I have had slow starts lately. Thought it was battery, but just had it tested and was told that it was at 65%, but battery is good. Would this mean I need an alternator?

 

Bang your battery on charge overnight and try it again. Make sure you have your radio code before removing the battery as you will need it to restart the radio. If you loose battery power in a week or two then it could be the alternator playing up. Check your terminals and clean them on Battery, starter and Alternator. Don't leave the radio playing with the engine off. That can lower the battery power. (Not that you do anyway).

 

Could be the starter as well.

 

Don't bang on your battery, it sounds like it may be coming to the end of it's life. Make sure the battery has water, and make sure the terminals are clean. I would suggest you use No-Ox on them, especially if you need to change the battery.

 

My starter is on it's way out. It makes a screetch on every fourth or fifth start. Would this effect the battery charging though?

Battery cables are clean and tight. Battery tested and was told it is still in good condition. Just loosing charge. I charged it with a trickle charger one week ago, and when I got it tested it was at 65%.

 

Don't literally BANG on the battery. Put it on charge. Then re-try the start. It should kick up right away. If it looses charge again over the next few days THEN it either the battery at fault or the alternator and you can 'go from there' with your diagnosing. The 'screech' you hear every fouth or fifth start might be a loose serpentine belt so check into that.

 

Obviously fix what you know is wrong before proceeding. It sounds to me like you have developed a "short" in the electrical system. This can draw down the battery slowly. Perhaps a recently installed aftermarket device such as a stereo, alarm or radar is drawing power after the key is off. If it's not something simple like that, I hope it's something simple, wiring issues can be a nightmare.

 

The screech is from the starter. I had the same noise and when i changed my starter it went away and the car started up much faster.

 

As Alan said, I would fix what I know is wrong - the starter first. Also, if you put your car on a charger, and it only charged to 65%, it could easily be the battery. But, once you've changed the starter, which could be dragging, you'll see what remains.