ajheath 100 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Went to start the Orange lady today after her being idle for a week, but connected to the battery conditioner. Started first time, left her to idle for a few mins then turned off. Went back 20mins later went to start and just got clicking from the starter, but also rear indicators lit, boost gauge went all the way over to the right, headlight pods went up and down radio turned itself off and reset as if battery had been disconnected. I have had issues in the past with the wiring to the solenoid, but this seems ok. I thought it maybe the battery so connected up the jump leads to my Vectra, left for a few mins. Turned the key and hey presto started ok. I left to run with the leads connected for a while then disconnected and turned off. After a few mins turned the key to restart, started fine for about 10 secs and died, then when I tried to restart, back to the clicking and associated electrical quirks. So do we think it's a duff battery? Or something more in depth. All suggestions welcome. Before anyone asks I do not have Freescan running cuz I have a Mac desk top. Windows laptop is on this years shopping list, just for Esprit use. I could do with this being cheap to fix as we have just (today) sepent nearly Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martynv 79 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Adrian, If you've got a voltmeter I'd try it across the battery and see what it's reading at the moment it should be around 12.5-12.6V if it's in resonable condition, if it's well bellow this then the battery may well be at fault. With the car running you should see around 13.5-14.0v which would indicate the alternator is working fine, again if it's below these values the alternator may be at fault. In the absence of a voltmeter I'd try removing the battery and fully charging it and then try putting a heavy load across it like a headlamp bulb and see how long it can keep it lit, if it can only manage a few minutes the battery is probably knackered. If the battery seems fine the put it back in the car and see what happens and preferably check the current drain on the battery or at least the amount of sparking as you re-connect, which if it's bad probably indicates some sort of short or heavy load which is draining the battery. Martyn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AJay 1 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 I would first remove the terminals from the battery and clean all the terminals with a scotch brite pad, connect them back up and try again, if your have electrics but it only clicks when the starter is called for it is usually a resistance problem on your terminals. a starter can draw hunderds of amps on initial start and a small reistance will cause a big volt drop. i.e v=IXR so a resistance of 1ohm X 100 amps will have a voltage drop across the battery of 100 volts hence no electrics, but then they return when you release the starter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
red vtec 186 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Are the clamps on the terminals done up tight? one of mine was loose and I had a similar issue. the one near the outer side of the wing -negative? is a sod to do up tight. Quote Amateurs built the Ark Professionals built the Titanic "I haven't ridden in cars pulled by cows before" "Bullocks, Mr.Belcher" "No, I haven't, honestly" Link to post Share on other sites
rene1993earlys4turbo 0 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Get a gel Battery will last longer. Rene Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rogerch 63 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Do all of the above but also take a comparison using the chassis or convenient earth point rather than the earth or negative terminal on the battery. That will tell you if you are getting a good earth. Quote Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it, depends on what you put into it. (Tom Leahrer) Link to post Share on other sites
t70 16 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 I'm with marty... Alternator is likely to be the culprit... the car died because the alternator isn't charging the battery.. check the connections at the alternator as well... Had this happen with Johns V8 at one point... turned out to be a slightly loose connection to the alternator Quote Modifying esprit's.. now that's fun..PS... I AM NOT A CERTIFIED MECHANIC.. I Have chosen to help those in need, in the past and must not be construed as being a certified technician. Link to post Share on other sites
ajheath 100 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Thanks for the advice guys. I too was thinking alternator if not battery, or bad earth. So while the sun is out this morning I am going to take the battery off clean terminals, and reconnect, and test the voltage across it. I think this has brought forward my plan to change the clock in the dash to an ammeter. I will let you know how I get on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan 13 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Yeah it's probably the earth from the starter to the chaiss (next to the coils) then back to the battery. Try putting the car into 3rd and pushing it forward slightly and try again - sometimes the throwing mechanism jams against the flywheel I have found and that slight rotation of the flywheel allows it to mesh easier. Usually the clicking is enough grunt to engage but not enough to crank though - a fractional resistance in that earth line is enough to cause it. Quote facebook = [email protected] Link to post Share on other sites
ajheath 100 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Yep, Earth it was. After checking an cleaning all connections on the Battery, Starter, and altanater, all it turned out to be was a bad earth to the battery. Strangely the neg terminal couldn't be tightened enough to get a good connection?? Cant imagine it having stretched? So fitted a new earth terminal to the battery and all now seems to be well. Still another excuse for a 30+ mile hoon to reset the ECU Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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