the voltage regulator is part of the alternator on this one and since they are not too difficult to remove you could either have the charging system checked or take the alt in for checkout and replaced if necessary. That is what I suspect is going on. There are some auto supply stores that will check the alt on the car. Autozone, O'Reillys etc.

 

Thanks Hanky, I'll give that a try - oh wait, can't do that - transferred the plates to another car. I'll take the alternator out. Thanks again.