Sometimes my car starts & then not. never know when. after a few minutes or could be an hour it starts. the starter, alternator, & battery are ok. I am a senior & can not afford a garage to go through everything.

if it uses a carburator it might be overflowting have the carb checked and the petrol flowter re- ajusted

Well the starter won't cause the rough running or stalling problems.
You would need to know if the starter has full battery power when it will not crank without being jumped off another battery.
It could be that the battery voltage drops low enough to affect the computer memory, and after the engine starts the computer has to re-learn the settings.

use higher starting amp battery and you may need a new starter fiat know all these problems !!!!

3 possibilities are:

• Dead cell in battery; a battery with a dead cell won't accept a charge from the alternator
• Bad alternator; if the car will run on it's own without stalling, the alternator is probably still good; if the car stalls you may have alternator problems
• Bad starter; (assuming you've ruled out alternator problems) a bad starter will start when the car is cold; once warm, it requires more power to engage than the battery has therefore, it needs a jump start

I'd advise bringing the car to a shop (most autoparts chains will do a free electrical system check) and have the electrical system checked.

Very weird - I had an older VW bug that was like that, but it was usually during the winter - so unless you're in Alaska right now, I don't see cold being a factor. Is there a possibility of any condensation/moisture settling on anything (electrical connections mainly) under the hood overnight (maybe it evaporates after the car sets in the sun for a few hours)? When you say it won't start - is it getting any juice at all or just clicking/dragging like a dead battery or starter? Or do you mean it just won't fire up - like maybe it's flooded or has an ignition issue?
Check for a good/clean connection on your battery terminals.Make sure it's on good & tight, then try to start the car - if that's not it. Get a jump, then go to Auto Zone, O'Reilley's, etc and get the battery & the starter checked. I'm betting it's either a poor connection, bad battery or your starter is going out (or possibly the starter relay switch). Also consider getting the alternator checked. If it's going out, then it's causing the car to run more off the battery vs. charging the battery up while you drive. Sometimes when one of the three (battery, starter, alternator) is going out - it can cause all three to act up or also eventually go out. And it's frustrating, because any one of them can test test ok right up until the minute it just dies. Sometimes (if you can afford it) it's better to just replace all 3 at the same time - at least then you know they should all be good. Start with your connections - that's the easy fix.
If you have juice, but the car just keep turning over without firing up - consider a good tune up or get your injectors cleaned up. To prevent gunk from building up in your fuel system, consider using a fuel additive from time to time. I use B-12 Chem-tool or Marvel's Mystery Oil. You might also get a diagnostic run on it & see if any codes pop up - maybe a chip freaking out somewhere. Good Luck.

Before messing with the alternator, make ABSOLUTELY sure that the alternator is plugged in completely and fully, carefully. Sometimes, the medium voltage wire required to energize the windings likes to slip (on some 5/3 wire alternators), and with a 1-wire alternator, there's not really much to lose in checking tightness. If it still has issues, first get a multimeter, and check to make sure the battery, while off, is between 13.1-14.8V, and while running is more towards the 13.5-15.5V mark. This will indicate, if not charging, that it's not actively discharging.

Hi Thomas, sounds as if the starter motor is 'dragging' Basically that means either the bushes or brushes are worn or something else in the starter motor is causing the drag. I think the problem is in the unit giving the problem. Regards Johngee

get a load test done on you battery and alter nator and check your starter for corrision check battery connections before you jump start it and when hooking up cables to your truck let it charge for a few minutes before you crank it if alternator is fried it will only run on juice of battery then will die.the clicking sound is your starter trying to engage but not enough cranking amps left in battery if you can get it going or take the battery out and take to a good auto shop and get them to load test it no point replacing a good battery just to find out it is alternator or starter
I personaaly think it may be alternator but suggest you test if battery is good starter as well ! more thing check that battery terminals are clean and tight

When my 94 Regal GS frequently wouldn't start for 30 minutes to an hour after being driven, it was the crankshaft positioning sensor that needed to be replaced.

All the alternator does is charge your battery. If the battery is good, like you say, and the battery cables and connections are clean and tight, then it probably is the starter. If it doesn't start with a boost either, then you know it's the starter. If it does start with a boost, then your battery is no good, and that could be because of a problem with your alternater. If you don't have an amp guage on your car, any garage will have one, and be able to test your alternator in a few seconds.