battery problem

S

SpaceAce

New member
I thought I might run this by some of you guys and get your automotive thoughts and opinions.

1995 Jeep Wrangler and I just needed to put a new battery in. The battery was getting old (I believe it was over 10 years old). When I went to replace it the negative clamp that goes on the terminal was corroded and the hex nut and threaded part were basically disintegrated. So I was going to replace the cable but I wasn't sure what all I needed so I just got a new cable end to splice on the negative cable. I cut off the old end and exposed a bit of the wire and tightened both wires (there were 2 from the negative cable) and put on the new end and hooked everything up in the correct order and when I turned the key a bit the typical buzzer and dash lights were nice and strong but then I turned it to start the car and it clicked and went dead. My father saw a spark just as I turned the key when it went dead. So now I am not sure what to do next...I don't know what would cause it to seem fine at first (must have been hooked up correctly) but then go dead with a click and spark(which was somewhere around the battery terminals he said). Please help if you can. Thanks a million.

(sorry it was so long)
 
Sounds like you have a pretty serious short somewhere. Maybe you popped a fuse? Did you check the voltage of the battery after this happened?
 
no I just didn't want to do anything at that point without talking to some mechanic friends and getting some opinions of some other auto enthusiasts. I was trying to think if maybe the wires that were together in the battery terminal weren't in there tight enough or something simple like that. I was hoping somebody else had a similar experience maybe, or could offer somethnig (safe) to try
 
I might have popped a fuse, but I don't know what would have popped it. If I replace the fuse I am assuming it would just pop again??? Just not real familiar with this type of thing (obviously). I thought it would be something real easy....
 
Does the interior light/radio/whatever still work? If you have power going to those areas, then you may have a poor connection on the cable like you thought. You may even have a bit of exposed wire touching some metal elsewhere that caused the spark.
 
:cool::dcrulesyou need to cut cable(corrosion)off.make sure it is clean,then twist cable. get steel brush(NOT A DETAILING BRUSH,YOU DON'T WANT TO TRANSFER CORROSION)clean post and new cable end. do neg and pos sides. good luck.:cool::dcrules
 
I'm going to the dealer to check the battery and charging system, Battery is yr old from the dealer, if they don't help then I'm calling Page to drop a load of Duck fart on them..............:D
 
Everything came on as normal (radio, dash lights, seatbelt buzzer etc...) and they all seemed strong, but then when I turned to key further to start the car everything went dead. I heard a click and there was a spark near one of the terminals when I turned the key. No more buzzer or lights or anything.
 
SpaceAce said:
Everything came on as normal (radio, dash lights, seatbelt buzzer etc...) and they all seemed strong, but then when I turned to key further to start the car everything went dead. I heard a click and there was a spark near one of the terminals when I turned the key. No more buzzer or lights or anything.
Click to expand...

that's a bad connection ..you would be better off replacing the cable ;)
 
My bet would be that the corrotion has traveled a few inches up the cable and if it is in the ground it is most likely in the positive cable as well, If you have enough extra lenght of cable try cutting the cables back one inch at a time until you see good clean copper and re-attach the terminal, Another thought is , did you by chance buy a positive terminal and put it on the ground side? The hole in the positive terminals are a little bigger than that of the negative terminal, Even though the nut/bolt is tight It might not be tight enough on the post. Did you use a terminal brush and clean the post? Most likely the negative cable bolts up to the engine block and the smalled wire goes to the inner fender. Very easy to relpace. The positive cable goes to the starter solenoid which is either on the inner fender or on the starter itself. This cable will be a little more difficult to replace but still fairly easy to replace. If you do replace the positive cabe, Be careful not to overtighten the nut as the solenoid cap is mane of bakelite and will break very easy. I hope this is helpful..Good luck, TD
 
I agreed with what TD is saying, There is some corrosion that might be your problem, Myself the dealer replace my battery under warranty and got a oil change...
 
It sounds like a dead short to me. Cable replacement should be simple and cheap in comparison to a full appointment with the local dealer to do the same thing.
 
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