bad battery wiring?

[oldmanfrost]

The car started when I bought it and it ran when we put it on the flat bed... Got it home and all the lights and windows come on, but the engine won't start up at all...... I had the battery checked and charged at advance thinking that will help.. nope not at all..

So I'm wondering can it be the wiring itself that may need to be replaced... This is my very first project car that I'm doing work on myself so help me out... Pic below are the wires

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Notice the super bad fraying

 

[2gdsm_nc]

Had the same problem when I got mine to top it off the guy put a tall + terminal for some sterieo junk and well, now my heat shield on my hood has a burn hole in it and it grounded into the hood. To top it all off the group of wires were barely in the terminal and Had to wiggle all the time to get to start. Now Its all fixed and got the correct terminal and wire installed.

Looks like your missing 1 wire attached.

I had 1 large red one and the 4 med white ones.

 

[oldmanfrost]

So it could be the wiring?

 

[ktgurl87]

is this on your '97 gst? if so i could go snap a picture of the hubby's battery wiring and load it on here for ya

 

[oldmanfrost]

Yes it is

 

[ktgurl87]

okie dokie.... be right back!

ok... here we go... first pic, overall picture of the battery:

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second picture... positive cables:

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final picture... negative cables:

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battery isn't hooked up because i'm working on it and he's not here right now anyway. and those terminals... you gotta reeeeeeeeeally tighten down on those puppies -nods-

and another thing... i HATE those coated terminals. they suck for making good connections (in my experience anyway) and it looks like you are missing a cable on the positive side.

 

[oldmanfrost]

Dang it.. Where can I get my hands on wires?

 

[agarc023]

You know it could be just a dirty terminal/post. I had a similar problem when I did an alternator swap.

 

[ktgurl87]

if you want to replace yours, any parts store should have replacement cables. just determine how long they need to be and pick your ends! for some reason it's really bugging me that you don't have the big fat cable and 4 little ones on your positive side. i don't know if that's it or not. i guess first would be to clean up your current cables. undo them, wire brush them, twist them back together (a pair of pliers works pretty well, save your fingers!) and make sure you have nice shiny metal where the cables go into the terminal. a lot of the coated terminals are coated EVERYWHERE including where the cables go. but try that first, and if it still doesn't help, i'd really look into atleast a new positive cable. good luck!

 

[oldmanfrost]

Okay I looked there is two sandwiched under one bolt on the positive side.. I notice on her pics they are not would it make a difference that they are like that?

 

[ktgurl87]

after looking closely at your pictures... is there a big fat cable hiding behind the little wires? if so you can just clean everybody up and put them nicely back in the terminal. i believe (if i remember correctly) there are two of the little wires on each side of the terminal on mine. i <3 electrical tape to hold everything together.

 

[oldmanfrost]

Hmm... Will take a look when the sun is out mosquitoes are unbearable now... Hope its just I need to clean things up...

 

[ktgurl87]

i hear ya. we've got like nuclear mosquitoes or something here. bastards. and that's what it looks like. you just have to do some "tending" hopefully that's all it is.

 

[oldmanfrost]

Okay... I cleaned and inspected the wires, and still no luck. But I did notice a sound coming from where the starter is its like a clicking sound... Any ideas what that might be?

 

[ktgurl87]

erm... your starter. try hitting it with some blunt object to see if she cranks. i know on the hubby's, the little white clip that attaches to the top is forever loose so he reaches under there, wiggles it, and she'll start right up. try wiggling first, then try the blunt object. kind of a tough spot to get to, but like a breaker bar or something. if all it's doing is clicking, i'd say that's your culprit

 

[oldmanfrost]

Hope that fixes the problem.. I really wanna hear her purr and I can finally move onto handling the transmission... So I can get out of my moms car that she has been letting me hold since the wreck...

 

[ceristeare]

Is there a single click coming from the starter when you turn the key or a steady clicking?

 

[Extacee]

Well it could be your starter. You said all the accessories turn on right? So that rules out the main fuse. Do as the member above said. Hit the starter with a blunt object and see if she cranks over. Also check for corrosion on the terminals and wires because it could be spreading inside the cable jacket and eating your wire!

 

[BLueBeast]

Hope that fixes the problem.. I really wanna hear her purr and I can finally move onto handling the transmission... So I can get out of my moms car that she has been letting me hold since the wreck...

Look online on Youtube on how to check your car out for electrical problems, also do you have a DMM(Digital Mulit-Meter)?

-Check the battery & turn the selector to "DC" (Direct Current) the battery should be 12.6Volts to be fully charged.

-then turn your Multi-Meter to the OHMS tab & check your wires going to the battery, the resistance should NOT be more then .4ohms. Or you have bad wires, or corrosion.

-Another option is to check out Youtube videos on how to do a "Bench Test" or just take to local auto parts store "Advance auto" etc & they can test the starter for ya.

-Also could be your ignition.

Good luck, sorry know that can be confusing, as I am in auto tech school, I am finally learning the right way to check for electrical probs. Still have a lot to learn, I've been in your shoes, these cars will MAKE you a mechanic.

 

[oldmanfrost]

Nah I don't have that meter... I did not know that Advanced will check your starter.. I'm gonna do that when I get out of school. Like I said this my first car that I'm doing work myself so I'm gonna be on here searching a lot and if I can't find my answer I will be posting a lot ...

 

[oldmanfrost]

Okay update... It was the ignition and now its getting a new transmission put in Will have her back no later then Tuesday... Hopefully