89Conquestadore Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Background (may be pertinent?): 1 month ago the car was only charging to about 12v while driving. (Reading via the sock voltmeter) With the blinkers on it kept dropping to like 10.5v at each blink interval. Tested battery and found it to be weak. Replaced it. Problem solved and charges about 14v now. Present Issue: I was driving and came home for a short stop, turned the car off for maybe 15 minutes. Everything was in order and the battery was charging as usual on the way home. After the pit stop, came back out to start her up and then ran into trouble. I got the dead battery *click* sound. But only one click and then the car went completely powerless. Key in ignition and turned to acc. position, but no power to dashboard, head lights, brake lights, interior lights, or any function at all. I removed the key and let the car sit for a sec while I went to get tools to start taking things apart and a voltmeter to check things. Get back and check the battery= 12.8v. No problem there. I checked all the fusible links by the battery and behind that black cover on the fender side that are out of sight typically. Tested for a connection from each side of the fusible links. I counted 7 (4 visible 3 behind the black panel)good links. Reinstalled the battery and panel just to see if I may have bumped a bad connection back into place. Key in the ignition and on acc. position, all the lights are working. I turned the key to start her up and then the same single dead battery *click* sound.... Do I have a short to ground or something, and where should I begin looking for bad connections? Maybe a problem area that is common on starquests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 remove the battery cables and clean them and the batt posts clean with a terminal cleaner not just wipe them off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Could it really be that simple? The posts aren't corroded and the connections are clamped tight... One thing I did notice though is that the negative clamp was tightened all the way down but wouldn't quite grab the terminal by itself. I had to push it to the bottom of the terminal, tighten it, then torque the whole connection clockwise to grab the connection. Edited February 23, 2011 by 89Conquestadore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rabbit1 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 That simple, loose battery terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcm Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Be sure and clean negative cable just below ignitor box and on the block.That will make it lose voltage quick.Shine the terminals up with emory cloth and where they mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf87Conquest Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Cleaning the battery cables and posts should help. Did you check the fuse link running beside the engine? I believe this link is to the alternator. Cleaning the starter connections might help as well....dirty connections adds resistance, sometimes more than the battey can overcome.All connections on the start solenoid should be cleaned too. A piece of very fine wet/dry sandpaper can cean them up nicely..as well as a little shot of electronic contact cleaner. Can get it at Radio Shack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Could it really be that simple? The posts aren't corroded and the connections are clamped tight... One thing I did notice though is that the negative clamp was tightened all the way down but wouldn't quite grab the terminal by itself. I had to push it to the bottom of the terminal, tighten it, then torque the whole connection clockwise to grab the connection. you need to fix that cable end so it fits the batt post tight ,how can the terminal fit the post if it only touches at the bottom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 you need to fix that cable end so it fits the batt post tight ,how can the terminal fit the post if it only touches at the bottom Well it is a direct stock sized replacement, but the cable end doesn't grab it completely unless it is tightened down like a bolt. I thought it was weird the first time that i installed it, but it never was a problem before this. To everyone else, I will clean up the posts with an electrical cleaner of some type and try to check the ground connections everywhere when I get some free time this weekend... thanks for the help and ill let you know if anything fixed the problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 i have found a great many batterys with the posts under size'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 i have found a great many batterys with the posts under size'd How do usually fix the size difference? Could you add some sort of shim around the terminal to make it thicker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 if thisis one of the brass full circle clamps re move the thru bolt andwith a cut off wheel remove a little metal from the devider so the clamp will close further i'm not a huge fan of these style clamps in the first place ,but the entire band curface MUST contact the batt post in order for full current flow to be able to be pulld'd from the battery , any surface not makeing contact with the post is a perfict for for growing corrosen and createing a poor connection i just when thru this very thing on our 92 caravan another thing to look for is the post turning blk under the cable clamp thats a sure sign the clamp is not makeing a solid connection and also watch for a wetness arround post,,that means acid is leaking from the internal seals,, may as well replace a batt if there is wetness arround the post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Alright, sounds like a plan. I will take everyones advice and hopefully get this sorted out. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted February 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Update: Cleaned up the posts and all electrical connections around the battery. I got it so that all of the accessories turn on and function with the key in the ignition, but once I try to crank it I am still getting the click of death. I will go after the starter connections next. From your past experiences, is it easier to go from up top and removing stuff or from the bottom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rabbit1 Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 if the post is too small I have seen a shim for the battery post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted February 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 if the post is too small I have seen a shim for the battery post. I'm pretty sure I've got that sorted out so that's not the issue anymore. I have full electrical power up until I crank it. Then it dies. Then after I let the key back out to acc., everything is back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rabbit1 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 check the thinner wire going to the starter. if it falls off it will do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 so will a dead battery ,,also a bad starter brush ,,it's job is to provide a ground so the starter motor can run,, it also provides a ground circirt for the starter solonid,, ,best thing to do if it is the starter is just to replace with reman and be done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcm Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Put a twelve volt test light on the battery.Go and start car.If light goes out ,turn key back to off and if light comes back on the battery has a bad cell.This will happen even if its new from a bad cell.Load voltage onlygoes as far as the bad cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 you can do the same by turning on head lamps,,they stay on durring key on in start mode,,it the lights do not dim,,the starter is not drawing any load Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Conquestadore Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) Alright guys. Had a buddy whose good with electricity come out and poke around... we got the starter to function without the use of the cars battery. Eliminated that as a possible issue. Started using an ohm meter to read resistance values. Turns out my ground wire from the battery to the chassis had corroded away in the middle of the line out of site and was causing excessive resistance. I swapped out that cable and the battery terminals for good measure. The problem is now solved. Thanks to everyone who helped out! Edited March 6, 2011 by 89Conquestadore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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