95 Geo Metro Won't Start

I have a 95 Geo Metro 3 Cyl, 1.0 L, 5 Speed manual, 229K, Check Engine Light on. I bought this vehicle 2 weeks ago for $500 (from a private seller), at the time no problems. A week later the belt started squealing. Then it wouldn’t start unless you pushed it. I took it to the Parts store; they said the battery was dead, so I bought a new battery. Started up fine when I left. Next day wouldn’t start again, so I took it back to Parts store they said the alternator was fine, maybe it could be the belt, I replaced the belt. Squealing stopped at first, but still had starting problem. So I started looking at it, realized that I could run it without both cables on but when I put them back on, positive side no change, the negative side headlights dimmed & sound of motor changed. The Ground terminal was pretty loose so I replaced it. Seemed like it was fixed. Then yesterday the battery went dead again, I took it back to the Parts store, they replaced it for free (under warranty). Now when you try to start it, it makes a ticking noise then finally starts after the fifth try. Any ideas why it seems to be going through batteries and not starting? I don’t want to buy anything else until I get some feedback.

Sounds like you need to tighten up the belt by tightening the tension bolt near the alternator where it is mounted. Loosen it then push the alternator back to increase tension on the belt. A loose belt won't allow the alternator to charge the battery properly.

Check all the ground cables first and that includes the grounds on the engine side also. There are like 1 or 2 large ones that ground to the trans and some small ones behind the intake and along the firewall. Make sure they are all clean and tight. I would start there.

You said the check engine light was on, so maybe get the codes..........
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/planetetf/album_picphp.jpg

Check all the grounds on the engine, trans, and chassis first. Make sure they are all clean and tight. These cars are known for ground wire issues.

Update:
The belt has already been tightened using the tightening bolt. The original Ground cable was grounded to the engine, transmission and the frame, but when I bought the new ground cable because the other one was loose where it connected to the posts, the auto parts only sold one with one ground. So I grounded it to the frame only.

The battery went dead again this morning and I had to push start it. When I tried to turn it over it normally starts after the 5th try but this time when it was going to turn over it made a sound like the motor wasn't getting any power from the battery. That was at 4am this morning. When I got into it this afternoon at 3pm to drive home it started after the 5th try, I didn't have to push it this time.

Any other ideas? Does anyone think it could be the alternator even though the Parts Store said it was fine?

If you can, go to the parts store, and borrow a load tester. With it, you can check the condition of the battery without the engine running. Then start it (if you can) and after the engine speed has leveled out, check the readings on the battery again. Additionally, use the load testing feature of the device. You should hear the engine load up as the alternator is trying to recharge the battery while you are draining it. Check your readings again after the load test is complete. The people at the parts shop should be able to give you some guidance regarding what the readings should be. It could be that the alternator is not charging enough, that the voltage regulator is not reading the battery, or perhaps there is a high resistance short somewhere in the line. At least with this test, you can verify that if the battery charge goes down, the alternator will recharge it.
Does the car start fine right after it is shut down? Could there be some sort of drain on the system while it is shut down?

Sounds like you have a draw or short. Easy test is to disconnect the + Positive terminal and hook a test light between them. Hook the ground from the test light to the battery disconnected positive post and the other end to the disconnected terminal. If the test light comes on somewhat bright, then you have a draw. Start pulling fuses one at a time until the test light dims out and then you know which circuit to test for the short.

Hope this helps!

nlundgren - check your PM's.