Need some help with this. I've gone through all the treads i can find on this. I have tested the fusible links, cleaned all the ground connections, checked for shorts and check all the fuses. But when i try to boost the car, the negative starts to smoke when i try to start the engine. The starter clicks but doesnt engage and thats when the negative starts to smoke. The only thing i havent done is take the battery in to get checked, but it is less than a year old and havent had any problems with it. If anyone has any ideas i would greatly appreciate it.

 

BTDT... Turned over once real slow, started, and then the battery blew up. Did manage to get it back home on the alternator, though. Sounds like a bad starter.

 

1. Ground to something other than the negative terminal of the battery. Something like the block or a good thick bolt connected to said block.

2. Make sure you have a good connection!

3. If it sufficiently discharged or you have some thin cables, you have to wait some.

4. Did I mention ground to something other than the negative terminal of the battery?

5. Remember that the damn flow is from Neg. to Pos., you are trying to force too much through a most likely crappy ground connection (in the form of the now suspect cable to block connection) and heating up that wire something fierce!

6. Did I mention ground to something other than the negative terminal of the battery?

 

Whats the 'rolleyes' for?

I guess I wasnt specific enough by asking what wire was smoking and assumed it was the negative wire leading to the block and not possibly the jumper wire itself...

If its teh negative lead (wire) that goes from the battery to the block then its a short somewhere causing an excessive ammount of current flow, more then the wire can handle. In theory, both wires should get hot since the current is flowing in a loop to form a circuit.

Ive had problems with poor connections and usually itll be the connection itself that gets warm if there is alot of resistance. If the actual connection or area around it is smoking then there is alot of resistance and/or excessive ammounts of current flowing through.

As stated above, dont try to start it right away through the jumper cables. The starter needs something like a hundred amps once going to turn over the motor. It probably needs even more when the starter is first starting and a cheesy set of cables wont be able to carry that much current and theyll start smoking.

I ahd a bad starter and it did something similar. Both of the battery leads got wicked hot and the lead terminals on the battery itself just melted away before it exploded, which is why I said the above. The starter must have complety shorted the battery.

 

opps... wrong button...

 

BTDT too. Many many times with many many cars. NO one buys good cab;es anymore. That's what it was for. Relax, touchy, touchy.

Load and resistance. Killers.

 

Relax? Im relaxed! *10th cup of coffee begins to shake violently*


I guess I shouldnt ***ume too much, although that shorted starter was like nothing else. Dont think Ill ever forget the mess from the acid all over the place.

 

Hell, I'm trying to get to sleep. Daughter is trying to pull an all nighter again. PITA.
I had a nightmare with a '79 Suburban I used to own. Starters would go on that thing almost every week. Got it down to 15 min. for the full job. Got rid of it after the seventh went in. Thank G0D for lifetime warranties!

 

Thanks Guys, ill check the starter and remember to "use something other than the negative terminal of the battery"

thanks

 

heh... I had a lifetime warantee starter from one of the autoparts store chains that I bought out of desperation several months ago and it jsut went bad. No more of those crappy delco starters... Tore up the recipt to resist the temptation to get another one. The alternator on the other hand... Im working on my third. After making all the apropriate checks, I drive in, pop the dead one out, walk in, get another one, pop it in, and drive away. Its amazing... The stock one lasts 15 years and I only have to replace it due to a bent shaft and they cant make a rebuilt one last more then a year or so.

As for the jumpstart, which cable was smoking? The jumper cable or the negative lead that goes to the battery?

 

It was the negative cable. I moved it to the chassis and it still did the same thing. I got all happy because i found a ground that was fused to a couple other wires, but after fixing that it still didnt work. So what i get is a little bit of smoke from where ever the neg cable is attached when i turn the ignition. It doesnt smoke any other time while it is hooked up. I talk with the guy across the street and he agrees with you guys that my starter is hooped. So tomorrow im getting a rebuilt from crappy tire and we will see if its the problem.

Thanks for all your help.

 

Its probably also not a bad idea to replace both of the battery cables once you fix the problem. I imagine the insulation is probably pretty damaged by now from all the heat.

 

Yea, i bought those today hoping that would help. So im already good on that front.

 

If you moved the negative lead to the chassis then move it back to the cylinder head where it was before. Its on the head to provide the shortest possible route for current to flow to the starter since it draws so much juice. It may also damage other grounds that run from the engine to the chassis. While your at it make sure to sand all the connections to get everything nice and clean and also clean any corrosion off of the battery terminals.

 

Well, i finally got the new starter installed and new neg and pos cables. I tried starting the car and the starter engaged but just spun, so i figured it wasnt seated properly. Adjusted it and tried to start it again. this time it just spun and while i was trying to listen to what it was doing, both battery terminals started to smolder.

Any ideas on where i caused a short or what the hell i might have done.

Thanks

 

Sounds to me like you have a bad battery.

Probably a seal inside it has broken, and acid has gotten into the terminals, and corroded them internally. The smoke is from the heat generated by the bad connection.

Doesn't matter if the battery came off the shelf yesterday, or if it's been in the car for 20 years; if it's bad, it's bad. Yours is bad. You need another. It should be under some kind of warranty for what it's worth. Battery warranties are notoriously useless.

It also sounds like you might have the wrong starter.... if the one you put on looked bigger than the one you took off, you need to take it back and get the smaller one. The big one holds the starter shaft (and therefore the teeth) about 5/8" farther away from the crank, because it's made for a larger diameter flywheel.

 

Does the engine turn at all, maybe its seized up. Also make sure you put any shims that came out back in, if the gear on the starter are too close to the flywheel teeth they will bind, ask me how I know.