Troubleshooting experts, enter.
#41
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
I guess what threw me and everyone else there was:
1. Brand new everything including the battery.
2. Battery was fully charged and working perfectly when I disconnected it.
3. Battery indicated to be fully charged when I hooked it back up. Why wouldn't it be?
4. Power at the engine side of the firewall plug but none inside the car, not even enough to light a dome light, even an almost dead battery would still light one up.
Logically, everything points to the firewall plug.
It obviously was in the back of my mind somewhere that the battery might be the issue or I wouldn't have brought a know good battery back with me even though the one in the car was "known good".
Thanks for playing.
Jim
1. Brand new everything including the battery.
2. Battery was fully charged and working perfectly when I disconnected it.
3. Battery indicated to be fully charged when I hooked it back up. Why wouldn't it be?
4. Power at the engine side of the firewall plug but none inside the car, not even enough to light a dome light, even an almost dead battery would still light one up.
Logically, everything points to the firewall plug.
It obviously was in the back of my mind somewhere that the battery might be the issue or I wouldn't have brought a know good battery back with me even though the one in the car was "known good".
Thanks for playing.
Jim
#44
Race Director
check and clean the ground connection from the battery to the frame....many owners don't even know where the connection is...{short cable from battery to frame under or near the drivers seat}
#45
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Jim
Last edited by 1snake; 07-16-2013 at 04:53 PM.
#47
Race Director
Member Since: Jun 2006
Location: Inverness FL
Posts: 17,891
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St. Jude Donor '07
The reason it was like that was I checked for power on the engine side with the door closed so it read 12.9 volts but when I opened the door, the dome light put a load on the battery causing it to read zero so there was no power at the fuse box. Had I left the door open and gone back to check the engine side again or even directly at the battery, it would have read zero.
Jim
Jim
Bill
#48
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Now you understand why it was so hard to figure out. Something as small as a dome light caused the battery to temporarily read zero, otherwise it read fully charged even though it wasn't. A lead acid battery would never do that, but then again, the manufacturer says an AGM battery won't do that either, but it did, to me, on a hot day at a car show. Lucky me.
Jim
Jim
#49
Race Director
Member Since: Jun 2006
Location: Inverness FL
Posts: 17,891
Received 727 Likes
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621 Posts
St. Jude Donor '07
Now you understand why it was so hard to figure out. Something as small as a dome light caused the battery to temporarily read zero, otherwise it read fully charged even though it wasn't. A lead acid battery would never do that, but then again, the manufacturer says an AGM battery won't do that either, but it did, to me, on a hot day at a car show. Lucky me.
Jim
Jim
or not...
Bill
#50
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Jim
Last edited by 1snake; 07-16-2013 at 07:10 PM.
#53
Le Mans Master
Thanks for sharing, I am not a fan of AGM batteries, although I have read many advantages, My wifes X5 now 4 years old has an AGM, she told me her air conditioning would not work, I went at it trying to find the source. I could find nothing wrong, I tested the battery voltage and had 12.5 and thought all was good. Did some reading on the INTERNET and found out the Smart Vehicles today see a voltage drop and start shutting off systems to keep the car on the road, one of the first to be shut down was the A/C system to protect the battery power available. After wasting several hours I ended up buying a new battery and all works well again. The X5 starts thinking you are in failure mode when you get down to 12.5 volts. I really don't need a car that thinks for me, it really pisses me off when I try to diagnose using old school skills. I feel your pain and I am glad you figured it out. This will be a memorable car show for you, a reason to laugh over a beer in future.
#54
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Jim
Last edited by 1snake; 07-16-2013 at 08:45 PM.
#56
Race Director
had a similar failure. battery has rivets connecting each cell to the next. rivet broke. current flows thru acid only, so tiny bulb dims. Took off caps. i stuck in a screwdriver (dangerous) while i tried to crank. wiggled it and it fired right up.