Help (any mechanics)

**hellapimpin** · 06-05-2003, 02:29 AM

does anybody in here know shit about cars??
well i started up my car and you know the hood stand, that metal stick that hold the hood up...well it aparently was layin on my battery and when i drove it down maybe 100 feet, it was sparkin an shit and my car just shut off...so i pop the hood and check all the fuses and nothing....so this dude says maybe my car discharged...but the dome lights were still working??? so i charged it anyways..it didnt work..so after about 30 min..i had my friend help me roll it back to where i could park it....then all the sudden my brake lights started working so we decided to try and start the car again..it worked along with the headlights for about 5 seconds and cut back off..now even the dome lights wont come on.. do you think something might be a little loose and when i came over the speed bumps it might have knocked it right for a second and then when i started the car it knocked it back off? i have no clue?

oh yea and when i try to turn the lights on..its making a clicking sound in my engine?? by the fuse box, and around my radio area???

please help me!!!!!!!

**hellapimpin** · 06-05-2003, 03:24 AM

help fella's??

bump

**Juggernaut** · 06-05-2003, 06:58 AM

Bro, sounds like you dicharged the battery. Might have melted a rod inside the battery but that's just a guess. Can you borrow a battery from a bud? If you can then take yours out and place that one in and see if it will crank. If you can't borrow a battery then take the battery out and run it down to a auto parts store and have them test it. They all have a battery tester.

If that doesn't do the trick then check out your voltage regulator it might have taken a hit. Their pretty inexpensive to replace. What year and model car do you have and what size engine?

One last thing, if you place another battery in and it cranks, while the engine is running, pull one of the cables off of the post (either neg or pos) and see if the motor continues to run. If it dies right after you pull the cable off you'll need to replace your generator. Just as to make sure the damage was limited to the battery. Sorry about all the poor spelling.

I'll check back later. Good luck Bro

Jugg

**jammergsxr** · 06-05-2003, 08:19 AM

Sounds to be like you messed up one of your battery cables because you have a short.Thats why it worked for a few min.,more than likely it melted the coating off your positive cable and its grounding out to metal,so just follow them both and tape up any burn spots and make sure they are bolted down good.If one is burned tape it up but you will need to replace it when you can.

**Juggernaut** · 06-05-2003, 08:52 AM

Sorry Bro I didn't catch that part about it running for you again. Jammergsxr on to something there, good call bro. Check the cables and do as he said and double check the connections are tightened real good on the battery.

**Red Ketchup** · 06-05-2003, 09:51 AM

By the way bro, if it was the hood rod that touched the + side of the battery, seeing the size of those rods a LOT of current can go thru it.

That means that it's likely that wires have been dammaged or melted (cause the rod won't!).

Now... since it was the rod which grounded the + (red) side of the battery, you want to start investigating from the - (black) side of the battery on.

There should be 1 cable or more coming off the - (black) side of the battery. The biggest one will be the ground (meaning it's going to attach itself to the car body or frame somewhere, or most often on the engine block itself). Make sure this is intact and nothing has melted.

There may be other smaller wires on the - (black) side of the battery... check them all and follow them best you can. Those are the most likely and obvious things to check, then it gets pretty complicated.

Also, chances are the battery is drained or downright dead from all this shorting, so borrowing one is a good idea, and I would definetly check the alternator and current regulator if it's not in the alternator (depends on car model). Most parts stores have a battery load tester and many have alternator testers. Having run the car while the battery was shorted with such a large current load may have dammaged the diode network in the alternator. I'd have it checked just to be safe.

Let us know how it turns out

Red

**hellapimpin** · 06-05-2003, 01:32 PM

hey dude, this was exactuly what happend.....thanx!!!

Originally posted by jammergsxr
Sounds to be like you messed up one of your battery cables because you have a short.Thats why it worked for a few min.,more than likely it melted the coating off your positive cable and its grounding out to metal,so just follow them both and tape up any burn spots and make sure they are bolted down good.If one is burned tape it up but you will need to replace it when you can.

**jammergsxr** · 06-05-2003, 09:50 PM

Anytime Bro.,Just glad I could help!I had the same thing happen When the metal battery hold down came loose on my old Geo tracker.

**hellapimpin** · 06-05-2003, 11:35 PM

you were right too..thanx dude...i did have to re ground the wire..its like if i pulled it a little bit it would come on .. bad connection...so yea i had it fixed

Originally posted by Red Ketchup
By the way bro, if it was the hood rod that touched the + side of the battery, seeing the size of those rods a LOT of current can go thru it.

That means that it's likely that wires have been dammaged or melted (cause the rod won't!).

Now... since it was the rod which grounded the + (red) side of the battery, you want to start investigating from the - (black) side of the battery on.

There should be 1 cable or more coming off the - (black) side of the battery. The biggest one will be the ground (meaning it's going to attach itself to the car body or frame somewhere, or most often on the engine block itself). Make sure this is intact and nothing has melted.

There may be other smaller wires on the - (black) side of the battery... check them all and follow them best you can. Those are the most likely and obvious things to check, then it gets pretty complicated.

Also, chances are the battery is drained or downright dead from all this shorting, so borrowing one is a good idea, and I would definetly check the alternator and current regulator if it's not in the alternator (depends on car model). Most parts stores have a battery load tester and many have alternator testers. Having run the car while the battery was shorted with such a large current load may have dammaged the diode network in the alternator. I'd have it checked just to be safe.

Let us know how it turns out

Red