Electrical Problems...Help and advice needed
06-01-05, 08:28 PM
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Electrical Problems...Help and advice needed
Since the search button has gone on strike, I'm gonna have to shout out for a little help here.
I hop into my car after work, depress the clutch, turn on the fuel pump kill switch, put the key in the ignition and go to turn the car on. First and second position on the ignition are fine, all the idiot lights come on, the beeping telling me that my door is open is nice and crisp, and the clock and radio are on. All is well. I go to the final position to crank the engine...poof...everything dies. No click, no turnover...its as if someone disconnects the battery. Everything is dead.
This is the third occurence of the same problem. First time happened after work, but i somehow fixed it after i changed the 15A engine fuse in the cabin. I went home and changed all the fuses in the car..."ok its fixed" i thought. Didn't make any sense, but whatever. The second time happened at my friends house. The fuse thing didn't work so i gave up and came back to his house the next day. Cleaned the terminals on the battery and cables, and put an extra ground wire from the negative battery terminal to another ground near the ignition coils. That fixed the problem again...and i was able to bring the car home. That happened about a week ago.
Now i've gone through the wiring diagram and I'm certain that its either the battery, the battery cables, or some kind of retarded grounding issue. I know for sure it isn't a fuse problem because a single fuse can't be responsible for EVERY system in the car being dead...can it? With that being said, it has to be something at or near the battery, before the lines reach any fuses...otherwise i'd have at least a few things working.
For the record, i managed to fix it today by disconnecting both the negative and positive cables from the battery and then putting them back on. I sprayed some contact cleaner on the posts and terminals but I dont know if that was the deciding factor. I've also been having issues with my idle, where my idle will fluctuate or fall at night because of all the extra loads put on my electrical system by the lights. When the idle falls like this, the lights dim, and the volt meter goes from 14 down to 12. Mind you, its not a huge fall...it only goes from 1000 rpm to say 900 or 800 rpm..where the idle SHOULD be. I am running an FD alt. I blame this idle issue on the BAC but it may be related..im putting this out there so you have a complete picture.
I'm thinking its the cables. My current plan to try and fix this is to change the positive and negative battery cables. I also plan on getting rid of the half assed splicing i did when i wired in the fd alt and will replace as much wiring as I can...not sure if this will help at all, but its something i want to do anyway.
Now what I'm looking for here is confirmation and ideas. Icemark, Wayne88n/a and all of you other "electrically experienced" out there, what am I missing? What else can cause this...and what kinds of tests can i run to make sure i've fixed this problem once and for all...if such a test exists.
Thanks in advance
CLIFF NOTES:
Electrical system dies when i try to start the car...as if the battery has been removed. NOTHING works. Theres also a minor idle problem that could be related, and I'm running an fd alt.
I plan on changing the battery cables, and resplicing or replacing the alt wiring to clean it up. What am I missing? If i'm wrong please tell me, and if there's a magical test out there to tell me that Im doing good...please tell me wat it is. For more details see above short novel.
I hop into my car after work, depress the clutch, turn on the fuel pump kill switch, put the key in the ignition and go to turn the car on. First and second position on the ignition are fine, all the idiot lights come on, the beeping telling me that my door is open is nice and crisp, and the clock and radio are on. All is well. I go to the final position to crank the engine...poof...everything dies. No click, no turnover...its as if someone disconnects the battery. Everything is dead.
This is the third occurence of the same problem. First time happened after work, but i somehow fixed it after i changed the 15A engine fuse in the cabin. I went home and changed all the fuses in the car..."ok its fixed" i thought. Didn't make any sense, but whatever. The second time happened at my friends house. The fuse thing didn't work so i gave up and came back to his house the next day. Cleaned the terminals on the battery and cables, and put an extra ground wire from the negative battery terminal to another ground near the ignition coils. That fixed the problem again...and i was able to bring the car home. That happened about a week ago.
Now i've gone through the wiring diagram and I'm certain that its either the battery, the battery cables, or some kind of retarded grounding issue. I know for sure it isn't a fuse problem because a single fuse can't be responsible for EVERY system in the car being dead...can it? With that being said, it has to be something at or near the battery, before the lines reach any fuses...otherwise i'd have at least a few things working.
