Last night we were installing Neon lights in my mates ED Xr6(don't ask). Everything was going fine, lights were working, car was running, and we were just finishing up. When my mate (not very technically minded) decided to tighten up the battery terminals with a socket while the car was running. Everythin electrical then shut off, and the motor continued running.
We then shut the car off, and tried to start it .. no luck. So I brought my car around, and tried to jump start it off my car, again no luck, no power to the car what so ever.
I've checked the fuses and relays, and everything seems to be in order.. just when we turn the key, nothing happens at all.
Anyone have any ideas? It's reasonably urgent, we wanted to go away in it this weekend!
Check all the wiring around the battery terminals. Especially the ground wires as there are a few smaller ones that hang off the terminal that are quite easy to knock off....
You want to look at the fusible link in the main power feed cable to the fuse box. Don't know where it is on the EDs though.
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Yea i checked most of them, it was quite dark, and late at night, so ill try that later ..
another strange thing..
when we were connecting the terminals a second time, to make sure they were on correct, usually you get a slight spark from the ground terminal when connecting it.
we didnt get any spark, nor any spark when connecting the jumper leads.. could this mean the battery is fried? I didnt think to get the multi-meter and test it.
Originally posted by ex-static Yea i checked most of them, it was quite dark, and late at night, so ill try that later ..
another strange thing..
when we were connecting the terminals a second time, to make sure they were on correct, usually you get a slight spark from the ground terminal when connecting it.
we didnt get any spark, nor any spark when connecting the jumper leads.. could this mean the battery is fried? I didnt think to get the multi-meter and test it.
It could be... Have you cleaned the terminals too??? They might look clean, but sometimes they the get a layer on them which wont conduct. I've seen this heaps of times!! Either clean them straight away or try shorting them from the outside of the connector to the centre of the terminal post.
It should've got power when connected to your car. Lights on the dash at least. If it didn't then it has to be a bad ground somewhere or as Pete said a fuseable link. Try connecting your negative jumper lead directly to the car not the battery like on the engine somewhere....
It sounds like you are stating your buddy shorted the positive to the body of the car or across the poles of the batteries. Besides the fuseable link several things could have happened. The batteries cells could have been fried which would caused the battery to fail ammeadiately. Also remember think about how the electrical circuit is laid out. The primary wire goes to the starter as well but as you stated there is no power anywhere. If you test your battery and get the 12v required by putting one lead on the positive battery side and the other on chassis ground. Try going across the two poles. Then also check continuity from the negative pole to the body ground. If the wire is good you will get a beep. If the battery checks out then on DC put the red lead on the charge pole on the back of the altinator and the black to the alt bracket. You should read 12v at this point. The alt charge wire is conected to the bat and on newer cars depending on configuration at the starter point. If your wires all check out then with your meter on the bat have someone turn on the key. Look for a voltage drop. A couple of volts are ok but several are a bad sign. Which could indicate a short in the system or the battery cells are toast.
I forgot to mention. A car can run without it's battery once started due to the fact the altinator is turning and producing a charge. This would indicate that the power was going from your alt to your electrical system. I would bet that the wire from your alt to your bat will check out just fine. In this case your troubleshooting to fix this problem will be simple the your DVM.
Check that the interior light works and the fuse isnt blown,
check that the smartlock led on the dash works and goes out shortly after the igntion is on.
check that your mate hasnt bumped the smartlock wiring plug undone at the bottom of the steering colomn.:s5 :s5
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