Need help cars dead
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From: Whitehall PA
Need help cars dead
Turned car off yesterday and smelled something burning under hood.Everything went dead,no lights and no power. Battery was hot ,so i removed it and took it to get checked ,they said it was bad battery so i bought another .Put new one in and still nothing, no lights and no power.Any ideas what this could be?It was sparking while hooking up the terminals but still no lights or power and now it doesn't even spark while touching terminals.Thanks guys in advance
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 230
Likes: 0
From: Mt.Washington Kentucky
Start with the basics, I just had the same thing happen on my daughters Mazda, check all the wires that you can see something is shorting out, check all fuses and relays, check all wireing harnesses to make sure they are not lose, not sure were the starter is on the vette, but I have a feeling its in a bad place or I would tell you to check that I have a feeling it could be something like that----
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 4,043
Likes: 342
From: Central NJ
Did you check to see if the original battery that you took out was leaking? I did not see any details about your car so I figured I would ask. Leaking Delco batteries was a common problem and when it leaks it can leak onto the PCM and harnesses....If its not that I did have the same problem with my chevy blazer and it turned out to be a bad battery cable....Good luck
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Fuses protect just about everything but not the main battery wire to the starter. Also check the wiring from the alternator to the engine fuse box or wherever it goes....somehow back to the battery.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From: Whitehall PA
Couldn't find any bare wires . Checked starter and cleaned everything i could get at. While trying to hook battery back up the terminals were arching like crazy ,like it was welding them fast couldn't hook them up. Any ideas what would cause the battery to arch that much?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Yeah, a dead short or near to it.. which is why you previously smelled something burning. Disconnect the alternator and make sure its wire is not touching anything and try the battery again. If no massive arcs, then you've found it. Next, do the same thing at the starter. Basically you are disconnecting the major circuits one at a time trying to isolate the huge current draw. Were you having any trouble with the starter prior to this? Could be the starter solenoid is still engaged... but that would cause the engine to try to turn over. The solenoid might have a short to ground as well, but that happening is pretty far-fetched. If you find the source of the burned smell, it will tell you what happened.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,398
Likes: 2
Pull all the fuses cept whats basically needed to crank the starter. Then start putting them in one at a time and restarting and see what happens with each fuse you put back in. Eventually you will come to the fuse hopefully that controls where the short is. Might be something simple and quick to find this way or a long haul of trial and error. This is basically the same way to track a current draw pulling fuses and watching the ohm meter.
Battery terminals will spark when hooking leads back up so thats not a significant problem.
Battery terminals will spark when hooking leads back up so thats not a significant problem.
Last edited by briann510; Oct 12, 2008 at 05:58 AM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Theres a B+ terminal on each fuse box. The one under the hood is the main one and can be used to isolate both fuse boxes. Remove the nut and two terminals and then connect the battery terminal. then ONE fuse block terminal at a time. That will basically cut the electrical system in half.
The alternator is a very likely culprit.
Dicsonnect it abd see if you have the same issue.
BC
BC
The alternator is a very likely culprit.
Dicsonnect it abd see if you have the same issue.
BC
BC