Howdy, So, I parked my car ( '89 328) for about 3 weeks, off the battery trickle charger. Went to start it, and it was turning slow. Tried to jump it with my new Jeep, and the starter spun the motor no problem, but it would not start. Started to smell gas, so I thought it was flooded. Waited awhile, and the starter turned the motor fine, but no start. So, left it alone over night, pulled the battery and stuck my Fiat battery in it, and it started right up? Stuck the old battery on a charger in the garage, will test it later ... Why would it not start via a set of jumper cables and start up via a new battery? Seems like the motor was spinning just fine off the jump start, but would not start. Just curious???? Any input would be helpful Thanks Bob
The correct way to do it is to use the jump leads to charge the low battery (provided the battery is not faulty) by connecting the jump leads then revving the other car to 2000-3000 RPM for a few minutes. Then disconnect the jump leads and try to start. If you try to start via the leads the voltage drop across the leads might be too great under the load of the starter to operate the ignition system.
I had that issue on my '88 328. It would start when cold, but not when hot. And even jumper cables wouldn't start it when hot. Turns out that the battery connector was a bit corroded, and when it warmed up, it expanded more than the battery post. Cold, it fit. Warm, it was loose. That also meant that the alternator wasn't charging the battery properly, once it got warm, so the battery was low fairly often. I filed down the corrosion, applied some electrolyte gel, and clamped it down properly, and it was fine.
Probably a dumb question: if using a battery booster pack, are there any connection spots on a 328 apart from the battery terminals? A buddy told there was such connections on his '94 348 (recently sold) but we didn't see anything similar on my the '86 328. I haven't had any issues with battery or starting, but if I were to, it would be nice not to have to remove the spare, then the battery access panel, etc.. Thanks, Jon
Sorry but...no. They provided them in the 348 because the battery was in the interior of the passenger compartment. On a 308 it's a toss up, you can pull the spare tire out, or jack the car and go direct to the starter solenoid in the rear.
Got the battery charged and put a load test on it, Did head down to the weak area. Will return it and have them test it. Does the ignition system need more power than the starter? Seems like the starter turned the motor when I jumped it…...
The starter will draw a lot more current than the ignition system. The starter will continue to turn though, albeit more slowly, with a relatively low battery voltage but the ignition system will have a threshold voltage below which it will stop working as its an electronic system.
Remember these cars are super old now. I recently found my battery tender struggling. Hmmm... well battery over 6 years old. I got a new battery. Still the battery tender struggling. And by struggle I mean 24 hours and still showing charging, when typically it's charged up in minutes after returning from a drive. I disconnected everything and thoroughly cleaned *all* connections, including cleaning or replacing washers between the tender connections and the battery terminal. There was no "obvious" signs of corrosion but I think this is typical with oxidation and age. After cleaning everything up all is well.
Right. I ran into this with an Alfa Spider I had. The problem was indeed that the battery voltage was too low to operate the electronics but was able to turn over the engine at a pretty rapid rate, thus fooling me into wasting time chasing ignition/fuel ghosts before finding the easy fix. Perhaps check the battery voltage with a voltmeter to see if it's at least 12V.
