Down to two possible problems

Micahwc · 05-25-2008, 09:01 PM

Well, I worked on it for a while today and it still isn't running, although I think we have ruled out some possibilities. For starters, we tried Bill UK's suggestion. We originally tried a 18 gauge wire, it over heated very quickly so we tried using an 8 gauge. We would get a spark at the starter motor end when we would do this, and then the car would die. If we disconnected the ground from the battery and reconnected it we had power again. Enough power to raise and lower the windows as well as turn on the radio.

We tried starting the car while jump starting it. The original problem occurred during this, that is, the car would crank well but not start. Once we disconnected the jumper cables, the car would revert to the problem described above.

Just as a reminder, when this battery was brand new, (about 2 weeks ago) the car started on the first try, but would lose all power once you turned it off. The car would do nothing when you turned the key, but if you jumped it, it would start on the first try.

While doing all of this today I did find a wire that had two spots about an inch long without any insulation on them, one of which looked burned pretty bad. I replaced it. I think it was a ground, it was located in the back passenger side of the engine bay and it connected the engine to the frame of the car. I replaced it with an 8 gauge wire because I have a lot of them.

I am inclined to think that it is a bad alternator, however, it should start when it is jumped if it is a bad alternator. Some sort of wire problem still seems to be a possibility. I think the starter is good because when I tried jump starting it cranked fine, it just didn't start.

Any ideas? Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

-Micah

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05-25-2008, 09:01 PM	#9
Micahwc Intake Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: johnson city TN Posts: 30	Well, I worked on it for a while today and it still isn't running, although I think we have ruled out some possibilities. For starters, we tried Bill UK's suggestion. We originally tried a 18 gauge wire, it over heated very quickly so we tried using an 8 gauge. We would get a spark at the starter motor end when we would do this, and then the car would die. If we disconnected the ground from the battery and reconnected it we had power again. Enough power to raise and lower the windows as well as turn on the radio. We tried starting the car while jump starting it. The original problem occurred during this, that is, the car would crank well but not start. Once we disconnected the jumper cables, the car would revert to the problem described above. Just as a reminder, when this battery was brand new, (about 2 weeks ago) the car started on the first try, but would lose all power once you turned it off. The car would do nothing when you turned the key, but if you jumped it, it would start on the first try. While doing all of this today I did find a wire that had two spots about an inch long without any insulation on them, one of which looked burned pretty bad. I replaced it. I think it was a ground, it was located in the back passenger side of the engine bay and it connected the engine to the frame of the car. I replaced it with an 8 gauge wire because I have a lot of them. I am inclined to think that it is a bad alternator, however, it should start when it is jumped if it is a bad alternator. Some sort of wire problem still seems to be a possibility. I think the starter is good because when I tried jump starting it cranked fine, it just didn't start. Any ideas? Thanks, and sorry for the long post. -Micah