For the record, i managed to fix it today by disconnecting both the negative and positive cables from the battery and then putting them back on. I sprayed some contact cleaner on the posts and terminals but I dont know if that was the deciding factor. I've also been having issues with my idle, where my idle will fluctuate or fall at night because of all the extra loads put on my electrical system by the lights. When the idle falls like this, the lights dim, and the volt meter goes from 14 down to 12. Mind you, its not a huge fall...it only goes from 1000 rpm to say 900 or 800 rpm..where the idle SHOULD be. I am running an FD alt. I blame this idle issue on the BAC but it may be related..im putting this out there so you have a complete picture.
I'm thinking its the cables. My current plan to try and fix this is to change the positive and negative battery cables. I also plan on getting rid of the half assed splicing i did when i wired in the fd alt and will replace as much wiring as I can...not sure if this will help at all, but its something i want to do anyway.
Now what I'm looking for here is confirmation and ideas. Icemark, Wayne88n/a and all of you other "electrically experienced" out there, what am I missing? What else can cause this...and what kinds of tests can i run to make sure i've fixed this problem once and for all...if such a test exists.
Thanks in advance
CLIFF NOTES:
Electrical system dies when i try to start the car...as if the battery has been removed. NOTHING works. Theres also a minor idle problem that could be related, and I'm running an fd alt.
I plan on changing the battery cables, and resplicing or replacing the alt wiring to clean it up. What am I missing? If i'm wrong please tell me, and if there's a magical test out there to tell me that Im doing good...please tell me wat it is. For more details see above short novel.
06-01-05, 09:20 PM
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maybe your ground wire is crack somewere also sometimes battery cable connector could be loose and when you start the car it jumps and it still looks like its in place but is not also turn the car on then take the battery negative side connector out the car should stay running if not your alternator got a problem
06-01-05, 09:21 PM
#3
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Originally Posted by Wankels-Revenge
Since the search button has gone on strike, I'm gonna have to shout out for a little help here.
I hop into my car after work, depress the clutch, turn on the fuel pump kill switch, put the key in the ignition and go to turn the car on. First and second position on the ignition are fine, all the idiot lights come on, the beeping telling me that my door is open is nice and crisp, and the clock and radio are on. All is well. I go to the final position to crank the engine...poof...everything dies. No click, no turnover...its as if someone disconnects the battery. Everything is dead.
This is the third occurence of the same problem. First time happened after work, but i somehow fixed it after i changed the 15A engine fuse in the cabin. I went home and changed all the fuses in the car..."ok its fixed" i thought. Didn't make any sense, but whatever. The second time happened at my friends house. The fuse thing didn't work so i gave up and came back to his house the next day. Cleaned the terminals on the battery and cables, and put an extra ground wire from the negative battery terminal to another ground near the ignition coils. That fixed the problem again...and i was able to bring the car home. That happened about a week ago.
Now i've gone through the wiring diagram and I'm certain that its either the battery, the battery cables, or some kind of retarded grounding issue. I know for sure it isn't a fuse problem because a single fuse can't be responsible for EVERY system in the car being dead...can it? With that being said, it has to be something at or near the battery, before the lines reach any fuses...otherwise i'd have at least a few things working.
For the record, i managed to fix it today by disconnecting both the negative and positive cables from the battery and then putting them back on. I sprayed some contact cleaner on the posts and terminals but I dont know if that was the deciding factor. I've also been having issues with my idle, where my idle will fluctuate or fall at night because of all the extra loads put on my electrical system by the lights. When the idle falls like this, the lights dim, and the volt meter goes from 14 down to 12. Mind you, its not a huge fall...it only goes from 1000 rpm to say 900 or 800 rpm..where the idle SHOULD be. I am running an FD alt. I blame this idle issue on the BAC but it may be related..im putting this out there so you have a complete picture.
I'm thinking its the cables. My current plan to try and fix this is to change the positive and negative battery cables. I also plan on getting rid of the half assed splicing i did when i wired in the fd alt and will replace as much wiring as I can...not sure if this will help at all, but its something i want to do anyway.
