Battery Died Twice . . . ?
 

On two occasions about one month apart, I've gone out to my '92 Ebony (completely stock). I press the remote, horn honks, interior lights turn on, doors unlock, I open door, get in, close door, put key in ignition, turn to on position, dash lights turn on, seat belts return to 'driving position', ALL power goes away.

The first time it happened, I had actually set the alarm so I was thinking that darn flashing LED on the dashboard had killed the battery :eek: . I got a jump start and was on my way. I hooked up the battery charger when I got home and no more problems until last night . . .

Exact same situation - I press the remote, etc. Except that the alarm had not been set :confused: .

I start hooking up the jumper cables and noticed the positive clamp was very loose on the terminal. I grabbed a wrench and tightened up the clamp and the car started right up.

Everyone, go out right now and tighten up your negative and positive battery cable clamps. If you have one of those nifty clamp/terminal cleaners or some emery cloth, clean them off first to get a nice new contact surface.

This might be an even better 'mod' than the alternator wiring mod.;)

Dan

Yes, many appear to do the alternator mod rather than fixing simple faults. :confused:

I had the exact same thing happen to my MR2 a few weeks ago. :)

And to add to this, make sure your battery hold down is not a bungee cord! :rolleyes: Any time the battery shifts you potentially loosen the terminals on your battery. I see this soooo much.

Please be sure I am not trying to upstage this previous excellent post by adding that this is often the cause of engine compartment fires. Insurance Companies down this way look out for it and will not pay out, on the basis of negligence. It is hard to fathom why some can not appreciate the dangers involved. :confused:

And you are correct in saying so. On some cars the battery ends up in the fan. Never good.

The so called alternator mod is a risk as well. A few months ago I purchased a car with this mod and found the cables routed poorly and chaffed!:eek:

I have often pointed out the lack of protection after the mod has been done, but few appear to listen. :confused: At long last I have found an ally. :)

Trevor

You've got two allies, I've always hated chaffing especially when I have to sit a lot . . . :eek:

Oh, and I agree on that electrical thing, too! ;)

Dan

As a long time cyclist and bike racer, I know all about chaffing:rolleyes:

I had the problem on my Justy. Problem was the cables couldn't be tightened anymore without breaking and I just ended up living with it.

As for the alternator wiring mod to be safe you would want to add a fuse as close as possible to EACH end of the positive cable.