[pisters]

Thanks everyone for the help, every message is appreciated.
Tomorrow is a holiday in my country and I wanted to travel in that car. I won't have time to test or buy another battery since I don't have a multimeter and the shops are closed.. If I drive in the road for about 6 hours tomorrow without stopping, might that help charge the car battery? I won't be able to look into it properly until next week to diagnose whether it's the battery or the starter.

What I can do today is connect my OBD2 scanner and turn the ignition on without starting the car to see what voltage it reads when cold.

I know traveling like this is a bit risky, but I'm going alone (recently separated) and I don't have a destination; it's just visiting a few cities and then returning the next day.

[bishopts]

Originally Posted by DeuceCam

Or, if you have a multimeter, test the battery (preferably at the battery posts) after the car has been sitting a few hours, preferably overnight. Report back to this thread with the voltage reading.

(Sounds like it could be the battery with your display voltage reading AND the stabiltrac warning, but test the battery to be sure.)

That's a worthless test... you can have 12.5 on a battery that has 200 cranking amps.
If going to autozone to have them load test the battery is just too hard. Then hold the gas to the floor to turn off the injectors and crank it for about 10 seconds and watch what the voltage pulls down to.

[GroundhogSS]

If you replace the battery. be sure to notice that the vent tube on the left side of the battery needs to be connected and should pass through the floor of the trunk to vent hydrogen gas. I second the suggestion about putting a charger on the battery periodically. The charging system is slow and can let the charge level get low, especially on short trips.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by bishopts

Load test the battery. Drive it to autozone, ask them to check your battery.

Originally Posted by bishopts

I swear... it's like I'm talking to myself

Originally Posted by bishopts

That's a worthless test... you can have 12.5 on a battery that has 200 cranking amps.
If going to autozone to have them load test the battery is just too hard. Then hold the gas to the floor to turn off the injectors and crank it for about 10 seconds and watch what the voltage pulls down to.

OP lives in Argentina, I believe, so autozone isn't an option, although there probably are similar auto parts shops that are willing to do a load or CCA test for him.

I bought this thing on amazon and it's been working very well on all our cars: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z67MMGC. It's what I used to determine when my original battery in the Camaro was ready for its well deserved retirement.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by pisters

I know traveling like this is a bit risky, but I'm going alone (recently separated) and I don't have a destination; it's just visiting a few cities and then returning the next day.

If your battery has reduced cranking amps it will likely drive just fine once started. it's the starting that will be a problem.
Can you pick up a starting booster pack and take it with you? That would give you some additional insurance.