Paul_Driver
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2010
- Messages
- 68
- Country Flag
Have I smoked it? Well yes there there was smoke and a burning smell, but what have exactly have I smoked?
The car wouldn't start this morning. The dash lights were OK but just a 'click' when I turned the key.
Dead battery? I tried jump starting off the main battery (drivers side), nothing, just the same click.
I've had a similar problem before which turned out to be corroded connections on the starter battery so checked I checked these and although they seemed fine I wondered whether this battery had eventually failed. This corrosion has been iffy for a while and I noticed that salt build-up was getting pretty bad.
To test this I then jump started off the starter battery and the engine fired up. Seems like faulty starter battery then.
I've read on the forum that the problem could also be bad connections on the starter solenoid or that the starter motor may need refurbishing. But because I successfully managed to jump start of the starter battery I just assumed that this battery had failed.
It was when fitting the new starter battery that things started to go wrong.
1.) disconnected the negative lead from the main battery (but not the positive)
2.) disconnected and removed starter battery
3.) fitted new starter battery and connected positive lead first
4.) connected negative lead and within a couple of seconds I could see smoke and smell burning (plastic?)
5.) disconnected the negative lead from the starter battery quickly to stop the melt down
6.) swore and kicked myself for leaving the positive lead connected to the main battery
7.) disconnected positive from main
8.) tried again with starter battery this time no smoke or burning smell
9.) reconnected main battery
10.) success I think to myself
11.) turn ignition, nothing but a click, back to square one.
So did I get it completely wrong in terms of the running order when changing the battery over? Or by not realising that I needed to disconnect the positive lead as well as the negative from the main battery?
What have I burned out and how do I fix it?
I'm snowed in on Ilkley Moor and rapidly running out of firewood and vino.
Paul
The car wouldn't start this morning. The dash lights were OK but just a 'click' when I turned the key.
Dead battery? I tried jump starting off the main battery (drivers side), nothing, just the same click.
I've had a similar problem before which turned out to be corroded connections on the starter battery so checked I checked these and although they seemed fine I wondered whether this battery had eventually failed. This corrosion has been iffy for a while and I noticed that salt build-up was getting pretty bad.
To test this I then jump started off the starter battery and the engine fired up. Seems like faulty starter battery then.
I've read on the forum that the problem could also be bad connections on the starter solenoid or that the starter motor may need refurbishing. But because I successfully managed to jump start of the starter battery I just assumed that this battery had failed.
It was when fitting the new starter battery that things started to go wrong.
1.) disconnected the negative lead from the main battery (but not the positive)
2.) disconnected and removed starter battery
3.) fitted new starter battery and connected positive lead first
4.) connected negative lead and within a couple of seconds I could see smoke and smell burning (plastic?)
5.) disconnected the negative lead from the starter battery quickly to stop the melt down
6.) swore and kicked myself for leaving the positive lead connected to the main battery
7.) disconnected positive from main
8.) tried again with starter battery this time no smoke or burning smell
9.) reconnected main battery
10.) success I think to myself
11.) turn ignition, nothing but a click, back to square one.
So did I get it completely wrong in terms of the running order when changing the battery over? Or by not realising that I needed to disconnect the positive lead as well as the negative from the main battery?
What have I burned out and how do I fix it?
I'm snowed in on Ilkley Moor and rapidly running out of firewood and vino.
Paul