PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

My 94 bonneville se seems to turn over really slow on these cold winter mornings where its below 10 degrees overnight. The battery wasn't completely level because i didn't put the hold down back in right when i originally installed it, so i leveled it out, put the battery and the hold down in correctly with a microfiber towel under it so its not sitting on cold metal all night. I also wrapped a microfiber towel over each side of the battery and taped it all together to hold heat in. Battery is an interstate mt-75, its a year and a half old. I cut two holes for both the terminals and made sure there was no fabric where the terminal is supposed to make metal to metal contact. Is it hazardous at all to do this with the towels? Or am i simply helping the battery retain heat with no danger? Thanks!

I seriously doubt an inch of Styrofoam would make a difference over night. A good charging system, battery and clean connections should be good for well below zero. Some slow down is normal. If it's barely making it in single digit temps get the systems checked.

they make a thin styrofoam battery wrap, which i run on my car. my battery is newer as well and recently when it was -40, it started really slow.

Do a thorough inspection of your battery cables, especially the positive cable. Inspecting just the terminal connector is not good enough. To properly inspect the cable, it's worth disconnecting the terminal connector, then slitting the insulation down 2 or 3 inches and peeling it back to inspect the copper cable strands. Look for heavy corrosion. If all is nice and shiny, wrap the slit insulation with good electrical tape and reconnect. If corroded, replace the cable.

I had this problem with two Bonnevilles, two Grand Prix, and one 1974 Ventura; every Pontiac I've owned. No idea why.