New battery cables but still no juice! What gives?!
04-18-10, 12:31 PM
#1
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New battery cables but still no juice! What gives?!
Ok so I've had the starter and battery checked and they were both fine (before my wifes friend tossed the battery in the back of her suv up side down) so I replace both pos and neg battery cables but when I hooked the jumper cable up to it and tried to jump it with my other 83 that didn't even spark and when I opened the door the dome light didn't come on. My question is even with a bad battery wouldn't I still get power if the cables are hooked directly to my other car? Also what else could it be? Do I need a new harness?
Here's some other posts that I posted on this.
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/turn-ignition-key-but-nothing-happens-873589/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/if-its-not-battery-alternator-starter-what-could-880280/
Here's some other posts that I posted on this.
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/turn-ignition-key-but-nothing-happens-873589/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/if-its-not-battery-alternator-starter-what-could-880280/
04-18-10, 03:09 PM
#2
did you check to make sure the negative cable had a good ground? there are two ground points. one is on the left strut tower and the other is at a trans to engine bolt under the oil cooler/oil pedestal. use a multimeter on the bettery and see what kind of voltage you have in the battery.
04-18-10, 03:15 PM
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Well I looked on my other 83 which has a 79 engine and it looks like the neg cable is only conected at the trans/engine bolt so I didn't reconnect it to the strut housing and the factory neg wire did have a lot of corrosion right there so I'll give that a try. Thnks!
Still open to other suggestions
Still open to other suggestions
04-21-10, 11:42 PM
#6
Yeah I had the negative grounded from the terminal end over to the coil mount using 8 guage wire. Even with one ground the car should start, it will just act weird electrically like the temp guage will peg hot and the voltmeter will dance around, etc. It does sound like a bad contact somewhere though
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04-24-10, 11:47 AM
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Yeah I had the negative grounded from the terminal end over to the coil mount using 8 guage wire. Even with one ground the car should start, it will just act weird electrically like the temp guage will peg hot and the voltmeter will dance around, etc. It does sound like a bad contact somewhere though
04-25-10, 01:35 AM
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You said in one of the other threads you linked that everything in the car comes on when the key's turned "on". Is this still the case? If so, I doubt it's the fusible links. The main link (center I think) runs just about everything. It either works, or it doesn't. The only thing I could see would be a poor connection, but if that were the case, all the dash lights would probably go dead when you turn the key and it tries sending juice to the solenoid (and would likely come back on again once the key was released).
Really, if the dash lights/etc are still coming on, and the starter's known to work, I'd be checking the wire that goes to the solenoid for voltage while the key's being turned. Obviously make sure the car's in neutral, ebrake on, etc etc while you're under there checking while someone else is cranking. If there's no voltage, you'll have to pull the junk off the steering column and test at the ignition switch, then work your way down.
Good luck!
Really, if the dash lights/etc are still coming on, and the starter's known to work, I'd be checking the wire that goes to the solenoid for voltage while the key's being turned. Obviously make sure the car's in neutral, ebrake on, etc etc while you're under there checking while someone else is cranking. If there's no voltage, you'll have to pull the junk off the steering column and test at the ignition switch, then work your way down.
Good luck!
04-25-10, 02:08 PM
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Well when I last worked on it I didn't have the key cuz I forgot to have my wife bring it when she met me at her parents house but when I parked it no nothing would come on any more but the bottom of my car is covered in a coat of oil so maybe that's the problem?
04-25-10, 05:03 PM
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Well if nothing comes on...
You replaced the cables. Did you make sure to run cable from the positive post to the fusible link panel? From the positive post, you should have 2 wires - a really thick one going to the starter, and a thinner one going to the fusible links.
If you do have the wire going to the fusible links, it can help to have someone in the car with the key turned on while you wiggle each of the fusible links & connectors. Middle link is the one to focus on. You could also pull it and check it for continuity with a meter. If it's just that there are corroded connections, wiggling every wire (and link) going to that little box should get the dash lights to come on at some point.
If it's still totally dead and you're pretty sure the links are good and there isn't a connection/corrosion problem, then I'd start following the wires back from the links (gradually moving towards the fuse panel), and use a voltmeter to check where it's not getting power. Having sharp meter leads can help to poke a hole through the years-old-and-pretty-hard insulation around the wires while testing - otherwise you have to slice some insulation away with a knife and tape it up afterwards.
You replaced the cables. Did you make sure to run cable from the positive post to the fusible link panel? From the positive post, you should have 2 wires - a really thick one going to the starter, and a thinner one going to the fusible links.
If you do have the wire going to the fusible links, it can help to have someone in the car with the key turned on while you wiggle each of the fusible links & connectors. Middle link is the one to focus on. You could also pull it and check it for continuity with a meter. If it's just that there are corroded connections, wiggling every wire (and link) going to that little box should get the dash lights to come on at some point.
If it's still totally dead and you're pretty sure the links are good and there isn't a connection/corrosion problem, then I'd start following the wires back from the links (gradually moving towards the fuse panel), and use a voltmeter to check where it's not getting power. Having sharp meter leads can help to poke a hole through the years-old-and-pretty-hard insulation around the wires while testing - otherwise you have to slice some insulation away with a knife and tape it up afterwards.
04-25-10, 08:41 PM
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Yeah grounds and fusible links are the most likely causes at this point. Make sure your neutral/safety switch is functioning properly too ( I know you aren't getting power anywhere yet but never hurts to check). The fact you aren't even getting sparking leads me to believe its definitely an open circuit, most likely on the ground side