Now what I'm looking for here is confirmation and ideas. Icemark, Wayne88n/a and all of you other "electrically experienced" out there, what am I missing? What else can cause this...and what kinds of tests can i run to make sure i've fixed this problem once and for all...if such a test exists.
Thanks in advance
CLIFF NOTES:
Electrical system dies when i try to start the car...as if the battery has been removed. NOTHING works. Theres also a minor idle problem that could be related, and I'm running an fd alt.
I plan on changing the battery cables, and resplicing or replacing the alt wiring to clean it up. What am I missing? If i'm wrong please tell me, and if there's a magical test out there to tell me that Im doing good...please tell me wat it is. For more details see above short novel.
I hop into my car after work, depress the clutch, turn on the fuel pump kill switch, put the key in the ignition and go to turn the car on. First and second position on the ignition are fine, all the idiot lights come on, the beeping telling me that my door is open is nice and crisp, and the clock and radio are on. All is well. I go to the final position to crank the engine...poof...everything dies. No click, no turnover...its as if someone disconnects the battery. Everything is dead.
This is the third occurence of the same problem. First time happened after work, but i somehow fixed it after i changed the 15A engine fuse in the cabin. I went home and changed all the fuses in the car..."ok its fixed" i thought. Didn't make any sense, but whatever. The second time happened at my friends house. The fuse thing didn't work so i gave up and came back to his house the next day. Cleaned the terminals on the battery and cables, and put an extra ground wire from the negative battery terminal to another ground near the ignition coils. That fixed the problem again...and i was able to bring the car home. That happened about a week ago.
Now i've gone through the wiring diagram and I'm certain that its either the battery, the battery cables, or some kind of retarded grounding issue. I know for sure it isn't a fuse problem because a single fuse can't be responsible for EVERY system in the car being dead...can it? With that being said, it has to be something at or near the battery, before the lines reach any fuses...otherwise i'd have at least a few things working.
For the record, i managed to fix it today by disconnecting both the negative and positive cables from the battery and then putting them back on. I sprayed some contact cleaner on the posts and terminals but I dont know if that was the deciding factor. I've also been having issues with my idle, where my idle will fluctuate or fall at night because of all the extra loads put on my electrical system by the lights. When the idle falls like this, the lights dim, and the volt meter goes from 14 down to 12. Mind you, its not a huge fall...it only goes from 1000 rpm to say 900 or 800 rpm..where the idle SHOULD be. I am running an FD alt. I blame this idle issue on the BAC but it may be related..im putting this out there so you have a complete picture.
I'm thinking its the cables. My current plan to try and fix this is to change the positive and negative battery cables. I also plan on getting rid of the half assed splicing i did when i wired in the fd alt and will replace as much wiring as I can...not sure if this will help at all, but its something i want to do anyway.
Now what I'm looking for here is confirmation and ideas. Icemark, Wayne88n/a and all of you other "electrically experienced" out there, what am I missing? What else can cause this...and what kinds of tests can i run to make sure i've fixed this problem once and for all...if such a test exists.
Thanks in advance
CLIFF NOTES:
Electrical system dies when i try to start the car...as if the battery has been removed. NOTHING works. Theres also a minor idle problem that could be related, and I'm running an fd alt.
I plan on changing the battery cables, and resplicing or replacing the alt wiring to clean it up. What am I missing? If i'm wrong please tell me, and if there's a magical test out there to tell me that Im doing good...please tell me wat it is. For more details see above short novel.
If so, then the first thing I would be looking at a bad ignition switch
If not, then first thing I would be looking at is bad battery connections to either ground, or the underhood fuse box.
06-01-05, 09:28 PM
#4
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Ah thats wat i forgot to look for this time. I searched the first time this happened and remembered reading a similar recommendation you gave to someone else. CRAP!!
I'll definetly take a look at the wires going to the underhood fuse box as well. Thanks a lot for the responses.
Anybody else have any input?
I'll definetly take a look at the wires going to the underhood fuse box as well. Thanks a lot for the responses.
Anybody else have any input?
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