car help: my car is confusing me, a little help?

Jubilee

my car is confusing me, a little help?

This open post was written 6 months, 2 weeks ago | V/U/S: 250, 15, 7 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

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Since writing this post Jubilee may have helped people, but has not within the last 4 days. Jubilee is a verified member, has been around for 8 months, 1 week and has 5 posts and 753 replies to their name.

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car, mechanic, Battery (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

Replies (15)

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fractal.scatter 290 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (2 minutes after post)

Open door. Get in. Turn on car. Foot on clutch. Hands on wheel. Into first gear. Foot on gas. Ease of clutch. Car starts moving. Turn wheel in direction you want to go.
:P

saraharkins200 2 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (4 minutes after post)

whats up??

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Jubilee 1 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (10 minutes after post)

this is the third time i’ve tried to type this, man i HATE my internet connection!!! it’s great at making me look stupid ^_^

ok so this is the problem:

i’ve got an ‘87 austin mini, and the thing won’t start. it doesn’t even turn over, the lights come on dimly but that’s it. it shows the red warning light which i think means the battery isn’t charging (but there’s no symbol and it’s not in the manual). anyway, the battery, alternator and fan belt are all new in the last 6 months, so technically they should be fine. i tested the battery with a multimeter and it said it still had charge (as much charge as my friends new ford battery which i used to compare). anyway, this makes me think that there’s a problem with the wire connecting the battery (which is in the boot) to the engine, but if the wire was faulty then jump starting it shouldn’t work, which it does. the fuses are all fine too, so i can’t figure out what could be wrong!

ps very nice reply fractal, love you too :P

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toodl #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (17 minutes after post)

LOL

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fractal.scatter 290 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (20 minutes after post)

Sounds liek you know quite a bit about it. Sorry, I couldn’t resist the reply :P

On the multimeter, when you said read the charge, do you actually mean voltage? Or did you place a load across the battery to test the current? Becuase the current (high current needed to start the alternator motor) is not dependand upon voltage from the source (as in, the battery will still show as have a voltage *across* it of 12V even if the current is tiny) So it is still possible to for it to be dead. try jump starting your friends car with it (with her battery disconnected).

maxm 0 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (21 minutes after post)

Sounds like your battery isn’t holding a charge, or something is causing it to drain…have you got a spare battery you can try in it?

Jubilee 1 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (22 minutes after post)

that’s a good point actually, i tested voltage. electricity is definately NOT my strongpoint. if the battery is dead, then i am sort of back to square one, in as much as something in the charging system isn’t working properly. hmmmm. incidentally, how could i test the current coming out of it?

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fumanchuster 1 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (39 minutes after post)

clean the battery terminal connections and make sure they’re tight. Also make sure tnothing is on, dome lights, any thing that draws power. But is everything is new either a cylinoid or battery terminals need to be cleaned and tightened.

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rayman76200 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (1 hour, 1 minute after post)

Hook it up to a battery charger and use the “start” option. Then try to start it. If the battery charger does not have that option then leave it charge overnight.If it does start then remove the battery charger with the car still running(be careful of moving parts). If it stalls(shuts off) after a few minutes then the battery needs replaced. Another issue might be a short in the wiring. Check the ground wires to see if they are damaged or loose. A short could be caused by frayed wiring or even moisture in a tailight etc..

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fractal.scatter 290 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (1 day, 21 hours after post)

Did you manage to get it working?

Jubilee 1 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (1 day, 23 hours after post)

won’t be able to get to it for a couple of weeks unfortunately, i’m gathering information in preperation :P

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Quantum_Spirit 25 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (2 days after post)

What does the connection look like to the battery? Is it corroded? Sometimes the battery acid corrodes the connection so much that they loose connection. This might explain why the jumper cables work because they clamp over the connection.

If it is corroded, all you need to do is take the cables off, clean the connections and battery thoroughly and then voila! If this is the problem, the car will probably start much faster than before. :D

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Jubilee 1 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (2 days after post)

Nah there’s no corrosion, it’s the old style mini connectors so it’s a sort of giant thimble that sits over the top of the battery tops and is just wedged on really hard, so I don’t think it’s a loose connection either but could be wrong i suppose

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Quantum_Spirit 25 #
An Unknown Location | 6 months, 2 weeks ago (2 days after post)

It may be worth cleaning it if you do see corrosion. What voltage was the meter showing? 12v isn’t really enough. When fully charged it should be more like 13-14v.

Help me with: The Value of Knowledge and Truth.

borntobug 1 #
An Undisclosed Location | 2 months, 3 weeks ago (3 months, 3 weeks after post)

Disconnect the battery of someone else’s car with a wrench. (It’s very easy to re-connect), using jumper cables, connect the battery cables from the other person’s car (connect the jumper cables to the end of the wire you disconnected) and plug the other end of the jumper cables into your car battery.

Can the other person turn their car on?

If no, you need a new battery..

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my car is confusing me, a little help?

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