My SVX does not start

Lately I sometimes cannot start my 1992 SVX. At first, I thought it was the battery, since it was in the car when I bought it, about a year ago. I was able to jump-start the car with no trouble. I replaced the battery with a Sear Die Hard Gold and had the Sears technician test for charge and leakage. All tested OK. Three days later the car would not start. I again used my trusty jumper cables abd brought it in to the dealer. They tested everything and could find nothing wrong. The next time it happened I connected a battery charger. The meter (and the charging time) indicated the battery was substantially discharged. It had enough power to light the lights, open the doors, etc. but not enough to start the car. It took about 3 hours to fully charge the battery (at 12 Amps.). The car then started with no problems.
I noticed that the problem usually appears after heavy rains.

Is it an electric short? A starter drawing more current than usual? Something else? How can I find out?

I hate to bring it to a dealer a gain and be told there is nothing wrong with it.

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by Martian
Lately I sometimes cannot start my 1992 SVX. At first, I thought it was the battery, since it was in the car when I bought it, about a year ago. I was able to jump-start the car with no trouble. I replaced the battery with a Sear Die Hard Gold and had the Sears technician test for charge and leakage. All tested OK. Three days later the car would not start. I again used my trusty jumper cables abd brought it in to the dealer. They tested everything and could find nothing wrong. The next time it happened I connected a battery charger. The meter (and the charging time) indicated the battery was substantially discharged. It had enough power to light the lights, open the doors, etc. but not enough to start the car. It took about 3 hours to fully charge the battery (at 12 Amps.). The car then started with no problems.
I noticed that the problem usually appears after heavy rains.

Is it an electric short? A starter drawing more current than usual? Something else? How can I find out?

I hate to bring it to a dealer a gain and be told there is nothing wrong with it.

A couple of things to check:

Mine was doing silly stuff like this also. Seems that my ground terminal was just a teeny bit loose and the battery was not charging correctly. I was surprised that such a minute amount of loosness would cause the battery not to charge. BTW, you HAVE had the charging/starting system checked at your local Autozone (or similar), right? It's free, so, take advantage.

Check ALL your grounds, including the small wire going from your negative terminal to the body. Sometimes the little bolt rusts and can't get good ground (as well as the surrounding body metal).

I just recently fixed a problem with the car I bought in your area: the wire with the small spade plug on the starter (small -- compared to the others-- black with yellow srtiped wire) had become loose. No, it wasn't hanging down, the spade plug just didn't "grab" like it should. I pinched the spade plug to make the scrolled ends hold tighter to the terminal and all is well. This problem, however, did not run my battery down, so, your's may be different. It's worth a look-see, though. Easy fix -- you can just put a new spade plug on it.

Sometimes the ignition switch becomes loose, also (this again shouldn't run down the battery), something else to check.


OH! Have you noticed a "hum" coming from under the hood after you shut off the car? Listen closely to your ABS box after you shut off the car. If your ABS relay is going bad, it will continue to hum and drain your battery. If it's humming, give the box a sharp whack with a screwdriver butt (not too hard, though) and see if it stops. If it does, then, you're good to go until you can get it replaced.

That's all I have time for right now. Could probably think of more, if I didn't have to get back to work.

Good luck.

[Ron Mummert]

Have you checked the infamous sun visor wires? There are numerous threads on this one, but in a nutshell, the driver's visor is known to wear through the two wires intended for the vanity mirror light. If they short out, the battery will drain big time.

PS - Welcome aboard.
Not from Venus! Ron.

[Beav]

To locate the source of an electrical drain use an analog voltmeter (non-digital, about $10 or so at Radio Shack.) Disconnect one battery terminal and connect one meter lead to it, the other meter lead going to the disconnected cable end. If it shows a voltage, you have a leak. Make sure everything is turned off, doors closed, etc. Start pulling fuses, one at a time and watch for the meter needle to fall - that will be the circuit causing the drain. More than likely you'll have a drain of 6-9 volts showing, that's normal and going to the alternator, it usually doesn't cause a problem, as there shouldn't be any amperage invovled. To double check it disconnect the wires to the alternator.

The down and dirty quick test is to disconnect one battery cable and watch for a small spark as you lift the cable from the post - that also indicates a draw.