I didn't say anything about codes, that was someone else.
What I am saying is that the battery cables are the cheapest place to start (all three of them), and they have more effect than you might think. I have been down this road before with a car that started fine and worked great until it got warm, and then idled fine but had no power, and when I shut it off it wouldn't start any more until it cooled down. Electrical resistance is a really hard thing to see and understand - it can work great when it's cold, and cause problems in systems you wouldn't think would be related when heat and resistance starts to build.
Please just replace the cables. The battery is going to cost you, but you've already acknowledged that it needs to be done. The cables are maybe $30 on top of that. If you wind up paying a mechanic $120/hr to diagnose things for four hours to find that I was right, you will be very upset. Just do it and know that's not the issue.
What I am saying is that the battery cables are the cheapest place to start (all three of them), and they have more effect than you might think. I have been down this road before with a car that started fine and worked great until it got warm, and then idled fine but had no power, and when I shut it off it wouldn't start any more until it cooled down. Electrical resistance is a really hard thing to see and understand - it can work great when it's cold, and cause problems in systems you wouldn't think would be related when heat and resistance starts to build.
Please just replace the cables. The battery is going to cost you, but you've already acknowledged that it needs to be done. The cables are maybe $30 on top of that. If you wind up paying a mechanic $120/hr to diagnose things for four hours to find that I was right, you will be very upset. Just do it and know that's not the issue.
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