| Author |
Message |
Bill V. (Doc)
Junior Member
Username: Doc
Post Number: 228
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 8:58 am: | |
I agree--in my case, the clamps were out of round so that tightening wouldn't really last. I suspect that the out-of round clamps happened because the previous owner never drove the car and went through numerous batteries,w ith the clamps being opened and closed with each change. The new clamps I installed fit tightly and perfectly, so I don't anticipate this problem again |
JRV (Jrvall)
Member
Username: Jrvall
Post Number: 543
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 8:51 am: | |
>>It's hard to understand why even a slight bit of looseness with the terminals will cause a complete lack of power.<<
Not hard at all actually. If looseness was acceptable they wouldn't bother making clamps with bolts that require tightening..
IMO the path to remedy would be clean & tight posts, rather than trying to understand, analyze or devise ways to make loose clamps work. |
Steve (Steve)
Member
Username: Steve
Post Number: 276
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 8:37 am: | |
I'm kinda with Ron here. Something strange is going on. I would lean to a short somewhere or a fuse panel. If you wait until this happens again and check the voltage at the battery and find it to be at 12V or better you should have 12v at the starter. If thats the case then there is a high resistance in the starter circuit somewhere. On the other hand if the battery voltage is less than 12v then you have something draining the system. |
Ron R (Ronr)
Junior Member
Username: Ronr
Post Number: 78
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, January 10, 2003 - 6:41 pm: | |
It's hard to understand why even a slight bit of looseness with the terminals will cause a complete lack of power. With the amount of surface area still between between the terminals and the posts it seems like there would still be enough voltage/current to run your clock or even give your starter solenoid a bit of a click. There must be some some sort of strange phenomenon going on with the lead, like an insulating oxidation layer or somesuch.
A good experiment in this situation would be to measure voltage at the terminals, if you could just do it with some sort of a load. Maybe while you're measuring it, have someone try to crank the starter and see if you lose voltage...?
|
Bill V. (Doc)
Junior Member
Username: Doc
Post Number: 227
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 6:23 pm: | |
Ron--I had the identical problem with my '85 308. Although I had tightened the terminals 1k miles prior, the connectors must have been out of round or something, and they were lose again, causing a no start situation. I replaced both connectors and, so far so good. |
Erik R. K. Jonsson (Gamester)
Member
Username: Gamester
Post Number: 253
Registered: 11-2000
| | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 1:56 pm: | |
My F350 powerstroke just had one battery fail. It showed 12.5volt but had no current to back it, I disconnected the other battery and the 16 month old battery wouldn't even light the interior lights or keep the radio memory. Carquest replaced it free. Both sets of battery terminals needed a good cleaning.
For those wanting a super solution for battery leakage and rust prevention, performanceproducts.com has acid absorbing battery mats.
ciao |
TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member
Username: Tifosi
Post Number: 2281
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 7:02 am: | |
I also had the problem with the posts, they appear to be snug but a little movement and they loose contact. |
Ron R (Ronr)
Junior Member
Username: Ronr
Post Number: 77
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 11:22 pm: | |
The terminals were snug, but I was able to get a bit of movement on each post, so I moved them a bit to freshen up the surfaces and then tightened them securely. The connections look pretty clean, no visible corrosion.
It would be great if that's all there is to this, and not some funky expensive problem. I'll make sure I carry jumper cables around just in case. By the way, water level in the battery was fine.
Thanks
|
Henryk (Henryk)
Member
Username: Henryk
Post Number: 388
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 10:33 pm: | |
Ron: Do as Jeff recommended.....try to turn the cables, at the posts, by hand. If you can, then you have found your problem, and go on to the other suggestions of cleaning. If you just unscrew and pull the cable off, you will never know that it was loose. Make sense?
If they are tight, then examine the posts, and cables for corrosion, as you clean them. This is a judgement call, on how much corrosion is bad enough to cause your problem.
Remember, move them by hand, BEFORE you take them off.
|
Ron R (Ronr)
Junior Member
Username: Ronr
Post Number: 73
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 8:03 pm: | |
I agree that cleaning and basic maintenance are good places to start. The part that bothers me is that it's doing fine now, and I did nothing but jump it and drive it home. I can do a lot of scrubbing, but as long as everything remains nominal, whatever caused the total lack of power won't be identified. I feel like I'll be driving around a time bomb after this unless I can identify what caused this temporary anomaly. |
Jeff Edison (Euro308guy)
Junior Member
Username: Euro308guy
Post Number: 139
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 7:56 pm: | |
I hate to "me too" the topic, But I must agree with Dave. "All things being equal, usually the simplest answer is correct". Sounds stupid, but I've found it to be not too far off in many cases. First I'd just try to "twist" the battery cables. Also, check the battery cable ground, (both ends of the ground cable). Keep us posted. I bet you get it solved quickly.
|
Matt Lemus (Mlemus)
Intermediate Member
Username: Mlemus
Post Number: 1322
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 7:53 pm: | |
Ron,
I agree with Dave. But you bring up a good point. With low cars such as Ferrari's, they can become grounded. Take it easy over things such as railroad tracks and speedbumps. Be even more mindful in the rain. |
david handa (Davehanda)
Member
Username: Davehanda
Post Number: 429
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 7:43 pm: | |
Ron,
first things first. Remove the battery cables and wire brush the posts and clamps. Check the water level while you're at it. Reattach and see if the symptons return. A lot of times it is just dirty contacts at the battery and nothing more. If you want, you may also wish to clean all the fuse panel contacts, replace the fuses with Buse brand stainless steel/glass fuses and then bend the tabs in slightly for a tighter fit. |
Ron R (Ronr)
Junior Member
Username: Ronr
Post Number: 72
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 7:31 pm: | |
My 308 normally cranks right up. Drove to work today, at lunch came out and tried to start it. Nothing happened. Nothing. Got a jump and drove it home, no problem. Later this evening, got home, and it started right up. The generator light was off on the drive in, so evidently it was charging normally.
The car is pretty new to me, so I don't have a lot of background performance to go by. The only things I can think of that are relevant are: (1)I had the headlights on during the drive (30 minute drive) and shut them off when I parked it - not really unusual, I've driven with the headlights a few times. (2)I crossed a couple of railroad tracks faster than I should have (>5mph), and it gave us a bit of a dynamic shock.
Could something electrical having to do with the headlights have drained the battery, or could a hard bounce have broken something or caused something abnormal? If it was still dead, I could search for the problem, but with it working normally again, it looks like some intermittent glitch. I hate those.
Thanks
|